4/23 Roundup: Tortured Memos, Downward Mobility, Dr. Dot

Leader: Tortured Memos

- President Obama may have hoped he could put the question of torture to rest by ending the questionable interrogation techniques, releasing the memos, and reassuring CIA employees that they would not be prosecuted. Perhaps not surprisingly, however, the release of the memos has ignited fury on both sides of the aisle. On the right, congresspeople and former Bush officials see the release of the memos as weakness, while on the left there is a desire to investigate and punish the officials responsible.

- People on the left will likely be dissatisfied, as there are significant hurdles to the indictment, including a dearth of legal precedents for such action. Plus:

It could create a partisan firestorm that Mr. Obama, who has said he wants to concentrate on fixing the economy and on other parts of his agenda, would prefer to avoid for political reasons. And, like the interrogators, the policy makers could argue that government lawyers assured them the program was legal.

- An NY Times analysis piece today asks the fundamental question-- did the interrogation methods actually stop attacks? This on the same day that Ali Soufan, a former FBI agent, pens an op-ed in the Times, offering his side of the story of the history behind the development of the torture memos. They were built on a foundation of lies, it seems, and were totally unnecessary to stop attacks.

Politics

- Rep. John Larson, the House Democratic Caucus Chairman, will unveil a bill today that will provide free computer training to Americans through the nation's community colleges.  The bill grew up out of a paper written by Dr. Rob Shapiro, Chair of NDN's Globalization Initiative.

- The NY Times reports on the story of one little boy whose immigrant mother was swept up in a workplace raid and sent to prison. After more than a year in prison, her custody rights were revoked, and the boy was adopted by a local couple.  DHS is reportedly looking for better ways to deal with all-too common situations like this.

Economy

- The economic downturn has led to a sharp decline in Americans' mobility, driving down the numbers of people seeking to move. 

Experts said the lack of mobility was of concern on two fronts. It suggests that Americans were unable or unwilling to follow any job opportunities that may have existed around the country, as they have in the past. And the lack of movement itself, they said, could have an impact on the economy, reducing the economic activity generated by moves.

- The iPhone pushed up Apple's profits last quarter, and saved AT&T from a much larger drop in revenue.

International

- Taliban militants have pushed out of the Swat Valley in Pakistan, and taken the district of Buner, just 60 miles from the capital, Islamabad.  Though militants cannot immediately threaten Islamabad, this move is an indicator of the strength of the Taliban, and the inefficacy of the Pakistani military.

- Two explosions in Baghdad killed 60 and wounded over a hundred, as the city was offered a deadly reminder that the country is far from past its violence.

New From NDN

- Michael Moynihan celebrated Earth Day yesterday with a post encouraging us all to work together as we strive to save our planet.

- Zuraya looked back at our Summit of the Americas preview event.  We now have video available of all the excellent speakers who addressed us a few weeks ago, including Sen. Bob Menendez.

One More Thing

- The President of Georgia might be brought down from power with the inadvertent help of a busty American masseuse.  Her name is Dr. Dot.

- Last, Mother Nature thought the conservative anti-Earth Day "beach party" yesterday was pretty dumb. You and me both, Mother Nature: