No one ever expects the Spanish Inquisition

But the fact that Dick Cheney met with other White House higher-ups on a regular basis to approve specific torture techniques for specific prisoners, is not surprising anymore.

Staying "on script" even when it's absurd

It's not a Eugene Ionesco play, it's a White House press briefing.

Raw Story correspondent Eric Brewer complained a few days ago that he was often left with his hand in the air at White House press briefings by Dana Perino. Yesterday she called on him, and I'm sure she's not thrilled that she did.

Brewer asked Perino a question she couldn't answer. And so, she didn't, instead accusing Brewer of taking one of Bush's statement's out of context. Of course, he hadn't misinterpreted Bush, he had simply pointed out that Bush's scare statement didn't make logical sense, in context or not.

A shameful abandonment of conscience

While the story in the New York Times today about the approval of torture methods by the White House is shocking on its face, what is more shocking is the clear abdication of conscience. Several times in the story, we read that CIA interrogators were worried that what they were doing was right. When assured that they were not breaking the law, and not liable for prosecution, they went right ahead and tortured, uh, I mean severely interrogated.

It's a long and sad article, but it's a must-read for anyone who wants to understand how the good Christian administration acts when it really comes down to choosing between humanitarianism and power.

And a new villain emerges, Stephen Bradbury, head of the Office of Legal Counsel.

Petraeus, Petraeus, Petraeus, not Petraeus

After months of asking us all to be patient and to give General Petraeus and the surge a chance, it seems as if the White House is unwilling to have General Petraeus speak for himself.

Could it be that the White House is disturbed by the fact that Petraeus understands the separation of powers better than they do?

At this point, if you believe anything the White House says you might not want to open one of those emails from Nigeria promising you a fee for transferring millions in funds from an African bank account.