torture doesn't work, dummy.

For any idiots still crowing about the value of harsh interrogation tactics, the patriot act, warantless wiretapping, or any of the other asinine Bush administration "security" tactics put into place without public discourse or supporting evidence, let this be the end of all that garbage:

When CIA officials subjected their first high-value captive, Abu Zubaida, to waterboarding and other harsh interrogation methods, they were convinced that they had in their custody an al-Qaeda leader who knew details of operations yet to be unleashed. The methods succeeded in breaking him, and the stories he told of al-Qaeda terrorism plots sent CIA officers around the globe chasing leads. In the end, though, not a single significant plot was foiled as a result of Abu Zubaida's tortured confessions, according to former senior government officials who closely followed the interrogations. Nearly all of the leads attained through the harsh measures quickly evaporated, while most of the useful information from Abu Zubaida -- chiefly names of al-Qaeda members and associates -- was obtained before waterboarding was introduced, they said.

So please. How many fake 'sleeper cells' need to be exposed as bullshit to continue either allowing this type of illegal behavior, or revising history to paint Dick Cheney as some type of freedom fighter? With increasing evidence that harsh interrogation methods were initiated with instructions directly from the administration, count me as someone who's happy to see warrants issued for John Yoo, Alberto Gonzalez and other deserving douchebags. Cancel that Barcelona trip, Cheney. I'm sure there will be indignance over this -- how dare Spain stand in judgment of the decisions of a former US Vice President? But let those same indignant wonder how they would respond if American citizens were tortured under the aegis of the Spanish government without being given a fair trial.

Interesting corollary: Atul Gawande's excellent piece on the psychological impact of solitary confinement.

And finally, Matt Taibbi kicks ass and takes names. Today's victim: the unregulated Federal Reserve/Treasury Department's ever-growing shadow government.