ABC:

Two psychologists are responsible for designing the CIA's program of waterboarding suspected terrorists and for assuring the government the program was safe, according to an ABC News report.

Former military officers Bruce Jessen and Jim Mitchell had an "important role in developing what became the CIA's torture program," Jameel Jaffer, an attorney with the ACLU, told ABC News.

Good to have the names. Presumably their licenses to practie will be revoked?

Greenwald:

[OBAMA] It can't be emphasized enough that this "state secrets" tactic was not ancillary to the Bush abuses; it was central to them.  Secrecy is the linchpin, the key enabling weapon, of all government abuses.  That's why Obama's embrace of the radical Bush position has been so deeply troubling.  And the excuse Obama gave last night for why he has been doing this is simply inaccurate and misleading:

But keep in mind what happens, is we come in to office. We're in for a week, and suddenly we've got a court filing that's coming up. And so we don't have the time to effectively think through, what exactly should an overarching reform of that doctrine take? We've got to respond to the immediate case in front of us.

This just is not true.  In each of the cases where the Obama DOJ embraced the Bush state secrets theory, the plaintiffs' lawyers were not only willing, but eager, to grant as much time as the Obama DOJ wanted in order for them to figure out what they should do.  In response, Obama DOJ lawyers continuously indicated they needed no time, because they were convinced that they were right about the state secrets argument and had approval for their positions at the highest levels.  When asked, Robert Gibbs explicitly said that Obama was consulted on the DOJ's positions in these cases and agreed entirely with them:  "absolutely, absolutely he does."

Now, to be fair, Greenwald goes on to point out positive aspects of Obama's presser -- in particular, if torture is a crime, surely prosecution is called for?

Update below with link for video of Sen. Durbin's post-vote remarks. Strong and pointed. Also, Scarecrow's take at FDL, and Snarlin' Arlen's first stab in the back of the Dems.

Today twelve Democratic senators, including the newest "Democratic" senator Arlen Specter, voted with all the Repubs to defeat the mortgage cramdown measure. Kennedy(MA) and Rockefeller (WV) were absent. Lieberman voted with the Dems on this (a freebie, since it was going down anyway?).

You may have heard of Hueco Tanks. Hueco Tanks is one of Texas' newest State Parks -- and among its most famous, having been profiled in a number of magazines including Southern Living. Climbing magazine online has this quote and image:

In the 1980s, Hueco Tanks earned an international reputation as a top rock-climbing spot, especially during mild winter months. In addition, a growing number of school groups from El Paso and throughout West Texas find the park to be an outstanding outdoor classroom.

Because of graffiti and other past damage to some of Hueco Tanks’ invaluable archeological treasures and its fragile desert ecosystem, park users’ access to the park has been limited in recent years in accordance with a public use plan. Park visitors must watch a 20-minute TPWD video that explains the history of Hueco Tanks, the importance of conserving its natural and cultural resources, and defines the park’s self-guided and guided-only areas.

The site used to be one of the world's most popular, and remains among the premier, destinations for rock climbers. These days -- as people often do, in previous years

people abused Hueco Tanks -- the fragile desert watering place with its connections to the past has tighter access controls, and some of them come from the climbers themselves: