From CIA secret prisons to McCain's joke...

From American Progress:

Think Fast...

The CIA's secret overseas prison system "remains active and has held at least one al Qaeda militant" since first being revealed last year, says a U.S. official. "The official confirmed the detention as the White House" refused to say "whether the agency had resumed holding prisoners at secret sites and insisted that the United States does not torture."

In light of the revelation yesterday of secret opinions giving the CIA approval in 2005 for harsh interrogation techniques, Senate Intel Chairman John (D-WV) "wrote to the acting attorney general, Peter D. Keisler, asking for copies of all opinions on interrogation since 2004."

Rep. Eric Cantor (R-VA) has launched an online petition asking conservatives to "band together" and "stand with Rush Limbaugh against liberal attacks."

Alternet reports, "The truth of the matter is that only the presence of U.S. forces allows the group called 'al Qaeda in Iraq' (AQI) to survive and function, and setting a timetable for the occupation to end is the best way to beat them. You won't hear that perspective in Washington, but according to Iraqis with whom we spoke, it is the conventional wisdom in much of the country."

"Over and over, President Bush confidently promised to 'solve problems, not pass them on to future presidents and future generations.' As the clock runs out on his eight-year presidency, a tall stack of troubles remain and Bush's words ring hollow."

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) has "closed the door to negotiations with President Bush on a vetoed children's health bill." "We're not going to compromise," Reid said. "If he's hoping for that, he better hope for something else, like getting our troops home from Iraq."

"A record number of floods, droughts and storms around the world this year amount to a climate change 'mega disaster', the United Nation's emergency relief coordinator, Sir John Holmes, has warned." He said "dire predictions about the impact of global warming on humanity were already coming true. "

And finally: Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) recycles jokes like it's 1999. Yesterday, he said that "as president he would appoint Alan Greenspan to lead a review of the nation's tax code." "If he's alive or dead it doesn't matter. If he's dead, just prop him up and put some dark glasses on him like, like 'Weekend at Bernie's,'" McCain joked. Funny joke...except that he's been telling it since 1999.

Wrap...