Cheat Sheet

Katherine, at Obsidian Wings, writes:

The current debates over the Feingold resolution and the NSA surveillance program & the ongoing debate over the torture scandals involve a lot of convoluted legal arguments about executive power. It can get really difficult and frustrating for non-lawyers to sort them all out. (Actually it can be that way for lawyers too, but lawyers get three years of instruction in legalese & then get paid to read and write it for a living, It's a lot worse for everyone else.)

To make this a little easier, I've prepared a handy-dandy little guide for decoding the administration's arguments and reassurances on these topics.

Go read: Understanding the Bush Administration's Statements About Executive Power And Treatment of Prisoners in Nine Easy Steps.

Update: And I put together a handy on-line automated version of it, here.