Says Dianne Feinstein on why Mukasey won’t say whether waterboarding is torture:

This man has been a judge for 18 years. Maybe he likes to consider the facts before he makes a decision.

This is what waterboarding is:

It consists of immobilizing an individual on his or her back, with the head inclined downward, and pouring water over the face[1] to force the inhalation of water into the lungs. Waterboarding has been used to obtain information, coerce confessions, punish, and intimidate. In contrast to merely submerging the head, waterboarding elicits the gag reflex, and can make the subject believe death is imminent. […] Although waterboarding in cases can leave no lasting physical damage, it carries the real risks of extreme pain, damage to the lungs, brain damage caused by oxygen deprivation, injuries as a result of struggling against restraints (including broken bones), and even death.

There are the facts. Consider them carefully. Is that torture?

The correct answer is “Fuck yes, that sure is torture.”

I can just imagine Feinstein’s tone of voice as she said that — knowing, patronizing, condescending, smug in her knowledge that most people hearing her sound bite will say “Hmm, I guess that’s a good point” because most people are even stupider than she is.