On the 10th anniversary of the invasion of Iraq, a CIA analyst describes the battle over bad intelligence.

“Instead of asking us questions behind closed doors, [Dick] Cheney was asserting to the public as fact something that we found to be anything but. I found myself yelling at the TV like I was contesting a ref’s blown call in a football game.” ---

Top of the Alty World

“I Tried to Make Intelligence Behind the Iraq War Less Bogus”—Wired

Despite the GOP’s efforts to reach out to minorities, party leaders and officials have no trouble attacking Barack Obama’s only Latino cabinet pick based on questionable grounds.—Salon

Could famed surgeon Ben Carson, a recent speaker at the Conservative Political Action Conference and Obama critic, become the first Black Republican President?—The Root

American fundamentalists may be losing numbers in America, but they’re taking their messages to the developing world and promoting Christian agendas like the “evils of homosexuality” that are having dangerous consequences.—AlterNet

Top of Alty Utah

A wrap-up of the 2013 Legislature, from air quality to education funding.—KUER

Utah Political Capitol recaps what happens to all the flagged bills they followed this past session.—Utah Political Capitol

Also, libertarian-leaning Libertas Institute has also issued its index of how well legislators in the recent session voted in line with liberty.--Libertas

A lawyer’s legal challenge to access a mentally ill client in solitary confinement hits an obstacle at a hearing.—Salt Lake City Weekly

Rantosphere

The Left Show’s J.M. bell looks at how Eagle Forum president Gayle Ruzicka contradicted established research and killed an adoption bill in the Legislative session. The bill would have changed the standard so that Utah adoptions are considered open by default unless the birth mother specifically requests that they be closed. Ruzicka testified the change would lead to abortions, while other groups likes the American Adoption Congress have stated that if any effect is to be had by making them open by default, it is to actually increase the likelihood of adoption versus abortion.

“This particular bill pops up that would have made it easier for children seeking their biological parents to find them. Up pops Gayle Ruzicka, who lied her ass off to kill this bill … Ruzicka pops up and says that her fear is that if a single birth mother felt she could be contacted by her child later in life, she would be more likely to get an abortion, and all the Republicans were like, ‘Oh! That is such utter dipshit it must be true!’”—The Left Show

The Long View

Salt Lake City Weekly looks at Salt Lake City’s unique rap community, where local artists are unknown figures on the street but have elite renown in national and international circles.

“Historically, rap has its roots in the inner city, reflecting the hard times you’d expect to find there. Since Utah has almost zero street cred, some local rappers practically apologize for being from Utah and keep their hometown under wraps for fear they won’t be taken seriously. Many would argue that, over the years, the local hip-hop scene has died and all but disappeared. But they’d be wrong. Rappers like Concise Kilgore, Burnell Washburn and Dope Thought are among many artists who are resurrecting the genre locally, making new connections and cross-pollinating with national hip-hop stars. These three are better known outside of Salt Lake City rather than in the local scene. As Burnell Washburn says in his song “Under the Radar”: “Respect shown for those who paved step stones, this is the place in my state they say heck no.”--Salt Lake City Weekly