Artist Steve Powers has opened the new “Waterboard Thrill Ride” at Coney Island in New York. “It looks at first like any other shuttered storefront near the boardwalk: some garish lettering and a cartoonish invitation to a delight or a scam — in this case there’s SpongeBob SquarePants saying, ‘It don’t Gitmo better!’” The New York Times describes the experience:

If you climb up a few cinderblock steps to the small window, you can look through the bars at a scene meant to invoke a Guantánamo Bay interrogation. A lifesize figure in a dark sweatshirt, the hood drawn low over his face, leans over another figure in an orange jumpsuit, his face covered by a towel and his body strapped down on a tilted surface.

Feed a dollar into a slot, the lights go on, and Black Hood pours water up Orange Jumpsuit’s nose and mouth while Orange Jumpsuit convulses against his restraints for 15 seconds. O.K., kids, who wants more cotton candy!

Powers’s “initial idea was for real people to undergo real waterboarding, right there in real time” but “his wife was among the first to point out that that might be a tad over the line.” However, he claims “the purpose of his art isn’t to tell people what to think, just to get them thinking in the first place.” (HT: FP Passport)

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Last night on MSNBC’s Countdown, host Keith Olbermann interviewed Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Ron Suskind about the claims in his new book that the White House ordered the CIA to forge a letter linking Saddam Hussein to 9/11.

Olbermann reported that one of Suskind’s sources, Ron Richer, has now backed off his allegations. Contradicting the statements he made on tape to Suskind, Richer told MSNBC last night, “I never received direction from George Tenet or anyone else in my chain of command to fabricate a document from Habbush as outlined in Mr. Suskind’s book.”

Asked to respond to the retraction, Suskind suggested that Richer’s business interests pressured him to disavow his previous comments:

You know, I‘m sympathetic in a way to all these guys. They‘re under acute pressure. They‘re individuals. They‘ve got to feed their families. They really survive off the government, both of them, they‘re contractors and whatnot.. [...]

You know, these guys, though, are feeling now great pressure. … [T]hey can be brought into a moment of crisis by the government saying, “You‘ll never work again, you‘ll never earn a living.”

Watch it:

Richer’s business interests seem to have trumped his interest in defending the truth. His livelihood is dependent on maintaining strong but “discreet” relationships with the Bush administration and foreign governments.

After leaving the CIA, Richer “immediately” took a job with Blackwater USA as Vice President of Intelligence. In February 2007, Richer and Vice Chairman of Blackwater, Cofer Black, started a new company, Total Intelligence Solutions (TIS). That company reportedly operates “under the purview of its secretive founder” and Blackwater owner, Erik Prince.

To achieve success in their new venture, Richer and Black have depended heavily on their ties with the Bush administration. The Nation reported last June:

“Cofer can open doors,” Richer told the Washington Post in 2007. “I can open doors. We can generally get in to see who we need to see. … [W]e can deal with the right minister or person.” Black told the paper he and Richer spend a lot of their time traveling. “I am discreet in where I go and who I see. I spend most of my time dealing with senior people in governments, making connections.” But it is clear that the existing connections from the former spooks’ time at the agency have brought business to Total Intelligence.

Suskind said Richer’s change of heart was quite sudden. “He was fine with it this morning. He was fine with it at midday. Now, reporters actually called him. He said to me, ‘I‘ll tell them no comment because it‘s in the book, but Ron Suskind is a fine journalist. That will be my comment.’ He said, ‘It‘s fine, Ron.’”

Given Richer’s business dealings, it seems appropriate to ask whether the Bush administration or one of its key allies (Cofer Black or Erik Prince) compelled Richer into retracting his allegations by threatening him with his job.

Moments ago, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) — who last year famously admitted to not understanding economics — called for an “economic surge” in a speech in Ohio today:

What we need today is an Economic Surge to keep jobs here at home and create new ones. We need to reduce the tax burden on businesses that choose to make their home in the United States of America. We need to open new markets to U.S. products. And we need to reduce the cost of healthcare. And we need to end the out of control spending in Washington that is putting our debt on the backs of our children.

Watch it:

McCain’s policy prescriptions for the major issues often boil down to simply tacking on the word “surge.” In the past, he has trumpeted the Iraq surge and recently embraced an Afghanistan surge. Last week, he suggested a surge to control inner-city crime.

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In 1994, Newt Gingrich led a conservative revolution by purporting to make a “Contract with America.” Over time, the public learned that the real “contract” conservatives were making was with K Street lobbyists who lined the pockets of the right-wing with hefty contributions, helped them maintain power, and were in turn rewarded with undue (and corrupting) influence over policy-making.

Gingrich is back, armed once again with a flashy slogan that purports to help America while actually serving the interests of lobbyists. As chairman of a 527 organization called American Solutions for Winning the Future (ASWF), Gingrich has invested his resources in a campaign to “Drill Here. Drill Now. Pay Less.” He claims to have 1.4 million Americans who have signed onto his petition.

Today, Gingrich appeared as a “guest star” in the political theater that House Republicans have been engaging in since Congress adjourned last week. Applauding the political stunts of the past few days, Gingrich said, “I’m very proud of the House Republicans.” Watch it:

Gingrich has effectively corralled the right into supporting his propaganda campaign. Sen. John McCain has now incorporated Gingrich’s line into his stump speech: “We need to drill here and we need to drill now.”

Just like the “Contract with America,” Gingrich’s new conservative takeover has its roots in a bargain with deep pockets – in this case, the deep pockets of the energy industry. Over at the Wonk Room, Brad Johnson reports that American Solutions is a front group for coal:

Peabody, World’s Largest Coal Company, #4 Backer Of American Solutions For Winning The Future. Newt Gingrich’s 527 organization, American Solutions for Winning the Future, has received $275,000 in contributions from Peabody Energy, Inc. As of July 1, 2008, the world’s largest private-sector coal company is ASWF’s fourth highest contributor. [IRS, $250,000 6/16/08, $25,000 4/30/08]

The key funder is right-wing casino kingpin Sheldon Adelson, who has pumped over $3 million into the organization since its beginning in 2006. A total of fourteen Bush pioneers have contributed over $4 million to Newt’s ASWF. Eight of those same right-wing money men are top McCain fundraisers, channeling $2 million into his coffers.

Newt’s takeover of the right is forcing conservatives to outsource their energy policy to Big Oil. McCain has flip-flopped on offshore oil drilling, and as a result, has been rewarded with almost $1 million in oil money. For more information on McCain’s sell-out, see here.

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Iraqi lawmakers adjourned for a month today “after failing to agree on a provincial election law.” The development is “a setback to U.S. hopes for reconciliation among rival communities” as it casts “doubt on whether U.S.-backed balloting can be held in the country’s 18 provinces this year.” The deadlock was largely caused by Kurdish opposition to “a power-sharing formula” for the oil-rich city of Kirkuk:

The decision to go into summer recess came after lawmakers failed to break a deadlock over Kurdish opposition to a power-sharing formula for the northern oil-rich city of Kirkuk despite days of intense negotiations and heavy pressure from U.S. and U.N. officials.

Officials involved in preparations for the elections — which the U.S. believes are necessary for national reconciliation — have said such a delay would likely push voting to next year.