Just a quick note to thank Steve Clemons of the New America Foundation for engaging Jane Mayer in a chilling but measured dialog this morning about her new book, The Dark Side, subtitled "The Inside Story of How the War on Terror Turned Into A War on American Ideals." Video of the full hour-long conversation is HERE.

Mayer's reporting for The New Yorker in recent years foreshadows many of the themes explored in more depth in the book and interview: the power of the Vice President's office, for example, and the eerie logistics of the "extraordinary rendition" program through which suspected terrorists were tortured in secret locations.

More soon about some of the superb advocacy work going on among seemingly improbable constituencies to help turn the page on this tragic, outrageous, demeaning period.