The US Senate Judiciary Committee voted on November 6th to support Bush’s nominee for attorney general, Michael Mukasey. The vote virtually assures that Mukasey will be approved by the full Senate, which is expected to vote in favor of the nomination. A key vote in the Judiciary Committee was that of San Francisco's Dianne Feinstein. Before Feinstein came out for Mukasey, he appeared to be unable to get enough votes to get out of committee due to his refusal to declare water-boarding a form of torture.

On Thursday November 8th, Mukasey was confirmed by the full US Senate in a 53 to 40 vote. The Democrats who voted in support of Mukasey were Dianne Feinstein of California, Charles Schumer of New York, Evan Bayh of Indiana, Thomas Carper of Delaware, Mary Landrieu of Louisiana and Ben Nelson of Nebraska. All four Democratic senators who are running for president -- Joseph R. Biden Jr., Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, Christopher J. Dodd did not cast votes.

Senate Committee Approves Mukasey’s Attorney General Nomination | Democratic senator defends vote for nominee | New York Times praises Bush nominee | Attorney General Nominee’s Confirmation in Doubt Over Waterboarding Stance | US attorney general nominee refuses to condemn torture techniques

Waterboarding is a torture technique that involves drowning in a controlled environment. It consists of immobilizing an individual on his or her back, with the head inclined downward, and pouring water over the face to force the inhalation of water into the lungs. Many reports say that intelligence officers of the United States have used waterboarding to interrogate prisoners in recent years.

Wikipedia: Waterboarding | French Journalist Henri Alleg Denounces Waterboarding | Waterboarding is torture - I did it myself, says US advisor | Vanity Fair Exposes How Two Psychologists Shaped the CIA's Torture Methods | Bush administration prepares to issue new guidelines for CIA interrogation | Waterboarding the Constitution: After Torture, What's Next? | Interrogation broke UN pact, CIA report warned

Several protests against Mukasey have taken place in San Francisco. A demonstration of waterboarding by CodePink was held front of Feinstein's mansion and another protest featured hooded torture victims who tried to get inside the senator's office building.

Photos: 1 | 2 | Video: 1 | 2 | CODEPINK Brought Waterboarding to Feinstein's House this Afternoon; More Actions Needed? | No to torture! Protest Mukasey nomination Wednesday in SF!