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John Amato / Crooks and Liars:
Harry Reid's Press Conference — Harry Reid responded to questions about the nature of his decision to shut down the Senate. He was obviously upset. — Video-WMP low res — Video-QT Bittorrent-QT — He explained that if he notified Bill Frist, then Frist could have shut down his attempt to have the many questions answered.
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William Branigin / Washington Post:
GOP Angered by Closed Senate Session — The U.S. Senate went into a rare closed session today after Democrats invoked a seldom used rule to back their demands for greater oversight by the Republican-controlled body, particularly on the Bush administration's use of intelligence in taking the country to war in Iraq.
Discussion:
Betsy's Page, Los Angeles Times, Pandagon, Taegan Goddard's …, JasonColeman.com, Don Surber, Bark Bark Woof Woof, Fox News, Confederate Yankee, baldilocks, The Corner on National …, The Carpetbagger Report, The Political Teen, Hotline On Call, The Road To Surfdom, AMERICAblog and Law Dork
Dana Milbank / Washington Post:
Mad About You — In the genteel club that is the United States Senate, Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) had a screaming temper tantrum yesterday. — Minutes after his Democratic counterpart, Harry Reid (Nev.), used a surprise parliamentary maneuver to throw the Senate into a rare closed session …
Discussion:
skippy the bush kangaroo
Daily Kos:
Reid Wins, Frist Loses, and the American People Get Closer To Their Promised Answers — So how big a news day is it, when Trent Lott slicing up the wounded Karl Rove like a Thanksgiving turkey barely gets sixty-some-odd comments, at last count? Pretty big, all the way around.
Discussion:
Needlenose
Tom Curry / MSNBC:
Harry Reid sparks a dramatic Senate standoff
Harry Reid sparks a dramatic Senate standoff
Discussion:
Financial Times, Prairie Weather, The Left Coaster, Donklephant, Sadly, No! and Nitpicker
Dana Priest / Washington Post:
CIA Holds Terror Suspects in Secret Prisons — Debate Is Growing Within Agency About Legality and Morality of Overseas System Set Up After 9/11 — The CIA has been hiding and interrogating some of its most important al Qaeda captives at a Soviet-era compound in Eastern Europe …
Discussion:
The Heretik, Balloon Juice, www.AndrewSullivan.com, PrawfsBlawg, BillHobbs.com, Balkinization, Donklephant and AMERICAblog
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New York Times:
Detainee Policy Sharply Divides Bush Officials — WASHINGTON, Nov. 1 - The Bush administration is embroiled in a sharp internal debate over whether a new set of Defense Department standards for handling terror suspects should adopt language from the Geneva Conventions prohibiting "cruel," …
Charles Hurt / Washington Times:
Alito nomination to test 'Gang of 14' — Senate Republicans said yesterday they will use the "nuclear option" to ban judicial filibusters if Democrats try using the tactic to block the confirmation of Judge Samuel A. Alito Jr. to the Supreme Court. — "Certainly, this does not rise …
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Los Angeles Times:
Filibuster Option Is in the Democrats' Arsenal — Senators say the 'Gang of 14,' a bipartisan group that helped avoid a showdown on judicial nominees in May, could decide Alito's fate. — WASHINGTON — Democrats began gearing up Monday for a high-stakes fight over federal appellate Judge Samuel …
Lindsay Beyerstein / Majikthise:
Strip Search Sammy—the law behind the label — Why is Judge Alito known in some circles as "Strip Search Sammy"? It all goes back to 2003 and Alito's dissenting opinion in a case called Doe v. Groody. (.pdf) — Here's a very brief, non-technical synopsis.
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David S. Broder / Washington Post:
President Pushover — Under other circumstances, President Bush's choice of Judge Samuel Alito for the Supreme Court would have been seen as a bold move by a strong president with a clear policy objective. By choosing a man of superior intellectual heft and an indelible record of conservative views …
Alicia A. Caldwell / Associated Press:
Pentagon: Top al-Qaida Operative Escaped — FORT BLISS, Texas - A man once considered a top al-Qaida operative escaped from a U.S.-run detention facility in Afghanistan and cannot testify against the soldier who allegedly mistreated him, a defense lawyer involved in a prison abuse case said Tuesday.
Michael Finnegan / Los Angeles Times:
Voters Dislike 3 of Governor's Ballot Measures — His initiatives on state spending, redistricting and unions are all in trouble, reflective of his declining popularity. A tenure issue is a tossup. — Californians likely to vote in the special election Tuesday oppose three …
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Shakespeare's Sister:
What the hell is wrong with conservatives? — With all the bloviating we hear about moral values from conservatives on a regular basis, you'd think that maybe they'd make some vague attempt to actually live up to their rhetoric, but time after time, it's conservatives who prove to be the most corrupt …
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Amanda Marcotte / Pandagon:
INSIDE THE DANK CORNERS OF SCOOTER LIBBY'S MIND
INSIDE THE DANK CORNERS OF SCOOTER LIBBY'S MIND
Discussion:
King of Zembla
Bloomberg:
Roberts, Supreme Court May Allow Religious Use of Hallucinogen — Nov. 1 (Bloomberg) — U.S. Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. led a chorus of Supreme Court skepticism aimed at a Bush administration effort to bar a 130-member New Mexico church from using a hallucinogenic tea in religious ceremonies.
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John Amato / Crooks and Liars:
Trent Lott: Get Rid-O-Rove — Trent Lott: Get Rid-O-Rove — Trent was on Hardball today and said: — TRENT LOTT: Well, the question is, that you asked, is he good for American politics? Look, he has been very successful, very effective in the political arena.
Associated Press:
13 Arrested In Paris Suburb Riots — (AP) Youths torched cars, set garbage bins alight and threw stones at police in a fifth night of rioting in a Paris suburb, and set two primary school classrooms on fire as rioting spread to two other suburban towns, police and an official said Tuesday.