Top Items:
Jeffrey H. Birnbaum / Washington Post:
A Growing Wariness About Money in Politics — For several years now, corporations and other wealthy interests have made ever-larger campaign contributions, gifts and sponsored trips part of the culture of Capitol Hill. But now, with fresh guilty pleas by a lawmaker and a public relations executive …
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John M. Broder / New York Times:
Lawmaker Quits After He Pleads Guilty to Bribes — LOS ANGELES, Nov. 28 - Representative Randy Cunningham, a Republican from San Diego, resigned from Congress on Monday, hours after pleading guilty to taking at least $2.4 million in bribes to help friends and campaign contributors win military contracts.
Rob Gillies / Associated Press:
Canadian Government Falls on No-Confidence — TORONTO - A corruption scandal forced a vote of no-confidence Monday that toppled Prime Minister Paul Martin's minority government, triggering an unusual election campaign during the Christmas holidays. — Canada's three opposition parties …
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White House:
President Discusses Border Security and Immigration Reform in Arizona — Fact Sheet: Securing America Through Immigration Reform — THE PRESIDENT: Thank you all. Please be seated. Thank you for the warm welcome. It is such a pleasure to be back in Arizona, and it's great to be here in Tucson.
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Dexter Filkins / New York Times:
Sunnis Accuse Iraqi Military of Kidnappings and Slayings — BAGHDAD, Iraq, Nov. 28 - As the American military pushes the largely Shiite Iraqi security services into a larger role in combating the insurgency, evidence has begun to mount suggesting that the Iraqi forces are carrying out executions in predominantly Sunni neighborhoods.
Daniel Trotta / Reuters:
Gov. Warner rejects Iraq withdrawal date — NEW YORK (Reuters) - The United States needs to set milestones for progress, not a firm withdrawal date, before it can leave Iraq, Virginia governor and prospective Democratic presidential candidate Mark Warner said on Monday.
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Jim VandeHei / Washington Post:
Time Reporter Called a Key to Rove's Defense In Leak Probe — The reporter for Time magazine who recently agreed to testify in the CIA leak case is central to White House senior adviser Karl Rove's effort to fend off an indictment in the two-year-old investigation, according to two people familiar with the situation.
Discussion:
firedoglake, The Anonymous Liberal, Unclaimed Territory, Needlenose, The Washington Monthly, TalkLeft, Donklephant and Hullabaloo
Curt Anderson / Associated Press:
Miami Police Take New Tack Against Terror — MIAMI - Miami police announced Monday they will stage random shows of force at hotels, banks and other public places to keep terrorists guessing and remind people to be vigilant. — Deputy Police Chief Frank Fernandez said officers might …
Anne Gearan / Associated Press:
Ex-Powell Aide Criticizes Detainee Effort — WASHINGTON — A top aide to former Secretary of State Colin Powell said Monday that wrongheaded ideas for the handling of foreign detainees arose from White House and Pentagon officials who argued that "the president of the United States is all-powerful" …
Discussion:
The Moderate Voice, THE ASTUTE BLOGGER, Just a Bump in the Beltway, Steve Clemons and TalkLeft
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Jeanne / Body and Soul:
The internet will make you stupid — Chime in if you're old enough to remember a time when people weren't lamenting the decline of literacy. I'm ancient, and I don't go back that far. (And when I taught writing, I contributed my fair share to the lamenting.
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Jason Mazzone / Concurring Opinions:
Why does the Supreme Court accomplish so little? — Last term, the Supreme Court issued opinions in just 74 cases. That's pretty pathetic. It means there are many areas of the law that are unsettled or unreviewed; many important issues in which the Supreme Court could helpfully weigh in but it doesn't …
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Arianna Huffington / The Huffington Post:
Bob Woodward, the Dumb Blonde of American Journalism — "I've spent my life," Bob Woodward told Larry King last week, "trying to find out what's really hidden, what's in the bottom of the barrel." (Maybe I'm not up on my barrel bottoms, Bob, but isn't it usually scum?)
Discussion:
mediabistro
Bill Bennett / The Corner on National Review Online:
PURPLE REVOLUTION — I don't know if the idea is original with our audience or not—it's a big country and hard to keep track of all the good ideas out there—but we had a caller today with a great idea, an inoculation against the tide of the Main Stream Media's (or what I call the Alien Media Nation) …
Washington Post:
'86 Alito Memo Argues Against Foreigners' Rights — Work for Justice Dept. Points to Views That May Affect Anti-Terrorism Rulings on High Court — As a senior lawyer in the Reagan Justice Department, Samuel A. Alito Jr. argued that immigrants who enter the United States illegally …
Discussion:
Captain's Quarters
Renae Merle / Washington Post:
Air Force Erred With No-Bid Iraq Contract, GAO Says — The Air Force, under pressure from the Pentagon, committed a "gross error" last year when it rushed to sign a no-bid contract for advisers to help plan and implement Iraq's national elections and draft its constitution, the Government Accountability Office has ruled.
John Fund / Opinion Journal:
Power to the People — Washington policy makers stand in the way of sensible energy policies. — After Hurricane Katrina temporarily knocked out 30% of America's oil refinery capacity and caused gasoline prices to spike, it became dramatically obvious that the nation needed to build …
Discussion:
Manufacturers Blog
Lorie Byrd / Townhall.com:
Set the Record Straight on Iraq — This month, the president finally began to fight back against the Democrats' claims that he lied about pre-war intelligence and misled the country into war in Iraq. — The issues that the president has addressed—the accusation that he lied …
Nora Ephron / The Huffington Post:
What About Bob? — I can't believe that it falls to me to explain Bob Woodward. I can't believe it for a number of reasons, not the least of which is that I don't speak to Bob Woodward and Bob Woodward doesn't speak to me. The reason for this is that when I was married to Carl Bernstein …
