Top Items:
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.
Discussion:
TAPPED, Power Line, Captain's Quarters, Brilliant at Breakfast, Bark Bark Woof Woof and firedoglake
RELATED 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 …
Washington Post:
Congressman Admits Taking Bribes, Resigns — Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham (R-Calif.) resigned from Congress yesterday after tearfully confessing to evading taxes and conspiring to pocket $2.4 million in bribes, including a Rolls-Royce, a yacht and a 19th-century Louis-Philippe commode.
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 …
Discussion:
Captain's Quarters, Cold Fury, Mind of Mog, Blogs for Bush, Clarity & Resolve and Gay Orbit™
RELATED ITEMS:
Linda Greenhouse / New York Times:
Case Reopens Abortion Issue for Justices — WASHINGTON, Nov. 28 - When the Supreme Court meets on Wednesday to hear its first abortion case in five years, the topic will be familiar: a requirement that doctors notify a pregnant teenager's parent before performing an abortion.
RELATED ITEMS:
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.
RELATED ITEM:
Solomon Moore / Los Angeles Times:Killings Linked to Shiite Squads in Iraqi Police Force
Discussion:
Billmon
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.
RELATED ITEMS:
Anne Gearan / Associated Press:
Ex-Powell Aide Criticizes Bush on Iraq — WASHINGTON - Former Secretary of State Colin Powell's chief of staff says President Bush was "too aloof, too distant from the details" of post-war planning, allowing underlings to exploit Bush's detachment and make bad decisions.
RELATED ITEMS:
Anne Gearan / Associated Press:Ex-Powell Aide Criticizes Detainee Effort
Discussion:
The Moderate Voice, THE ASTUTE BLOGGER, Just a Bump in the Beltway, Steve Clemons and TalkLeft
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.
RELATED ITEM:
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 …
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.
RELATED ITEM:
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
Bloomberg:
Abramoff Sought Bush Officials' Aid in Indian-Tribe Fee Dispute — Nov. 29 (Bloomberg) — Lobbyist Jack Abramoff sought the help of U.S. Interior Department officials to save the job of an Indian leader under fire for $37 million in fees his tribe paid Abramoff and a partner, according to interviews and e-mails.
Discussion:
The Stakeholder
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 …
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?)
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.
