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New York Times:
Bush Secretly Lifted Some Limits on Spying in U.S. After 9/11, Officials Say — WASHINGTON, Dec. 15 - Months after the Sept. 11 attacks, President Bush secretly authorized the National Security Agency to eavesdrop on Americans and others inside the United States to search for evidence …
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Dan Eggen / Washington Post:
Bush Authorized Domestic Spying — President Bush signed a secret order in 2002 authorizing the National Security Agency to eavesdrop on U.S. citizens and foreign nationals in the United States, despite previous legal prohibitions against such domestic spying, sources with knowledge of the program said last night.
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IntoxiNation-News …, Patridiot Watch, ACSBlog, The Washington Monthly, Eschaton, ScrappleFace and AMERICAblog
Josh White / Washington Post:
President Relents, Backs Torture Ban — President Bush reversed position yesterday and endorsed a torture ban crafted by Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) after months of White House attempts to weaken the measure, which would prohibit the "cruel, inhuman, or degrading" treatment of any detainee in U.S. custody anywhere in the world.
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Peter Baker / Washington Post:In an Awkward Dance, the President Is Forced to Follow
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MyDD
Brian Knowlton / New York Times:Bush and McCain Reach Deal on Treatment of Terror Suspects
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Democratic Veteran
Dan Balz / Washington Post:
Pelosi Hails Democrats' Diverse War Stances — House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said yesterday that Democrats should not seek a unified position on an exit strategy in Iraq, calling the war a matter of individual conscience and saying differing positions within the caucus are a source of strength for the party.
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Gateway Pundit, AMERICAN FUTURE, Shot In The Dark, Balloon Juice, Southern Appeal, PunditGuy, NewsBusters.org and Blogs for Bush
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John F. Burns / New York Times:
Freedom From Fear Lifts Sunnis — BAGHDAD, Iraq, Dec. 15 - Ali is only 9 years old. But when he and his buddies broke away from a street soccer game to drop into a polling station in Baghdad's Adhamiya district at noon on Thursday, Ali, a chirpy, tousle-haired youngster …
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TigerHawk, Bull Moose, Publius Pundit, The RCP Blog, Blogs for Bush, Austin Bay Blog and THE ASTUTE BLOGGER
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Eamon Javers / Business Week:
Op-Eds for Sale — A columnist from a libertarian think tank admits accepting payments to promote an indicted lobbyist's clients. Will more examples follow? — A senior fellow at the Cato Institute resigned from the libertarian think tank on Dec. 15 after admitting that he had accepted payments …
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The Huffington Post, Steve Clemons, The Corner on National …, Betsy's Page and Centerfield
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Dafna Linzer / Washington Post:
Report: Bush Had More Prewar Intelligence Than Congress — A congressional report made public yesterday concluded that President Bush and his inner circle had access to more intelligence and reviewed more sensitive material than what was shared with Congress when it gave Bush the authority to wage war against Iraq.
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The Democratic Party
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Katherine Shrader / Associated Press:Senator stalls intelligence spending bill
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The Democratic Daily Blog
Jonathan S. Landay / Knight Ridder:Congress doesn't see same intelligence as president, report finds
Matt Pottinger / Opinion Journal:
Mightier Than the Pen — Why I gave up journalism to join the Marines. — When people ask why I recently left The Wall Street Journal to join the Marines, I usually have a short answer. It felt like the time had come to stop reporting events and get more directly involved.
Charles Krauthammer / Washington Post:
In Iran, Arming for Armageddon — Lest you get carried away with today's good news from Iraq, consider what's happening next door in Iran. The wild pronouncements of the new Iranian president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, have gotten sporadic press ever since he called for Israel to be wiped off the map.
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Dr. Sanity, TAPPED, The Jawa Report v3.0 Beta, Betsy's Page, TKS on National Review Online, Mark in Mexico and Solomonia
John Harwood / Wall Street Journal:
Republicans Risk Losing Key Voting Bloc — Senior Citizens' Unhappiness With Issues — Has Implications for Midterm Elections — WASHINGTON - While President Bush has high hopes for today's elections in Iraq, his Republican Party faces a different challenge at home …
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Media Matters for America:
Media Matters for America Delivers Nearly 5,000 Letters Urging CNN Not to Renew Robert Novak's Contract — December 7, 2005 (Washington, DC) - Media Matters for America delivered nearly 5,000 letters to CNN's Washington Bureau today urging the network not to renew its contract with syndicated columnist …
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National Review:
Lancing the Boil — For some time, a large number of Americans have lived in an alternate universe where everything is supposedly going to hell. If you get up in the morning to read the New York Times or Washington Post, watch John Murtha or Howard Dean on the morning talk shows …
White House:
Press Briefing by Scott McClellan and Senior Officials on Levee Reconstruction — MR. McCLELLAN: Good afternoon, everyone. Happy holidays. I look forward to seeing everybody this evening at the White House holiday party for the press. We just concluded a meeting in the Oval Office with the President.
New York Times:
N.Y. Transit Union Rejects Offer and Will Begin Limited Strike — After five hours of intense negotiations with the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, the transit workers' union decided this morning to delay for four days a decision on whether to strike the New York City subway and bus system …
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