Top Items:
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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Michelle Malkin:
RED ALERT: CHICKEN LITTLES ON THE LOOSE — ***scroll for updates...The ACLU wants a special prosecutor (but not for the leakers)...Some on the Left aren't happy with the Times, either...Arlen Specter says the Judiciary Committee will investigate (the Bush administration, not the leakers)...***
Drudge Report:
NYT 'SPYING' SPLASH TIED TO BOOK RELEASE — Newspaper fails to inform readers "news break" is tied to book publication — On the front page of today's NEW YORK TIMES, national security reporter James Risen claims that "months after the September 11 attacks, President Bush secretly authorized …
Hindrocket / Power Line:
LET'S SEND THESE GUYS TO JAIL — The Valerie Plame case has established that any leak of classified information from an intelligence agency is a serious matter, regardless of how trivial the information may be, and must result in criminal investigation and prosecution. Fine.
Jesse J. Holland / Associated Press:
Senate Rejects Extension of Patriot Act — WASHINGTON - The Senate on Friday refused to reauthorize major portions of the USA Patriot Act after critics complained they infringed too much on Americans' privacy and liberty, dealing a huge defeat to the Bush administration and Republican leaders.
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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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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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Murray Waas / nationaljournal.com:
Why Novak Called Rove — On July 9, 2003, senior presidential adviser Karl Rove was well prepared as he returned a telephone call from columnist Robert Novak. On his desk were talking points and other briefing materials that then-White House Political Director Matt Schlapp and other staffers …
Discussion:
firedoglake, TalkLeft, Hullabaloo, Steve Clemons, Booman Tribune ~ Boo! and War and Piece
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Brian / mediabistro.com:
FLASH: Bob Novak Becoming Fox News Channel "Contributor" — This story suddenly becomes more interesting: As soon as Bob Novak's contract with CNN runs out on Dec. 31, he will become a contributor to the Fox News Channel, the AP scoops. FNC spokesman Brian Lewis confirmed his signing with the network to David Bauder.
Discussion:
The Huffington Post
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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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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 …
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.
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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 …
Discussion:
MyDD, The Sideshow, Middle Earth Journal, The Washington Monthly and Shakespeare's Sister
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missoulian.com:
Time to pass the baton, Sen. Burns - Friday, Dec. 16, 2005 — SUMMARY: Seeking re-election amid scandal is a recipe for a shrill, shallow, one-sided campaign. — Montana Democrats have got the perfect candidate to help them take the U.S. Senate seat up for election next year away from the Republicans.
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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 …
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.
