Top Items:
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)...***
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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.
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.
Discussion:
QandO, The Volokh Conspiracy, News Blog, AMERICAN FUTURE, Hugh Hewitt, INTEL DUMP and Balkinization
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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Jeff Bliss / Bloomberg:
U.S. Senate Rejects Bush Plea to Advance Patriot Act (Update1) — Dec. 16 (Bloomberg) — The U.S. Senate, rejecting pleas from its Republican leaders and President George W. Bush, refused to end debate on legislation to renew the anti-terror USA Patriot Act.
Charles Babington / Washington Post:Senate Deals Setback to Bush on Patriot Act
Discussion:
The Democratic Daily Blog
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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ReddHedd / firedoglake:
Guess Who's in DC This Morning? — MSNBC reports that Patrick Fitzgerald is back before the Grand Jury this morning. Am trying to track this down from other sources as well, and will update as I get news. — UPDATE: As of 11:20 am ET, MSNBC has not repeated their report. (Neither has CNN that I have seen.)
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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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 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 …
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.
