Top Items:
Washington Post:
President Acknowledges Approving Secretive Eavesdropping — Bush Also Urges Congress to Extend Patriot Act — President Bush today acknowledged that he had secretly authorized the National Security Agency to eavesdrop on international communications of Americans and other domestic residents with known links to al Qaeda.
RELATED ITEMS:
Katherine Shrader / Associated Press:
Bush Approved Eavesdropping, Official Says — WASHINGTON - President Bush has personally authorized a secretive eavesdropping program in the United States more than three dozen times since October 2001, a senior intelligence official said Friday night. — The disclosure follows angry demands …
Scott Shane / New York Times:
Behind Power, One Principle as Bush Pushes Prerogatives — WASHINGTON, Dec. 16 - A single, fiercely debated legal principle lies behind nearly every major initiative in the Bush administration's war on terror, scholars say: the sweeping assertion of the powers of the presidency.
Paul Farhi / Washington Post:
At the Times, a Scoop Deferred — The New York Times' revelation yesterday that President Bush authorized the National Security Agency to conduct domestic eavesdropping raised eyebrows in political and media circles, for both its stunning disclosures and the circumstances of its publication.
Discussion:
War and Piece, The Sideshow, NewsBusters.org, The Huffington Post and Just a Bump in the Beltway
Jennifer Loven / Associated Press:
Bush Acknowledges Approving Eavesdropping — WASHINGTON - President Bush said Saturday he has no intention of stopping his personal authorizations of a post-Sept. 11 secret eavesdropping program in the U.S., lashing out at those involved in revealing it while defending it as crucial to preventing future attacks.
Washington Post:
On Hill, Anger and Calls for Hearings Greet News of Stateside Surveillance — Congressional leaders of both parties called for hearings and issued condemnations yesterday in the wake of reports that President Bush signed a secret order in 2002 allowing the National Security Agency to spy …
Rudolph W. Giuliani / New York Times:
Taking Liberties With the Nation's Security — YESTERDAY the Senate failed to reauthorize the USA Patriot Act, as a Democratic-led filibuster prevented a vote. This action - which leaves the act, key elements of which are due to expire on Dec. 31, in limbo - represents a grave potential threat to the nation's security.
RELATED ITEMS:
New York Times:
Lawmakers Back Use of Evidence Coerced From Detainees — WASHINGTON, Dec. 16 - House and Senate negotiators agreed Friday to a measure that would enable the government to keep prisoners at Guantánamo Bay indefinitely on the basis of evidence obtained by coercive interrogations.
RELATED ITEMS:
David Ignatius / Washington Post:Stepping Back From Torture — It's not about who our enemies are, it's about who we are.
Discussion:
The Corner on National …
Howard W. French / New York Times:
Chinese Pressing to Keep Village Silent on Clash — SHANGHAI, Dec. 16 - Ten days ago, the sleepy fishing village of Dongzhou was the scene of a deadly face-off, with protesters hurling homemade bombs and the police gunning them down in the streets. — Now, a stilted calm prevails …
Bill Roggio / ThreatsWatch.Org:
Election Reflections — A look back on Election Day in Iraq, and a tragic attack in Barwana — AL ASAD AIR BASE, IRAQ: My impressions from Election Day in Barwana are available at The Weekly Standard - Election Day on the Eurphrates - Democracy vs. Zarqawi.
Discussion:
Free Thoughts
Guardian:
Reflections in the Evening Land — The celebrated critic Harold Bloom, despairing of contemporary America, turns to his bookshelves to understand the trajectory of his country — Huey Long, known as "the Kingfish," dominated the state of Louisiana from 1928 until his assassination in 1935, at the age of 42.
Discussion:
Informed Comment, The Blogging of the President, The Mahablog and The Jawa Report v3.0 Beta
White House:
Personnel Announcement — President George W. Bush today announced his intention to nominate four individuals to serve in his Administration: — The President intends to nominate Robert D. Lenhard, of Maryland, to be a Member of the Federal Election Commission, for the remainder of a six-year term expiring April 30, 2011.
Calculated Risk:
Fiscal Challenges, Social Security and Changing the Debate — From Professor Samwick at Vox Baby: … My response was blunt: … Ranking the Challenges — Any good manager would 1) measure the problem and then 2) solve the largest problems first. With that approach …
RELATED ITEM:
Arnold Kling / EconLog:Unpersuasive Argument Against Reforming Social Security
Discussion:
Calculated Risk
New York Times:
Columnist Resigns His Post, Admitting Lobbyist Paid Him — WASHINGTON, Dec. 16 - A senior scholar at the Cato Institute, the respected libertarian research organization, has resigned after revelations that he took payments from the lobbyist Jack Abramoff in exchange for writing columns favorable to his clients.
Discussion:
Spot-On
Reuters:
Bush says wrestled with decision to invade Iraq — WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President George W. Bush said on Friday that he wrestled for months over the decision to go to war in Iraq but that he remains convinced it was the right decision. — In the latest in a series of comments …
