Top Items:
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.
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White House:
Radio Address by the President to the Nation — THE PRESIDENT: Good morning. — As President, I took an oath to defend the Constitution, and I have no greater responsibility than to protect our people, our freedom, and our way of life. On September the 11th, 2001, our freedom …
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.
Discussion:
War and Piece, Concurring Opinions, Stop The ACLU, Simianbrain and The Carpetbagger Report
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.
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.
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 …
David Stout / New York Times:Supporters of Patriot Act Suffer a Stinging Defeat in Senate
Discussion:
Liberty Street
Jeff Goldstein / protein wisdom:"Rice Denies U.S. Broke Law Amid Report Bush Authorized Spying" (UPDATED)
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.
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tv.yahoo.com:
'West Wing' Actor John Spencer Dies at 58 — John Spencer, who played a dedicated politico on "The West Wing" who survived a serious illness to run for vice president, died of a heart attack Friday, his publicist said. Spencer, 58, died at a Los Angeles hospital, said publicist Ron Hofmann.
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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.
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 …
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 …
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Arnold Kling / EconLog:Unpersuasive Argument Against Reforming Social Security
Discussion:
Calculated Risk
Tim Harford / Slate:
The Great Xbox Shortage of 2005 — Why you can't buy the one present you really need. — Gaming enthusiasts camp outside electronics stores, desperate to buy the hot new game console. Corporate flacks are deployed to fend off PR calamity: "Consumer demand for the new console has exceeded …
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.
