Top Items:
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 …
Discussion:
protein wisdom, Power Line, Blogs for Bush, YARGB, Patridiot Watch, The Political Pit Bull and Talking Points Memo
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Associated Press:
Bush says he authorized eavesdropping in U.S. — President lashes out at lawmakers who revealed secret program — WASHINGTON - President Bush said Saturday he personally has authorized a secret eavesdropping program in the U.S. more than 30 times since the Sept. 11 attacks and he lashed …
David E. Sanger / New York Times:
In Speech, Bush Says He Ordered Domestic Spying — President Bush delivered his radio address in the Roosevelt Room. In the live address, he criticized senators who voted not to renew the antiterrorism law known as the USA Patriot Act. — WASHINGTON, Dec. 17 - President Bush acknowledged …
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.
Scott Shane / New York Times:Behind Power, One Principle as Bush Pushes Prerogatives
Discussion:
Unclaimed Territory, The Heretik, The Poor Man, Concurring Opinions, Defense Tech and Middle Earth Journal
Jeff Goldstein / protein wisdom:"Rice Denies U.S. Broke Law Amid Report Bush Authorized Spying" (UPDATED)
David Stout / New York Times:Supporters of Patriot Act Suffer a Stinging Defeat in Senate
Discussion:
Liberty Street
iranvajahan.net:
Iran President's Bodyguard Dies in Ambush — Tehran, Iran — One of the bodyguards of Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was killed and another wounded when an attempt to ambush the presidential motorcade was thwarted in the southeastern province of Sistan and Baluchestan, according to a semi-official newspaper and local residents.
Discussion:
The Jawa Report v3.0 Beta
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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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Washington Post:
Bush Picks Controversial Nominees for FEC — President Bush nominated two controversial lawyers to the Federal Election Commission yesterday: Hans von Spakovsky who helped Georgia win approval of a disputed voter-identification law, and Robert D. Lenhard, who was part of a legal team …
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Jonathan Weisman / Washington Post:
House Votes to Toughen Laws on Immigration — One Setback for Bush: No Guest-Worker Plan — The House last night passed tough immigration legislation to build vast border fences, force employers to verify the legality of their workers and tighten security on the nation's frontier …
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Bill Roggio / Weekly Standard:
Election Day on the Euphrates — In the Sunni-dominated province of Anbar, the cities of Barwana, Haqlaniya, and Haditha are collectively known as the Triad. Over the summer, before the joint U.S. military and Iraqi forces established a security presence in the Triad, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi …
Discussion:
Free Thoughts
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New York Times:
Iraq Votes for a Third Time — Iraq's Election Day was a glorious success. Now on to the hard part. — Compared with any previous Iraqi election, with any reasonable expectation and with any other recent election in the Arab Middle East, Thursday's vote for a new Iraqi Parliament was an overwhelming and heartening triumph.
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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.
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
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.
