Top Items:
Carl Hulse / New York Times:
Senate Agrees on Extension of Patriot Act — WASHINGTON, Dec. 21 - In a chaotic conclusion to the Congressional year, the Senate blocked an effort on Wednesday to open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil drilling and struck a last-minute accord to extend the law known as the USA Patriot Act for six months.
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William Branigin / Washington Post:
Senate Blocks Arctic Drilling Provision — The Senate today failed to pass a major defense appropriations bill after a Democratic-led bloc stymied it with a filibuster in an effort to force removal of a controversial provision on oil drilling in an Alaskan wildlife refuge.
Discussion:
QandO, The Stakeholder, Confined Space, Unqualified Offerings, The Democratic Daily Blog, Factesque and Blogs for Bush
H. Josef Hebert / Associated Press:
Senate Blocks Alaska Refuge Drilling — WASHINGTON - The Senate blocked an attempt to open an Alaska wildlife refuge to oil drilling Wednesday, foiling an attempt by drilling backers to force the measure through Congress as part of a must-have defense spending bill.
Washington Post:
With Cheney's Vote, Senate Passes Budget Bill — Legislation Would Trim $40 Billion Over 5 Years — The Senate narrowly passed a $40 billion budget-cutting bill today, with Vice President Cheney casting the deciding vote after the chamber split 50-50 on the measure.
Discussion:
cbpp.org, Centerfield, TAPPED, Happy Furry Puppy Story …, Hugh Hewitt, The Carpetbagger Report, Loaded Mouth and Sadly, No!
John Schmidt / Chicago Tribune:
President had legal authority to OK taps — President Bush's post- Sept. 11, 2001, authorization to the National Security Agency to carry out electronic surveillance into private phone calls and e-mails is consistent with court decisions and with the positions of the Justice Department under prior presidents.
Discussion:
PoliPundit.com, The Moderate Voice, Froggy Ruminations, Macsmind, The Strata-Sphere, Instapundit.com, Power Line, Kudlow's Money Politic$, Washington Post, In the Bullpen, BillHobbs.com, Daily Kos, The Anchoress, Gateway Pundit, protein wisdom, Dr. Sanity, The RCP Blog, Decision '08, JunkYardBlog and The Urban Grind
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National Review:
Bill Clinton and Warrantless Searches — Along with the other controversies set off by President Bush's decision to order warrantless wiretaps of the international telephone calls of people with known al Qaeda connections, there is a debate going on among veterans of the Clinton administration …
Discussion:
Think Progress, The Mahablog, TalkLeft, Say Anything, The Urban Grind, AMERICAN FUTURE, USS Neverdock and Lawyers, Guns and Money
Jeff Goldstein / protein wisdom:FISAing Words — Clinton associate attorney general John Schmidt …
Discussion:
Balloon Juice, The Next Hurrah, Sadly, No!, Confederate Yankee and The Carpetbagger Report
Neil A. Lewis / New York Times:
Court Refuses U.S. Bid to Shift Terror Suspect — WASHINGTON, Dec. 21 - A federal appeals court delivered a sharp rebuke to the Bush administration Wednesday, refusing to allow the transfer of Jose Padilla from military custody to civilian law enforcement authorities to face terrorism charges.
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Steve Vladeck / PrawfsBlawg:Fourth Circuit Rules Against Government in Padilla
Discussion:
The Volokh Conspiracy
Daniel Benjamin / Slate:
Bush's Bogus Analogy — In 1998, the Washington Times tipped off Osama. In 2005, the New York Times didn't. — In his press conference on Monday, President Bush tried to shut down discussion of his executive order to intercept the communications of Americans and foreigners resident …
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Howard Kurtz / Washington Post:Barking Up Every Tree
Discussion:
ProfessorBainbridge.com, Brilliant at Breakfast, Bark Bark Woof Woof, Macsmind and Pensito Review
Alison Fitzgerald / Bloomberg:
Snow, Praising Bush on Budget, Calls Clinton's Surplus `Mirage' — Dec. 21 (Bloomberg) — President Bill Clinton left office in 2001 with a federal budget surplus of $127 billion. President George Bush ran a deficit of $319 billion in 2005. So who deserves more credit for fighting red ink?
Discussion:
Angry Bear
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Reuters:
Saddam steals show claiming US torture — By Mussab al-Khairalla and Gideon Long — BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Saddam Hussein told his trial on Wednesday he was beaten in U.S. custody and, in an extraordinary outburst toward the end of the hearing, also said those who had tortured Iraqis should be punished for their crimes.
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Jim Dwyer / New York Times:
New York Police Covertly Join In at Protest Rallies — Undercover New York City police officers have conducted covert surveillance in the last 16 months of people protesting the Iraq war, bicycle riders taking part in mass rallies and even mourners at a street vigil for a cyclist killed in an accident, a series of videotapes show.
William J. Kole / Associated Press:
Mayor begs Schwarzenegger not to cut ties — VIENNA, Austria - The mayor of Arnold Schwarzenegger's Austrian hometown on Tuesday begged the California governor to reconsider his decision to cut ties to the city after locals assailed him for his death penalty stance.
Scott Peterson / ABCNEWS:
Waiting for the rapture in Iran — President Ahmadinejad's faith in the imminent return of the messianic Mahdi leaves him disinclined to compromise. — JAMKARAN, IRAN For those who believe, the devotion is real. Tears stream down the cheeks of 2,000 men ripe for the return of the Mahdi …
Discussion:
protein wisdom
Mark Landler / New York Times:
A Land of Northern Lights, Cybercafes and the Flat Tax — TALLINN, Estonia - Estonia, one realizes after a few days in the abiding twilight of a Baltic winter, is not like other European countries. — The first tip-off is the government's cabinet room, outfitted less like a ceremonial chamber than a control center.
Discussion:
RedState.org
Howard Fineman / MSNBC:
Spying, the Constitution - and the 'I-word' — 2006 will offer up Nixon-era nastiness and a chorus of calls to impeach Bush — WASHINGTON - — Howard Fineman — In the first weeks and months after 9/11, I am told by a very good source, there was a lot of wishing out loud …
Discussion:
Prometheus 6
Steve Connor / Independent:
Britain will be first country to monitor every car journey — From 2006 Britain will be the first country where every journey by every car will be monitored — Britain is to become the first country in the world where the movements of all vehicles on the roads are recorded.
