Top Items:
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.
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Richard A. Posner / Washington Post:
Our Domestic Intelligence Crisis — We've learned that the Defense Department is deeply involved in domestic intelligence (intelligence concerning threats to national security that unfold on U.S. soil). The department's National Security Agency has been conducting, outside the framework …
Marty Lederman / Balkinization:Judge Posner and "Ad Hoc Initiatives" (i.e., Presidentially Sanctioned Felonies)
Daniel J. Solove / Concurring Opinions:Judge Posner's Troubling Call for Massive Surveillance
Discussion:
The Washington Monthly
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.
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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.
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, Hugh Hewitt, The Carpetbagger Report, Loaded Mouth and Sadly, No!
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Howard Kurtz / Washington Post:
Barking Up Every Tree — I'm sleeping better at night. — Our federal authorities have things under control. — FBI counterterrorism agents are on the case, looking into any nefarious plots by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. — Documents obtained by the ACLU shows …
Discussion:
ProfessorBainbridge.com, Brilliant at Breakfast, Bark Bark Woof Woof, Macsmind and Pensito Review
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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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Carpetbagger / The Carpetbagger Report:
Shoveling some Snow — I can appreciate the awkwardness the administration must feel when it comes to their enormous, record-breaking budget deficits. The president ran in 2000 on a platform that not only called for a balanced-budget amendment to the constitution, but insisted that deficits were "dangerous" for the economy.
Discussion:
Brad DeLong's Semi …
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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Richard Morin / Washington Post:
Majority of Americans Support Alito Nomination — A majority of Americans now support the confirmation of U.S. Appeals Court Judge Samuel A. Alito to the Supreme Court to fill the seat of retiring Associate Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll.
Discussion:
MyDD, RedState.org, Blogs for Bush, Confirm Them, Viking Pundit, Air America Radio and Decision '08
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ydr.com:
Investigate perjury in Dover ID case — Judge Jones issued a broad, sensible ruling - finding that some board members lied. — Dec 21, 2005 — They lied. — William Buckingham and Alan Bonsell wanted to bring God into high school biology class, and in the process, they lied.
Discussion:
ECHIDNE OF THE SNAKES
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Lyle Denniston / SCOTUSblog:
Fourth Circuit keeps Padilla case alive, rebukes government — In a deeply serious setback for the Bush Administration's legal strategy for the war on terrorism, the Fourth Circuit Court on Wednesday afternoon kept intact its ruling in the now-celebrated Jose Padilla case …
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Steve Vladeck / PrawfsBlawg:Fourth Circuit Rules Against Government in Padilla
Discussion:
The Volokh Conspiracy
Jim Henley / Unqualified Offerings:
Pete Townsend, Thou Shouldst Be Living at This Hour — Diana Moon tips me to the early returns from Iraq, and the early reaction in some of its parts. Returns: … That is, the theocratic Shi'ite ruling coalition got almost two thirds of the vote in Baghdad itself …
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Emanuele Ottolenghi / National Review:
The Light of the World — Let's embarrass Iran's evil regime. During this festive season, let's light some Hanukkah candles in front of their embassies. — In Jewish tradition, Hanukkah is the festival of lights, because it celebrates the survival of the Jewish people against the onslaught …
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.
thepittsburghchannel.com:
Teen Guilty Of Manslaughter After Online Confession — Passenger Pulled Steering Wheel, Causing Crash — TAVARES, Fla. — An 18-year-old passenger who caused a fatal crash by pulling on the steering wheel pleaded guilty to DUI manslaughter after prosecutors discovered a confession on his online blog.
