Top Items:
Washington Post:
Spy Court Judge Quits In Protest — Jurist Concerned Bush Order Tainted Work of Secret Panel — A federal judge has resigned from the court that oversees government surveillance in intelligence cases in protest of President Bush's secret authorization of a domestic spying program, according to two sources.
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New York Times:
Spying Program Snared U.S. Calls — WASHINGTON, Dec. 20 - A surveillance program approved by President Bush to conduct eavesdropping without warrants has captured what are purely domestic communications in some cases, despite a requirement by the White House that one end of the intercepted conversations …
Bruce Fein / Washington Times:
. . . unlimited? — According to President George W. Bush, being president in wartime means never having to concede co-equal branches of government have a role when it comes to hidden encroachments on civil liberties. — Last Saturday, he thus aggressively defended the constitutionality …
Anne E. Kornblut / New York Times:
Lobbyist Is Said to Discuss Plea and Testimony — WASHINGTON, Dec. 20 - Jack Abramoff, the Republican lobbyist under criminal investigation, has been discussing with prosecutors a deal that would grant him a reduced sentence in exchange for testimony against former political and business associates …
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Susan Schmidt / Washington Post:
Abramoff Reportedly Negotiating a Deal in Which He Would Plead Guilty, Testify — Former lobbyist Jack Abramoff, facing trial on fraud charges Jan. 9 in Florida, is negotiating a possible deal with the Justice Department, in which he would agree to plead guilty and cooperate …
Steven Greenhouse / New York Times:
In Final Hours, M.T.A. Took a Big Risk on Pensions — On the final day of intense negotiations, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, it turns out, greatly altered what it had called its final offer, to address many of the objections of the transit workers' union.
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wcbstv.com:Exclusive: Transit Union Split Over Strike
Discussion:
Hugh Hewitt, Red Guy in a Blue State, A Blog For All, GOP and the City, THE NEWS BLOG, Gothamist and Mister Snitch!
MSNBC:
Judge rules against 'intelligent design' — 'Religious alternative' to evolution barred from public-school science classes — HARRISBURG, Pa. - In one of the biggest courtroom clashes between faith and evolution since the 1925 Scopes Monkey Trial, a federal judge barred …
Discussion:
firedoglake, Pharyngula, Respectful Insolence, Liberty Street, Pandagon and INDC Journal
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Michael Powell / Washington Post:
Judge Rules Against 'Intelligent Design' — Dover, Pa., District Can't Teach Evolution Alternative — A federal judge barred a Pennsylvania school district yesterday from mentioning "intelligent design" as an alternative to evolutionary theory in a scathing opinion that criticized local …
Henry Weinstein / Los Angeles Times:Federal Judge Rules Against 'Intelligent Design'
Discussion:
BBC, Associated Press, Althouse, Patridiot Watch, The Moderate Voice and Patterico's Pontifications
Pajamas Media:
Who's playing with fire? (Updates) — Omar of Iraq the Model for Pajamas Media — [SEE BREAKING NEWS BELOW] — The election commission last night announced shocking preliminary results of the elections in 11 Iraqi provinces. The results "after counting 89% of the votes in Baghdad showed …
Discussion:
Daily Pundit, Unclaimed Territory, Unqualified Offerings, James Wolcott, War and Piece and Instapundit.com
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Doug Struck / Washington Post:
Sunnis Allege Fraud, Demand New Iraq Elections — Conservative Shiite Coalition Emerges as Early Leader in Parliamentary Returns — BAGHDAD, Dec. 20 — Sunni and secular political parties angrily claimed Tuesday that Iraq's national election was rigged, threatening to leave in shambles …
Discussion:
The Next Hurrah, The Reaction, Patridiot Watch, Middle Earth Journal, Decision '08 and The Mahablog
Richard Morin / Washington Post:
Poll: Bush Approval Numbers Up — President's Job Approval Rating Increases by Eight Points — Washington Post polling editor Richard Morin was online Tuesday, Dec. 20, at 1 p.m. ET to discuss the new Post/ABC poll, which shows an eight point increase in President Bush's approval rating …
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Reuters:
Senators members seek spying probe — WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Democratic and Republican calls mounted on Tuesday for U.S. congressional hearings into President George W. Bush's assertion that he can order warrantless spying on Americans with suspected terrorist ties.
Discussion:
Dem Bloggers
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Ars Technica:
The new technology at the root of the NSA wiretap scandal — When the NSA wiretapping story first hit the pages of the NYT a few days ago, there were clearly a huge number of unanswered questions. Is the wiretapping that the President has authorized illegal under the FISA act? Is it unconstitutional?
Discussion:
The Right Coast, The Next Hurrah, Total Information Awareness and Personal Democracy Forum
Crooks and Liars:
James Bamford punks Victoria Toensing — James Bamford punks Victoria Toensing — Bush broke the law. — ReddHedd alerted me to this debate on C-Span this morning, and PensitoReview wrote up a post about it. The republican apologist was all smiley and bouncy and hoped that her cheery demeanor …
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Associated Press:
Donors Underwrite DeLay's Deluxe Lifestyle — WASHINGTON — As Tom DeLay became a king of campaign fundraising, he lived like one too. He visited cliff-top Caribbean resorts, golf courses designed by PGA champions and four-star restaurants _ all courtesy of donors who bankrolled his political money empire.
worldtribune.com:
Report: Syria agrees to hide Iran nukes — LONDON — Syria has signed a pledge to store Iranian nuclear weapons and missiles. — The London-based Jane's Defence Weekly reported that Iran and Syria signed a strategic accord meant to protect either country from international pressure regarding their weapons programs.
Kevin Drum / The Washington Monthly:
WARTIME....Do President Bush's inherent constitutional powers as commander-in-chief give him the authority to override federal law and approve domestic spying by the NSA? That's certainly the justification he provided at Monday's press conference: … Bill Kristol and Gary Schmitt support …
Discussion:
Unclaimed Territory, The Poor Man, Catch, Hammer of Truth, The Rude Pundit and Talking Points Memo
