Top Items:
Scott Shields / MyDD:
New Yorkers Support the Transit Strike — I've been pretty surprised and somewhat disappointed by the hostility among some here to the striking transit workers in New York City. To be fair, the strike is illegal. It is unfortunately timed. It is incredibly hard on other workers in the city.
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Washington Post:
Judges on Surveillance Court To Be Briefed on Spy Program — The presiding judge of a secret court that oversees government surveillance in espionage and terrorism cases is arranging a classified briefing for her fellow judges to address their concerns about the legality …
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Jesse J. Holland / Associated Press:
Senate Passes Patriot Act Extension — WASHINGTON - The Senate on Wednesday passed a six-month extension of the terror-fighting USA Patriot Act as a last resort after Democrats and a small group of GOP senators blocked President Bush and Republican congressional leaders' attempt to make most of the anti-terrorism law permanent.
Discussion:
Captain's Quarters, PoliPundit.com, JunkYardBlog, No More Mister Nice Blog, Centerfield and Stop The ACLU
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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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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 …
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Anne E. Kornblut / New York Times:
Lobbyist Nears Terms on Plea Deal — WASHINGTON, Dec. 21 - Jack Abramoff, the Republican lobbyist under indictment for fraud in South Florida, is expected to complete a plea agreement in the Miami criminal case, setting the stage for him to become a crucial witness in a broad federal corruption …
Los Angeles Times:
Iraq Election Results Will Pose New Challenges for U.S. Policy — Votes along sectarian and ethnic lines mean Washington must do more to quell tensions and may have to forge ties with Shiite-led Iran. — WASHINGTON — The apparent failure of secular, Western-oriented political groups …
Discussion:
neo-neocon
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Juan / Informed Comment:Shiite Religious Parties dominate 10 of 18 Provinces
Discussion:
Middle Earth Journal
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 …
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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.
Discussion:
The Washington Monthly, PBD, Unclaimed Territory, War and Piece, TalkLeft, AMERICAblog and the talking dog
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Jerry Markon / Washington Post:
Court Bars Transfer of Padilla To Face New Terrorism Charges — A federal appeals court yesterday refused to authorize the transfer of "enemy combatant" Jose Padilla to face new criminal charges, issuing a strongly worded opinion rebuking the Bush administration and its handling of the high-profile terrorism case.
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.
Discussion:
Captain's Quarters, SpeakSpeak News, Left I on the News, Discourse.net, Rook's Rant and Politics in the Zeros
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.
Washington Post:
Department's Mission Was Undermined From Start — The Department of Homeland Security was only a month old, and already it had an image problem. — It was April 2003, and Susan Neely, a close aide to DHS Secretary Tom Ridge, decided the gargantuan new conglomeration of 22 federal agencies …
Glenn Kessler / Washington Post:
File the Bin Laden Phone Leak Under 'Urban Myths' — President Bush asserted this week that the news media published a U.S. government leak in 1998 about Osama bin Laden's use of a satellite phone, alerting the al Qaeda leader to government monitoring and prompting him to abandon the device.
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
Kristin Jensen / Bloomberg:
Abramoff's `Equal Money' Went Mostly to Republicans (Update1) — Dec. 21 (Bloomberg) — U.S. President George W. Bush calls indicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff ``an equal money dispenser'' who helped politicians of both parties. Campaign donation records show Republicans were a lot more equal than Democrats.
Discussion:
Middle Earth Journal
