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Robert Novak / Chicago Sun Times:
Control of Senate may hinge on Lott — Trent Lott within the next week plans to decide between seeking a fourth term in the U.S. Senate from Mississippi or retiring from public life. That could determine whether Republicans keep control of the Senate in next year's elections.
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Jack Elliott Jr / Associated Press:
Lott of speculation surrounds 2006 Senate race — The new year in Mississippi may bring an answer to the crucial political question in everyone's mind: Is he or isn't he? — The he is Trent Lott, junior senator from Mississippi. — The is or isn't? Running for re-election.
Steven R. Weisman / New York Times:
Powell Speaks Out on Domestic Spy Program — WASHINGTON, Dec. 25 - Former Secretary of State Colin L. Powell said on Sunday that it would not have been "that hard" for President Bush to obtain warrants for eavesdropping on domestic telephone and Internet activity, but that he saw "nothing wrong" with the decision not to do so.
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Shakespeare's Sister:
Powell the Disappointer — Continuing his slide into disgrace and eventual irrelevance by chipping away at his own backbone out both sides of his mouth, Colin Powell has decided to come out as both sort of for and sort of against the administration's secret spy program.
Discussion:
Loaded Mouth
Associated Press:
Powell Backs Eavesdropping to Stop Terror — Former Secretary of State Colin Powell on Sunday supported government eavesdropping to prevent terrorism but said a major controversy over presidential powers could have been avoided by obtaining court warrants. — Powell said that when he was …
Tomi Soetjipto / Reuters:
Asia remembers tsunami disaster with prayer, silence — BANDA ACEH, Indonesia (Reuters) - Mourners from across the world wept, prayed and observed moments of silence along ravaged Indian Ocean coastlines on Monday to remember those killed by one of nature's deadliest disasters.
Discussion:
PunditGuy
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Kenneth Anderson's Law of War and Just War Theory Blog:
Shame on Robert Kuttner for using Lincoln for cheap shots at Bush — Robert Kuttner engages in that most dangerous of all ideological games in American politics - "What would Lincoln have done?" - as a means of baiting George W. Bush. Here, in the Boston Globe.
Discussion:
Instapundit.com
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Thomas Bray / realclearpolitics.com:
And You Think America Is Repressive? — Spying on e-mail and cell phone traffic without a warrant. Searching offices and residences without a court order. Locking citizens away for weeks or months without filing charges. — Sound like your worst nightmare about the supposedly lawless Bush administration?
Charles Lane / Washington Post:
No Date Is Set for Troop Withdrawal From Iraq — General Says Insurgency Affects Timing; Powell Calls Current Levels Unsustainable — As American troops marked their third Christmas in Iraq since the war began in March 2003, the highest-ranking U.S. military officer said their number …
Discussion:
A Chequer-Board of Nights …, Unqualified Offerings, skippy the bush kangaroo and Needlenose
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Mark R. Levin / The Corner on National Review Online:
YOO AND PRESIDENTIAL POWER — John Yoo, a brilliant lawyer, played an important role in writing major aspects of the administration's legal policies respecting detentions and surveillance. So, not surprisingly, he has been under attack for several years now.
Discussion:
Think Progress
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Marta Falconi / Associated Press:
Character Actor Vincent Schiavelli Dies — ROME - Vincent Schiavelli, the droopy-eyed character actor who appeared in scores of movies, including "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" and "Ghost," died Monday at his home in Sicily. He was 57. — He died of lung cancer, said Salvatore Glorioso …
Edward Rothstein / New York Times:
Seeing Terrorism as Drama With Sequels and Prequels — "There's no peace at the end of this," warns Avner, the morally anguished Mossad assassin, as Steven Spielberg's new film, "Munich," draws to a close. And by "this" he means the targeted killings that Israel is said to have begun …
Jay Cost / The RCP Blog:
Bush's Mandate Misread — First off, let me say how privileged and honored I am to have been invited to guest blog here at RealClearPolitics for the final week of 2005. Few political websites rise to the level of indispensable as this site does, so for John and Tom to think of me for this is very flattering indeed.
Jim Yardley / New York Times:
Seeking a Public Voice on China's 'Angry River' — XIAOSHABA, China - Far from the pulsing cities that symbolize modern China, this tiny hillside village of crude peasant houses seems disconnected from this century and the last. But follow a dirt path past a snarling watchdog …
Associated Press:
Gas Sickens 78 in Russian Store — ST. PETERSBURG, Russia - More than 70 people at a home-supply store were sickened Monday as employees at three other outlets of the chain found gas-filled containers and timers hidden in boxes. Police said they believed a commercial dispute or blackmail attempt was behind the incidents.
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