Top Items:
Ellen Knickmeyer / Washington Post:
U.S. Has End in Sight on Iraq Rebuilding — Documents Show Much of the Funding Diverted to Security, Justice System and Hussein Inquiry — BAGHDAD — The Bush administration does not intend to seek any new funds for Iraq reconstruction in the budget request going before Congress in February, officials say.
Discussion:
Rantingprofs, Think Progress, The Left Coaster, 'Just World News …, Simianbrain, The Heretik, www.AndrewSullivan.com, IntoxiNation-News …, Body and Soul, Brother Kenya's Paradigm, Left I on the News, Comments From Left Field, Eschaton, Just a Bump in the Beltway, Booman Tribune, Baseball Crank, Prometheus 6, Upper Left, AMERICAblog and Air America Radio
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Marty Lederman / Balkinization:
So Much for the President's Assent to the McCain Amendment — The President signed the Defense Appropriations bill on Friday. In his signing statement he did at least two notable things. — First, with respect to several provisions of the bill, the President signaled his intention …
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Lyle Denniston / SCOTUSblog:
Move to scuttle Hamdan, Al Odah cases? — The Bush Administration appears to be preparing to try to scuttle the two most significant pending cases on the legal rights of foreign nationals now being held at the terrorism prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. One of those cases has been granted review …
Discussion:
Opinio Juris
Michelle Malkin:
CHUCK SCHUMER, ONE-ARMED PLUMBER — I had a "See, I told you so" moment yesterday morning watching Sen. Chuck Schumer on Fox News Sunday attempt to excuse the NYT/NSA leaks. — First, watch Schumer spin when Chris Wallace asks him about the DOJ criminal investigation into the NYT/NSA leaks:
Discussion:
The American Thinker, All Things Beautiful, ScrappleFace, Malkin(s)Watch and The Truth Laid Bear
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Fox News:Transcript: McConnell, Schumer
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Power Line, New York Times, The Heretik, The Washington Monthly, The Carpetbagger Report and Macsmind
David D. Kirkpatrick / New York Times:Alito Supporters Portray Nominee as Less Polished
Discussion:
MyDD, Althouse, Carol Platt Liebau, A Chequer-Board of Nights …, The Corner on National … and Bench Memos …
Peter Finn / Washington Post:
Russia Warned on Natural Gas Dispute — EU Plans Emergency Session to Address Sharp Drop in Gas Imports — MOSCOW, Jan. 2 — Several European countries reported sharp drops Monday in the level of natural gas they are receiving from Russia as a dispute over pricing between …
Discussion:
Rook's Rant
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Andrew E. Kramer / New York Times:
Russia Restores Most of Gas Flow Despite Dispute With Ukraine — MOSCOW, Jan. 2 - The Russian gas monopoly said tonight that it would restore most of the natural gas that it withheld from a giant pipeline running through Ukraine to Western Europe. — The decision does not resolve …
Andrew Miga / Associated Press:
Kerry Positioned for '08 White House Bid — WASHINGTON - It's almost as if Sen. John Kerry never stopped running for president. He still jets across the country, raising millions of dollars and rallying Democrats. He still stalks the TV news show circuit, scolding President Bush at every turn.
Discussion:
Captain's Quarters, Shakespeare's Sister, The RCP Blog, The Florida Masochist, Decision '08 and Dohiyi Mir
Christopher Lee / Washington Post:
Alito Once Made Case For Presidential Power — As a young Justice Department lawyer, Supreme Court nominee Samuel A. Alito Jr. tried to help tip the balance of power between Congress and the White House a little more in favor of the executive branch. — In the 1980s, the Reagan administration …
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Matthew J. Franck / Bench Memos on National …:How Alito Helped Bush 20 Years Ago
Discussion:
www.AndrewSullivan.com
ShrinkWrapped:
"Bear Baiting" at the New York Times — Many years ago I had a child enter Psychoanalysis because his temper was interfering with his ability to function in school as well as infuriating his parents to distraction. All children test limits with authority figures and the Child Therapy situation is no different.
Discussion:
The Anchoress
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Digby / Hullabaloo:
Contextualizing — Jane discusses this article in today's NY Times about how blogging is affecting journalism and she makes this important point: … There was a guy who did this kind of journalism long before technology made it possible for many of us to carry on the tradition.
Discussion:
firedoglake
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Salman Masood / New York Times:
Pakistanis Back Off Vow to Control Madrasas — ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, Jan. 1 - As the incendiary training at some of Pakistan's seminaries drew renewed focus in the weeks after the July 7 bombings in London, President Pervez Musharraf promised to bring the schools into the mainstream and expel …
Gordon Trowbridge / militarycity.com:
Troops sound off — Military Times Poll finds high morale, but less support for Bush, war effort — Support for President Bush and for the war in Iraq has slipped significantly in the last year among members of the military's professional core, according to the 2005 Military Times Poll.
Mark Ballard / 2theadvocate.com:
Blanco orders remodeling just after storms — Office tab: $564,838 — Some members of the governor's staff will return from the three-day holiday on Tuesday to newly renovated offices at the State Capitol. — Shortly after the two hurricanes, Gov. Kathleen Blanco decided to renovate some of her staff's offices.
Discussion:
Generation Why?, Betsy's Page, A Blog For All, Gut Rumbles, Thespis Journal, Gina Cobb, Louisiana Libertarian and Taegan Goddard's …
Hullabaloo:
Divine Right Of Republicans — This Newsweak story is, well, weak: … First of all, I'm sick of this bulls**t about the president being the commander in chief all the time. This isn't a military dictatorship. Citizens, and even lawyers in the Justice department, don't have a commander in chief.
John / AMERICAblog:
Exactly how has Bush made America any safer in the past 4 years? — It's one thing to give up our civil liberties in exchange for the safety of our children. It's quite another to give them up and get little in return. Let's examine just how much safer George Bush has made America since September 11.
Discussion:
Daily Kos
Hotline On Call:
Welcome To Oh...Six — The Hotline pauses for a bit and what happens? News still breaks out. Imagine that. So to catch you up, here's our summary of the past ten days, in it's-not-hackneyed-until-we-do- it "Best Of/Worst Of" form. — Best use of a college bowl game …
