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.
New York Times:
Muslim Scholars Were Paid to Aid U.S. Propaganda — WASHINGTON, Jan. 1 - A Pentagon contractor that paid Iraqi newspapers to print positive articles written by American soldiers has also been compensating Sunni religious scholars in Iraq in return for assistance with its propaganda work, according to current and former employees.
Discussion:
ShrinkWrapped, The Washington Monthly, Jihad Watch, AMERICAN FUTURE, Ace of Spades HQ and All Things Beautiful
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David D. Kirkpatrick / New York Times:
Alito Supporters Portray Nominee as Less Polished — WASHINGTON, Jan. 1 - As Judge Samuel A. Alito Jr. enters his final week of dress rehearsals for his Supreme Court confirmation hearings, participants say his performance has already made one thing clear: he will never be as polished …
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Fox News:
Transcript: McConnell, Schumer — The following is a transcript from "FOX News Sunday" on Jan. 1, 2006: — CHRIS WALLACE, HOST: I'm Chris Wallace. A new controversy about that NSA domestic spying program, next on "Fox News Sunday". — As we begin 2006, there's a growing debate …
TBogg:
Okay. Enough celebrating. Let's get started... It's 2006, wingnuttery abounds and time's a'wastin'.... First up, K-Lo rings in the New Year: … Unfortunately Mitt Romney was unavailable for smoochies (he must have been with one of his wives) and so K-Lo was forced to finish off her Zima alone …
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John M. Broder / New York Times:
States Take Lead in Push to Raise Minimum Wages — Despite Congressional refusal for almost a decade to raise the federal minimum wage, nearly half of the civilian labor force lives in states where the pay is higher than the rate set by the federal government.
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:
Betsy's Page, A Blog For All, Gut Rumbles, Thespis Journal, Louisiana Libertarian and Taegan Goddard's …
Katharine Q. Seelye / New York Times:
Answering Back to the News Media, Using the Internet — Never pick a fight with someone who buys ink by the barrel, or so goes the old saw. For decades, the famous and the infamous alike largely followed this advice. Even when subjects of news stories felt they had been misunderstood or badly treated …
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Monica Davey / New York Times:
Recruited in Wartime, a Young Private Now Faces Her First Deployment to Iraq — LYNDON, Kan., Dec. 31 - When she signed up for the Army in 2004, Katherine Jordan had little to say about war. Asked about Iraq at the time, she said she was far more concerned about the rigors of basic training …
Martin Wolk / MSNBC:
Dow closes disappointing year with a loss — Despite growing economy, index ends in the red for first time since '02 — Martin Wolk — Wall Street wrapped up a disappointing year Friday with a rally-killing selloff, sending the stock market to its lowest levels since before Thanksgiving …
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CNN:
Iran rejects Russian nuclear offer — TEHRAN, Iran (CNN) — Iran's chief nuclear negotiator has rejected a Russian offer to produce nuclear fuel in its plants for Iran, the latest effort to resolve a diplomatic impasse over Tehran's nuclear program. — Speaking on state-run television Sunday …
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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 …
Discussion:
www.AndrewSullivan.com
Telegraph:
Sniper shot that took out an insurgent killer from three quarters of a mile — Gazing through the telescopic sight of his M24 rifle, Staff Sgt Jim Gilliland, leader of Shadow sniper team, fixed his eye on the Iraqi insurgent who had just killed an American soldier.
BBC:
Gas row sends shiver through EU — Russia's decision to cut gas imports to Ukraine is causing dismay across Europe, where supplies in a number of countries have been disrupted. — The US has also expressed concern, saying the move raised "serious questions about the use of energy to exert political pressure".
Discussion:
The Brussels Journal
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Andrew E. Kramer / New York Times:Russia Cuts Off Gas to Ukraine in Cost Dispute
Discussion:
Telegraph, Captain's Quarters, THE ASTUTE BLOGGER, SCSUScholars, Middle Earth Journal and The Moderate Voice
Kevin / Louisiana Libertarian:
RINO Sightings: New Year's Edition — Hello everyone and welcome to the first RINO sightings of 2006 at the brand new and still very much under construction Louisiana Libertarian. Over the past two weeks, RINOs have been sending in various posts about everything from the War on Terror to pop culture.
Discussion:
Classical Values
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.
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.
Discussion:
Daily Kos
Michael Barone / US News:
The Wal-Mart Model — The American economy continues to surge ahead, though you won't read much about it in mainstream media. Economic growth in the third quarter was 4.1 percent—despite Hurricane Katrina!—the 10th consecutive quarter with growth over 3 percent.
Discussion:
Loaded Mouth
