Top Items:
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 …
Matthew J. Franck / Bench Memos on National …:
How Alito Helped Bush 20 Years Ago — Today's Washington Post has one more item of interest, an article about Samuel Alito's role in sketching, in 1986, the Reagan administration's strategy of issuing presidential "interpretive signing statements" declaring the executive branch's understanding …
Hilzoy / Obsidian Wings:
Bush "Signs" McCain And Graham Amendments — Via Marty Lederman at Balkinization: On Friday, the President signed the law including the McCain and Graham Amendments. However, he did so with several large caveats. I'm going to put most of this post below the fold, since it's long.
Discussion:
Shakespeare's Sister
Glenn Greenwald / Unclaimed Territory:
What happened to the conservative legal approach? — Susie Madrak observes that the Constitution (and other laws) sure do seem quite "flexible" in the hands of those seeking to defend George Bush — a particular irony given how stridently they rail against such legal theories in other contexts.
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 …
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April Castro / Associated Press:
Comptroller in Texas Walks Away From GOP — AUSTIN, Texas - Texas Comptroller Carole Keeton Strayhorn turned her back on the Republican Party and announced Monday she will run for governor as an independent. — The move allows Strayhorn to escape a potentially ugly primary battle against Gov. Rick Perry.
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R.G. Ratcliffe / Houston Chronicle:Strayhorn enters governor's race as independent
Discussion:
Off the Kuff
Franklin Foer / The New Republic:
OY, THE MSB: — Last month, I wrote a column against the Mainstream Blogosphere. I argued that the MSB has made a grave mistake in relentlessly attacking the credibility of the New York Times and Washington Post. For decades, conservatives have been trying to shred these institutions.
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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 …
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Steve Benen / The Washington Monthly:10 WORDS....I'm glad to see the fine folks at National Journal's Hotline …
Discussion:
MyDD
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.
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Atrios / Eschaton:
2005 was the year that the president of the United States declared proudly that he had broken the law repeatedly and with full intention, that he had the power to do so whenever he wanted to, and that he would continue to do so whenever he determined it to be desirable.
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.
Discussion:
The Washington Monthly, No More Mister Nice Blog, Taegan Goddard's … and Prairie Weather
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.
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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Gail Russell Chaddock / Christian Science Monitor:
Coming to the Hill: lots of hearing-room drama — Probes of war policies will begin amid ethical scrutiny of members. — WASHINGTON - It's going to be a banner year for C-SPAN. That's because Congress is gearing up for the most dramatic slate of hearings since the Clinton impeachment fracas.
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 …
