Top Items:
Timothy J. Burger / Time:
Disgraced Congressman 'Wore a Wire' — Sources tell TIME that Duke Cunningham wore a wire after agreeing to cooperate with a graft probe — Washington's power players have always bragged about being well-wired, but for disgraced former congressman Duke Cunningham, "wired" wasn't just a figure of speech.
Michael Moss / New York Times:
Extra Armor Could Have Saved Many Lives, Study Shows — A secret Pentagon study has found that at least 80 percent of the marines who have been killed in Iraq from wounds to their upper body could have survived if they had extra body armor. That armor has been available since 2003 …
James Taranto / Opinion Journal:
Best of the Web — Nothing to Fear but Victory Itself — Rep. John Murtha of Pennsylvania, who became a media darling in November by calling for immediate withdrawal from Iraq (though he voted against his own proposal when Republicans brought it to the House floor), elaborated on his views last night …
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Greyhawk / Mudville Gazette:
MURTHA VS THE ARMY — The Army has been meeting it's recruiting goals for several months. This must be deeply disturbing to Congressman John Murtha - he's now urging Americans to avoid military service: … Murtha's comments beg the question "But if you had it to do over again, would you enlist for Vietnam?"
National Review:
Murtha Fears a Withdrawal that "Makes It Look Like There's a Victory" — Representative John Murtha, the Pennsylvania Democrat who has come to national prominence since his call for a quick withdrawal of U.S. forces from Iraq, said Thursday night that he worries about "a slow withdrawal which makes it look like there's a victory."
Stephen F. Hayes / Weekly Standard:
Saddam's Terror Training Camps — THE FORMER IRAQI REGIME OF Saddam Hussein trained thousands of radical Islamic terrorists from the region at camps in Iraq over the four years immediately preceding the U.S. invasion, according to documents and photographs recovered by the U.S. military in postwar Iraq.
Discussion:
Right Wing Nut House, Ace of Spades HQ, Dr. Sanity, AMERICAN FUTURE, Betsy's Page and Gateway Pundit
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Reuters:
Bremer says U.S. did not expect insurgency in Iraq — WASHINGTON, Jan 6 (Reuters) - Paul Bremer, who led the U.S. civilian occupation authority in Iraq after the 2003 invasion, has admitted the United States did not anticipate the insurgency in the country, NBC Television said on Friday.
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Firouz Sedarat / Reuters:
Zawahri says US defeated in Iraq: Jazeera TV — DUBAI (Reuters) - Al Qaeda's deputy leader Ayman al-Zawahri said in a video aired on Friday that President George W. Bush's plans to withdraw troops from Iraq meant Washington had been defeated by the Muslims.
Brian Montopoli / News Blog:
Robertson Out Of The Club? — One of the top stories on CBSNews.com today concerns Pat Robertson's comments about Ariel Sharon. Robertson suggested Friday "that Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's stroke was divine punishment for 'dividing God's land,'" as the story puts it.
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Glenn Greenwald / Hullabaloo:
Hanging the Messenger — Atrios asked this question yesterday: … I'm not sure exactly what those commentators would say (although I'm sure it would be appropriately balanced and would give due deference to the view that Bush had good arguments for such spying and did so only with the best …
Discussion:
THE ASTUTE BLOGGER, Sadly, No!, Power Line, Unclaimed Territory, Heard Here, AMERICAN FUTURE and The American Thinker
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Michelle Malkin:THE CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR "SPYING" BROUHAHA
Discussion:
Captain's Quarters, Unclaimed Territory, The Hotline's Blogometer, AMERICAblog, Elephants in Academia, Ace of Spades HQ, QandO, Media Blog on National …, Macsmind, RIGHTWINGSPARKLE, JustOneMinute, The Indepundit, Decision '08, Brilliant at Breakfast, NewsBusters.org, The Political Pit Bull and The Truth Laid Bear
New York Times:
Basis for Spying in U.S. Is Doubted — WASHINGTON, Jan. 6 - President Bush's rationale for eavesdropping on Americans without warrants rests on questionable legal ground, and Congress does not appear to have given him the authority to order the surveillance, said a Congressional analysis released Friday.
Discussion:
The Mahablog
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New York Times:
Report Questions Legal Basis for Bush's Spying Program — WASHINGTON, Jan. 6 - President Bush's rationale for authorizing eavesdropping on American citizens without warrants rests on questionable legal ground and "may represent an exercise of presidential power at its lowest ebb," …
Discussion:
Daily Kos
E. J. Dionne Jr / Washington Post:
Abramoff and His Vanishing Friends — It almost makes you feel sorry for Jack Abramoff. — Republicans once fell all over themselves to get his "moolah," the term used famously by the disgraced superlobbyist, and to get his advice on dealing with that warm and cuddly entity known as "the lobbying community."
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Spencer Ackerman / The New Republic:
THE ZARQAWI EFFECT: — After Abu Musab Al Zarqawi, Al Qaeda's man in Iraq, bombed two Amman hotels in November, Eli Lake observed that the terrorist had "made a strategic mistake." Namely, Zarqawi stoked outrage—significantly, Islamic outrage—among the people he seeks to mobilize for his holy war.
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Hotline On Call:
BREAKING NEWS: HOUSE GOPERS CALL FOR ELECTIONS — The Hotline has learned from three House sources that at least two-dozen House GOPers spanning the ideological spectrum have agreed to sign a letter to House Conference Chair Deborah Pryce (R-OH) requesting new leadership elections in an effort …
thenewstribune.com:
IRS tracked taxpayers' political affiliation — WASHINGTON - As it hunted down tax scofflaws, the Internal Revenue Service collected information on the political party affiliations of taxpayers in 20 states. — Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., a member of an appropriations subcommittee …
