Top Items:
Liz Austin / Associated Press:
Texas Court Won't Dismiss DeLay Charges — AUSTIN, Texas - The state's highest criminal court on Monday denied Rep. Tom DeLay's request that the money laundering charges against him be dismissed or sent back to a lower court for an immediate trial. — The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals denied …
Discussion:
The Carpetbagger Report, The Moderate Voice, Talking Points Memo and IntoxiNation-News …
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Carl Hulse / New York Times:
Two Major Contenders in Race to Lead House Republicans — WASHINGTON, Jan. 8 - The contest for House Republican leader shaped up Sunday as a race between two senior rivals, with the Bush administration and its Congressional allies braced for a potentially divisive internal battle at the start of a crucial campaign year.
Discussion:
TAPPED, The Stakeholder, The Carpetbagger Report, The Fix, Suburban Guerrilla, Wonkette and THE DAILY DELAY
Richard Morin / Washington Post:
Majority of Americans Favor Alito Nomination — Most Expect Nominee Wouldn't Vote to Strike Down Roe v. Wade — A majority of Americans favor the confirmation of federal appeals court judge Samuel A. Alito Jr. to the U.S. Supreme Court and an even larger proportion believe Alito would not vote …
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Associated Press:
NOTEBOOK: Alito Is a Springsteen Fan — He's a Springsteen fan, history buff and marksman. He can whip up a salmon pate, but don't ask him to bake a cake. His marriage proposal began as an offer to take dancing lessons. — These insights into Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito came from his wife …
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JunkYardBlog
Ken I. Kersch / Opinion Journal:'Mainstream' Bias — What Sam Alito and Louis Brandeis have in common.
Discussion:
sisu
Slate:Your Witness, Senators — Expert suggestions on cross-examining Sam Alito.
Discussion:
Althouse
Declan McCullagh / CNET News.com:
Perspective: Create an e-annoyance, go to jail — Annoying someone via the Internet is now a federal crime. — It's no joke. Last Thursday, President Bush signed into law a prohibition on posting annoying Web messages or sending annoying e-mail messages without disclosing your true identity.
Guardian:
US troops seize award-winning Iraqi journalist — American troops in Baghdad yesterday blasted their way into the home of an Iraqi journalist working for the Guardian and Channel 4, firing bullets into the bedroom where he was sleeping with his wife and children.
Discussion:
Body and Soul, Rook's Rant, Thoughts of an Average Woman, Factesque, Modulator, Booman Tribune and The Mahablog
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Thomas B. Edsall / Washington Post:
Christian Right Mobilizes For Judge — PHILADELPHIA, Jan. 8 — Republicans and leaders of the religious right gathered in a black church here Sunday night to build support for Supreme Court nominee Samuel A. Alito Jr. as part of their effort to block gay marriage, end abortion and restore religious expression in the public square.
Discussion:
philly, The Carpetbagger Report, www.AndrewSullivan.com, How Appealing and The All Spin Zone
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National Review:
One Moment in Time — There's an old Chinese theory according to which the best way to understand historical events is not to reconstruct the sequence of "causes" by which the events were "produced," but rather to look at the unique characteristics of the moment in which the events occurred.
Associated Press:
Sen. Kennedy to Publish Children's Book — Meet the latest children's author, Sen. Ted Kennedy, and his Portuguese Water Dog, Splash, his co-protagonist in "My Senator and Me: A Dogs-Eye View of Washington, D.C." — Scholastic Inc. will release the book in May.
Discussion:
Ace of Spades HQ, The Claremont Institute, ProfessorBainbridge.com, PunditGuy, Wizbang and ++ relapsed catholic …
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Kevin Drum / The Washington Monthly:
DEMOCRATS AND THE NSA....Joe Klein thinks Democrats are heading off a cliff by making too big a deal out of the NSA's domestic spying program. Conservative James Joyner has a reasonable reaction: … This is a legitimately tough issue for Democrats, because I think James is right on both counts.
Discussion:
TAPPED, Hullabaloo, Bradford Plumer, Betsy's Page, Lawyers, Guns and Money and No Capital
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BBC:
US draws up space tourism rules — Space tourists must be screened to ensure they are not terrorists, according to proposed regulations from the US Federal Aviation Administration. — The draft report's suggestions aim to prevent a terrorist from destroying a spacecraft or using it as a weapon.
Discussion:
Wonkette
Mark Schmitt / tpmcafe.com:
Please, Don't Say "Lobbying Reform" — Democrats and Republicans are falling over each other to introduce "lobbying reform" bills — requiring lobbyists to disclose contacts with legislators, banning trips, etc. By the end of next week, we will have between two and four lobbying reform packages …
Discussion:
Middle Earth Journal
Spengler / Asia Times:
When even the pope has to whisper — Islam is the unexploded bomb of global politics. US foreign policy - the only foreign policy there is, for the United States is the only superpower - proceeds from the hope that a modern and democratic Islam will emerge from the ruins of Saddam Hussein's Iraq.
Herald Sun:
Camilla's protector paid out — A BLACK police bodyguard who protected the Duchess of Cornwall has won $70,000 compensation after suing Scotland Yard for "over-promoting" him because of political correctness. — Sgt Leslie Turner — the first black personal protection officer to guard the royal family …
