Top Items:
Jonathan Alter / Newsweek:
A Power Outage on Capitol Hill — We are in danger of scrapping our checks and balances-not just for a few years (as was done during the Civil War), but for good. — Jan. 23, 2006 issue - What if we faced a constitutional crisis and hardly anyone noticed?
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David D. Kirkpatrick / New York Times:
Alito Hearings Unsettle Some Prevailing Wisdom About the Politics of Abortion — WASHINGTON, Jan. 15 - Just a little over a year ago, senators of both parties said publicly that it would be almost impossible for a Supreme Court nominee who disagreed openly with the major abortion rights precedents to win confirmation.
Hope Yen / Associated Press:Update 2: Feinstein Warns Against Alito Filibuster
Discussion:
Left I on the News, The Huffington Post, liberaloasis.com, Norwegianity and ECHIDNE OF THE SNAKES
Los Angeles Times:
The perils of unchecked power — A former attorney general remembers the bugging of Martin Luther King Jr. — THE RECENT controversy over warrantless national security telephone taps, coupled with Martin Luther King's birthday, remind me of my time in the Department of Justice in the 1960s.
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Houston Chronicle:
A man without borders — Martin Luther King's appeal for peace with justice is as relevant as ever in our troubled world. — Although he rose to national prominence fighting racial segregation in the South, many of the issues roiling the United States 38 years after his assassination would be very familiar to Martin Luther King Jr.
Taylor Branch / New York Times:
Globalizing King's Legacy — OFFICIAL celebrations of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday turn 20 years old this week. — Like that of Dr. King's late colleague Rosa Parks, the name behind our 10th national holiday carries more resonance than impact - noble, universal, yet bounded by race and time.
Thomas Lifson / The American Thinker:
Is a fake staged photo fit to print? What if it staged in a way that makes the US forces fighting the War on Terror look cruel and ineffective? The evidence argues that yes, it can run, and in a prominent position - at least in the case of the New York Times website.
Discussion:
SOXBLOG, The Strata-Sphere, Murdoc Online, The Officers' Club, Generation Why?, Hit and Run and Sister Toldjah
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rawstory.com:
RAW STORY — Congressman Barr and I have disagreed many times over the years, but we have joined together today with thousands of our fellow citizens-Democrats and Republicans alike-to express our shared concern that America's Constitution is in grave danger.
Robert Tait / Guardian:
Iran issues stark warning on oil price — War of words over trade sanctions — Iran stepped up its defiance of international pressure over its nuclear programme yesterday by warning of soaring oil prices if it is subjected to economic sanctions. As diplomats from the US, Europe, Russia …
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Jonathan Weisman / Washington Post:
Ney to Step Down as Chairman Of Panel Overseeing Lobbying — Rep. Robert W. Ney (R-Ohio) announced yesterday he will temporarily relinquish his chairmanship of the House Administration Committee, which oversees lobbying, as the corruption investigation into former lobbyist Jack Abramoff moves deeper into the workings of Congress.
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David Hammer / Associated Press:Rep. Ney to Temporarily Cede Panel Chair
Discussion:
The Corner on National …
Associated Press:
Rice Again Rules Out 2008 White House Run — Not even a vote of confidence from Laura Bush can change Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's mind about running for president in 2008. — Before leaving for Africa, the first lady predicted the United States soon would have a female president _ a Republican, and maybe even Rice.
Robert Pear / New York Times:
President Tells Insurers to Aid Ailing Medicare Drug Plan — With tens of thousands of people unable to get medicines promised by Medicare, the Bush administration has told insurers that they must provide a 30-day supply of any drug that a beneficiary was previously taking …
Stephanie Strom / New York Times:
Group Seeks I.R.S. Inquiry of Two Ohio Churches — A group of religious leaders has sent a complaint to the Internal Revenue Service requesting an investigation of two large churches in Ohio that they say are improperly campaigning on behalf of a conservative Republican running for governor.
Larry Rohter / New York Times:
What Is Missing in This Woman's Victory? Coattails — SANTIAGO, Chile, Jan. 15 - Michelle Bachelet, a Socialist, a doctor and a former political prisoner and exile, on Sunday became the first woman to be elected president of Chile, decisively defeating Sebastián Piñera, a conservative billionaire businessman.
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Larry Rohter / New York Times:A Leader Making Peace With Chile's Past
Discussion:
The Moderate Voice
Stephen Moore / Opinion Journal:
Boehner, Blunt or Shadegg? — Conservatives now have a chance to take back the House. — "We're going to find out whether Republicans have an appetite for a substantial reform agenda against pork spending, out-of-control budgets and deal-making politics as usual in this town."
Mary Anastasia O'Grady / Opinion Journal:
The Tehran-Caracas Axis — Hugo Chávez and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad are more than just pen pals. — With Iranian nuclear aspirations gaining notice, it's worth directing attention to the growing relationship between Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Venezuela's President Hugo Chávez.
John Byrne / rawstory.com:
GOP website appears to flout law, lists nonpartisan, nonprofit groups as supporters — It's an open secret in Washington: Nonprofit doesn't always mean nonpartisan. — But RAW STORY has found that the Republican National Committee lists a panoply of conservative nonprofits as "GOP groups" …
