Top Items:
William Branigin / Washington Post:
Bush Defends Domestic Spying — Deputy National Intelligence Chief Says Program Allows Better Terrorist Tracking — President Bush and the nation's deputy national intelligence chief today defended the legality of a controversial domestic spying program, describing it as a vital tool …
Discussion:
RightWinged.com, The Democratic Daily Blog, Stop The ACLU, Wonkette and Democratic Veteran
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John O'Neil / New York Times:
Intelligence Deputy Defends Surveillance Program — Gen. Michael V. Hayden, who led the National Security Agency when it began a program of warrantless wiretaps, vigorously defended the program today, but acknowledged that it depends on a lower standard of evidence than required by courts.
Jennifer Loven / Associated Press:
Bush Calls Surveillance Legal, Necessary — MANHATTAN, Kansas - President Bush pushed back Monday at critics of his once-secret domestic spying effort, saying it should be termed a "terrorist surveillance program" and contending it has the backing of legal experts, key lawmakers and the Supreme Court.
Rick Hasen / Election Law:
BREAKING SUPREME COURT ELECTION LAW NEWS: SUPREME COURT UNANIMOUSLY REVERSES WISCONSIN CAMPAIGN FINANCE CASE, DENIES CERT IN KEY JUDICIAL ELECTIONS CASE, AND SETS ARGUMENT TIMES IN REMAINING CAMPAIGN FINANCE CASES — WRTL: Lyle Denniston reports on SCOTUSBlog: "The Supreme Court ruled on Monday …
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David Stout / New York Times:Justices Ask Court to Reconsider Campaign Finance Case
Discussion:
ACSBlog
Anthony Phillips / This Is London:
George sinks to new low — First he shocked TV viewers and his colleagues by pretending to be a cat and lapping milk from Rula Lenska's hand. — Now George Galloway is set to attract further derision after performing a dance routine on Celebrity Big Brother - in a tight-fitting, red leotard.
Time:
When George Met Jack — White House aides deny the President knew lobbyist Abramoff, but unpublished photos shown to TIME suggest there's more to the story — As details poured out about the illegal and unseemly activities of Republican lobbyist Jack Abramoff, White House officials sought …
Tom Maguire / JustOneMinute:
'Cheap Suitcase' Watch — Chris Matthews drew fire for "comparing" Michael Moore to Osama Bin Laden, and many on the left our howling for an apology. Will Mr. Matthews fold up like a cheap suitcase? We assume so, since, as a reliable Bush-basher, he long ago lost his audience on the right.
Discussion:
Done With Mirrors
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Michelle Malkin:
THE AMAZON.COM REVIEW CESSPOOL — Much has been made of the rabid Left's online swarm that shut down the Washington Post's blog comment section. The comments seemed comparatively tame to me. Maybe I'll copy off Chapter 6 of Unhinged and send it off to the WaPo ombudsman and her editors to help them feel better.
Digby / Hullabaloo:
Killing Me Softly — I'm feeling down right now. I know I shouldn't. The fact that Tom DeLay has stepped down is such a huge victory for humanity all by itself that I should be dancing a jig for the next six months. But, I'm down in the dumps, mostly because I am watching George W. Bush repeat …
Spengler / Asia Times:
Why the West will attack Iran — Why did French President Jacques Chirac last week threaten to use non-conventional - that is, nuclear - weapons against terrorist states? And why did Iran announce that it would shift foreign-exchange reserves out of European banks (although it has since retracted this warning)?
John Hawkins / Right Wing News:
Right-Of-Center Bloggers Select The Most & Least Desired 2008 Republican Nominee (2006 Edition) — Right Wing News emailed more than 230 right-of-center bloggers and asked them to send us a ranked list 1-5 of the candidates that they would most like to take the Republican nomination for President …
Shelby Steele / Opinion Journal:
Hillary's Plantation — Hillary Clinton reveals her fear of Condi Rice. — Of course Hillary Clinton's recent claim that Republicans run the House of Representatives like a "plantation" was old-fashioned political and racial pandering. After all, she uttered this remark at what certainly …
Ann Althouse / Althouse:
Where are the real political opportunities and risks in the Alito vote? — The NYT has an editorial today headed "Judge Alito's Radical Views." The Times outlines the position — relied on by the Democrats at the hearings — that Alito takes an extreme view on various constitutional questions.
David Carr / New York Times:
Soothe the Blog and Reap the Whirlwind — LAST Thursday, Deborah Howell, the ombudsman for The Washington Post, posted a clarification on the newspaper's Web site after suggesting in her Sunday column that the lobbyist Jack Abramoff had made "substantial campaign contributions to both major parties."
Sabrina Tavernise / New York Times:
Abduction of U.S. Reporter Underscores Risks in Iraq — BAGHDAD, Iraq, Jan. 22 - The tools of her trade were a notebook, pen, Islamic head covering and Arabic name to pass unnoticed through Iraqi streets. — Together with an interpreter and a driver, Jill Carroll, a 28-year-old American journalist …
White House:
President Discusses Global War on Terror at Kansas State University — THE PRESIDENT: Thanks for the warm welcome. Thanks for inviting me here to give the Landon Lecture. For those students who are here, I want you to know I can remember what it was like to sit through lectures. (Laughter.)
MB Williams / Wampum:
The 2005 Koufax Awards: Most Deserving of Wider Recognition — This is the hardest of the nomination posts to compile, one reason I chose to do it early this year - hopefully you'll all feel sorry enough for me that you'll send much Pinot Noir and pad thai (well, maybe not together …
