Top Items:
Jim VandeHei / Washington Post:
Blogs Attack From Left as Democrats Reach for Center — Democrats are getting an early glimpse of an intraparty rift that could complicate efforts to win back the White House: fiery liberals raising their voices on Web sites and in interest groups vs. elected officials trying to appeal to a much broader audience.
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Glenn Thrush / Newsday:
Clinton to support Alito filibuster — Says she'll join Sen. Kerry in blocking Alito's nomination, putting her at odds with top Democrats — WASHINGTON — Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton on Friday announced she'll join potential 2008 presidential rival John Kerry in voting to filibuster …
Bob Fertik / Democrats.com:
WE CAN STOP ALITO THIS WEEKEND — The last two days have been amazing. — Early Thursday afternoon, we broke the news that Senator John Kerry would lead a filibuster against Judge Sam Alito if he could get 41 Senators to sustain the filibuster. Three hours later, CNN confirmed our story.
Discussion:
AMERICAblog, THE BRAD BLOG, The Heretik, Decision '08, Outside The Beltway, PSoTD, Centerfield and Booman Tribune
James Taranto / Opinion Journal:
Best of the Web — Best of the Tube This Weekend — We'll be appearing this weekend on "The Journal Editorial Report," in its new, faster-paced Fox News Channel incarnation. Topics are the kerfuffle over the terrorist surveillance program and the Alito confirmation.
Discussion:
In the Bullpen, The Left Coaster, The Reaction, A Chequer-Board of Nights … and PointofLaw.com
blogometer.nationaljournal.com:
BLOGS VS. THE MSM: Howell's Moving Castle — Last p.m. we had the unique experience of attending an Nat'l Press Club luncheon and discussion hosted by Alex S. Jones, dir. of the Shorenstein Center at the Kennedy School of Gov't at Harvard. Also in attendance were bloggers representing Power Line …
Discussion:
Open Letter …
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New York Times:
Bush Presses On in Legal Defense for Wiretapping — WASHINGTON, Jan. 27 — President Bush, defending the wiretapping program he ordered soon after the Sept. 11 attacks, declared a few days ago that "there's no doubt in my mind it is legal." So resolute is Mr. Bush, in fact …
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U.S. Newswire:
THE NSA PROGRAM TO DETECT AND PREVENT TERRORIST ATTACKS MYTH V. REALITY — Myth: The NSA program is illegal. — Reality: The President's authority to authorize the terrorist surveillance program is firmly based both in his constitutional authority as Commander-in-Chief …
Dan Eggen / Washington Post:
2003 Draft Legislation Covered Eavesdropping — Justice Dept. Officials Call Measure Unrelated; Critics Say Bush Claims Are Undermined — Legislation drafted by Justice Department lawyers in 2003 to strengthen the USA Patriot Act would have provided legal backing for several aspects …
Ian Fisher / New York Times:
In One Village, Anger and a Hunger for Change — DEIR GHASSANA, West Bank, Jan. 27 — It is not hard to find Palestinians here who see the victory of Hamas as the triumph of resistance and of the group's longstanding vow to drive Israel into the sea. — But here, at least …
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Charles J. Hanley / Associated Press:
Documents Show Army Seized Wives As Tactic — The U.S. Army in Iraq has at least twice seized and jailed the wives of suspected insurgents in hopes of "leveraging" their husbands into surrender, U.S. military documents show. — In one case, a secretive task force locked up the young mother …
Discussion:
Today in Iraq, american footprints, Preemptive Karma, Mathew Gross, Balloon Juice, AMERICAblog and No More Apples
Greg Sargent / American Prospect:
Dems Don't Know Jack — A Prospect exclusive: A new analysis of Abramoff tribal money by a nonpartisan firm shows it's a Republican scandal. — A new and extensive analysis of campaign donations from all of Jack Abramoff's tribal clients, done by a nonpartisan research firm …
Spencer S. Hsu / Washington Post:
Post-Katrina Promises Unfulfilled — On the Gulf Coast, Federal Recovery Effort Makes Halting Progress — Nearly five months after Hurricane Katrina swamped New Orleans, President Bush's lofty promises to rebuild the Gulf Coast have been frustrated by bureaucratic failures and competing priorities …
Lydia Saad / Gallup:
Bush to Face His Toughest Audience for State of the Union — Americans more downbeat today than in previous January polls — PRINCETON, NJ — President George W. Bush will face a mostly disgruntled public next Tuesday when he delivers his State of the Union address, in which he will reportedly focus …
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Editor and Publisher:
Ann Coulter 'Jokes' That a Supreme Court Justice Should Be Poisoned—And is Compared to Lil' Kim — NEW YORK Universal Press Syndicate columnist Ann Coulter "joked" during a Thursday speech that liberal Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens should be poisoned.
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Carpetbagger / The Carpetbagger Report:
Maybe that Kerry guy knew what he was talking about — In the 2004 presidential race, John Kerry offered a very clear approach as to how the United States should deal with Iran: have the international community offer Iran nuclear fuel to be used in a peaceful nuclear energy program.
Discussion:
The Reaction
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Scott Shane / New York Times:
An Exotic Tool for Espionage: Moral Compass — WASHINGTON, Jan. 27 — Is there such a thing as an ethical spy? — A group of current and former intelligence officers and academic experts think there is, and they are meeting this weekend to dissect what some others in the field consider a flat-out contradiction in terms.
Discussion:
Adventus
Glenn Greenwald / Unclaimed Territory:
The Administration's humiliation of Congress — Since the NSA scandal began, one of the most bizarre aspects of the story is that the Administration has been claiming that Congress authorized it to eavesdrop in violation of FISA, but the Congress which is said to have done so had no idea …
