Top Items:
David Stout / New York Times:
Defense of Eavesdropping Is Met With Skepticism in Senate — WASHINGTON, Feb. 6 — Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales told skeptical senators today that the Bush administration's domestic eavesdropping program is legal, constitutional and vital to national security in a time of terrorism.
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Washington Post:
ALBERTO GONZALES, U.S. ATTORNEY GENERAL — SPECTER: It's 9:30. The Judiciary Committee will now proceed with our hearing on the administration's program administered by the National Security Agency on surveillance. — We welcome the attorney general of the United States here today, who will be testifying.
CNN:
Gonzales faces skeptical questions about spy program — Attorney general defends NSA eavesdropping — WASHINGTON (CNN) — U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales was defending President Bush's controversial domestic spying program Monday in testimony at a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing.
Glenn Greenwald / Unclaimed Territory:
Live blogging the NSA hearings — The logistics of live-blogging from the Committee room were too complicated, so I am live-blogging the hearings off-site. I may be able to do it from the Committee room itself for the afternoon session, but I'd rather have full blogging abilities outside of the room than be in the room.
William Branigin / Washington Post:Gonzales Defends Legality of Surveillance
Discussion:
Right Wing Nut House
John Amato / Crooks and Liars:
Hilarious: Pajamaline — First of all Power Line is not part of Pajamas Media as far as I know. (I believe they are part of the Blog News Service of PM) Durbin reacts to Mirengoff's parroting of Karl Rove's talking point. — Video-WMP Video-QT — Atrios:
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Deacon / Power Line:
SCOOPED BY MY OWN PARTNER — As John mentioned, this morning Senator Durbin met the new media and, more specifically, "Pajama Line." This occurred because I had the good fortune of accompanying filmmaker Andrew Marcus of Pajamas Media to the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on the legality of the NSA intercept program.
Washington Post:
Handful of Races May Tip Control of Congress — In Pennsylvania, Sen. Rick Santorum (R) has been running behind his challenger for months. In Montana, Sen. Conrad Burns (R), linked to the Jack Abramoff scandal, is on the defensive. In Ohio, Sen. Mike DeWine (R) is struggling to overcome …
Discussion:
Outside The Beltway, The Carpetbagger Report, Running Scared, Decision '08, Hugh Hewitt and Nitpicker
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Erin P. Billings / rollcall.com:
Democrats 'Recalibrating' Message Strategy — National Democratic leaders remain engaged in strategic talks over how and when to unveil their 2006 campaign platform, with recent discussions focused on laying out the party agenda in installments rather than all at once.
mccain.senate.gov:
MCCAIN RELEASES LETTER TO OBAMA — Washington D.C. - Today, Senator McCain sent the following letter to Senator Obama regarding ongoing Congressional efforts towards bipartisan lobbying reform. The following is the text from that letter: — The Honorable Barack Obama — United States Senate
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Hotline On Call:
McCain Blasts — And We Mean Blasts — Obama — An outraged Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) today called Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) insincere and partisan, suggesting the Illinois freshman as much as lied in private dicussions the two had about ethics reform last week.
Discussion:
Amygdala
Digby / Hullabaloo:
The Eunuch Caucus — I've been digesting this morning's hearings and I am dumbstruck by the totality of the Republicans' abdication of their duty. These men who spent years running on Madisonian principles ("The essence of government is power; and power, lodged as it must be in human hands …
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Matthew Yglesias / TAPPED:WHAT HAPPENED TO POWER HUNGER? I'm glad to see that Arlen Specter seems …
Discussion:
The Reaction
somethingawful.com:
Leave a Message in the Anonymous Muslim Man Complaint Box — I saw on the TV that there is a show now with a woman host. This is not very bad by itself because the woman was dressed in accordance with the laws of Islam and did not expose herself and inflame the lust of any male guests.
Jonathan Weisman / Washington Post:
Bush's $2.8 Trillion Budget Proposal Cuts Domestic Programs — President Bush today proposed a $2.8 trillion budget for fiscal 2007 that would cut billions of dollars from domestic programs ranging from Medicare and food stamps to local law enforcement and disease control …
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Amir Shah / Associated Press:
Anti-Cartoon Clashes Spread, Turn Deadly — KABUL, Afghanistan - Afghan security forces opened fire on demonstrators Monday, leaving at least four dead, as increasingly violent protests erupted around the world over published caricatures of Islam's Prophet Muhammad. European and Muslim politicians pleaded for calm.
RELATED ITEM:
BBC:Four killed in cartoon protests
Discussion:
Michelle Malkin, Guardian, Gateway Pundit, Captain's Quarters, Gina Cobb, Newslinker, Blinq, News Blog, The American Thinker, A Blog For All, The Age, Financial Times, Midwest Conservative Journal, Outside The Beltway, Sister Toldjah, Fausta's Blog, Washington Post and The Moderate Voice
Dsifry / Sifry's Alerts:
State of the Blogosphere, February 2006 Part 1: On Blogosphere Growth — It's been 4 months since last October's State of the Blogosphere report, so it's time to update the numbers! For historical perspective, you can see earlier State of the Blogosphere reports from July 2005, from March 2005, and from October 2004.
Discussion:
Boing Boing
Shankar Vedantam / Washington Post:
Eden and Evolution — Religious critics of evolution are wrong about its flaws. But are they right that it threatens belief in a loving God? — The wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid . . . — Isaiah 11:6 — What a book a Devil's Chaplain might write …
Andrew Sabl / The Reality-Based Community:
Attacking Iran—the analogies — While I normally have the highest intellectual respect for Mark Kleiman, his tentative support for military action in Iran is (as he knows) one position that makes me doubt whether his contact with reality is as solid as he believes.
James Taranto / Opinion Journal:
Best of the Web — Whitewashing a Black Leader—II — NAACP chairman Julian Bond and Fayetteville State University are disputing WorldNetDaily's account of Bond's FSU speech last week, which we noted Friday. From an FSU press release: … We phoned Mr. Womble this morning …
