Top Items:
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.
Discussion:
Concurring Opinions, The Heretik, IntoxiNation-News …, Decision '08, firedoglake and The Democratic Daily Blog
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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.
William Branigin / Washington Post:
Gonzales Defends Legality of Surveillance — Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales told a Senate committee today that a controversial surveillance program is "lawful in all respects" and that President Bush launched it under authority from both the Constitution and U.S. law.
Discussion:
Right Wing Nut House, the talking dog, The Heretik, CorrenteWire, BrothersJudd Blog and Opinion Journal
Washington Post:
U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee Holds a Hearing on Wartime Executive Power and the National Security Agency's Surveillance Authority — The transcript picks up with the testimony of Senator Herb Kohl. Return to Part I. — Senator Kohl? — KOHL: Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Jay / Stop The ACLU:
ACLU Welcomes Senate Inquiry Into Warrantless NSA Spying Program With Full Page Propaganda — The ACLU are running this full page ad in conjunction with today's Senate hearings over the NSA. … To heck with any evidence! Mr. Romero says that Bush is already guilty …
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.
Arianna Huffington / The Huffington Post:Spying and Lying: A Winning Issue for Dems... If They Stay Strong
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.
Discussion:
Daily Pundit
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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:
Mark Tapscott / tapscottscopydesk.blogspot.com:
Betcha Durbin Knows About Pajamas Media Now! (And Don't Miss Update V on an AP Schools Story) — Capitol Hill is buzzing with talk of a news conference earlier today in which Powerline's Paul Mirengoff was pushing some hard questions at Sen. Teddy Kennedy, D-MA, and Sen. Richard Durbin …
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
Discussion:
WuzzaDem, The Moderate Voice, Austin Bay Blog, Daily Kos, The American Princess, RedState, chicagoboyz.net and THE ASTUTE BLOGGER
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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.
NEWS.com.au:
Iran to publish Holocaust cartoons — IRAN'S largest selling newspaper announced today it was holding a contest on cartoons of the Holocaust in response to the publishing in European papers of caricatures of the Prophet Mohammed. — "It will be an international cartoon contest about the Holocaust …
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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.
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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.
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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 …
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.
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.
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
Gary Farber / Amygdala:
NUMBERS. I've been contemplating numbers. — I already touched on the overall point here, but it's worth contemplating the numbers, I think. — Josh Marshall says: … Sebastian Holsclaw here refers, as I previously objected to here in this considerably somewhat more over-heated post by Von …
