Top Items:
New York Times:
G.O.P. Plan Would Allow Spying Without Warrants — WASHINGTON, March 8 — The plan by Senate Republicans to step up oversight of the National Security Agency's domestic surveillance program would also give legislative sanction for the first time to long-term eavesdropping on Americans without …
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Carl Hulse / New York Times:
A Rebellion in the G.O.P. on Security, a Signature Issue — WASHINGTON, March 8 — After more than five years of allowing President Bush relatively free rein to set their course, Republicans in Congress are suddenly, if selectively, in rebellion, a mutiny all the more surprising since …
New York Times:
The Death of the Intelligence Panel — The wrenching debate in the 1970's over the abuse of presidential power produced two groundbreaking reforms aimed at preventing a president from using war or broader claims of national security to trample Americans' rights.
Discussion:
Wonkette
Eric Lichtblau / New York Times:
Justice Dept. Report Cites F.B.I. Violations — WASHINGTON, March 8 — The Federal Bureau of Investigation found apparent violations of its own wiretapping and other intelligence-gathering procedures more than 100 times in the last two years, and problems appear to have grown more frequent …
Jonathan Weisman / Washington Post:
Congress Prepares for Port Showdown — Lawmakers Take First Steps Toward Ending Bush Deal — The shot of the gritty Baltimore waterfront pulls back to reveal a youthful, serious Senate candidate intoning: "President Bush wants to sell this port — and five others — to the United Arab Emirates …
Discussion:
The Sundries Shack, The Carpetbagger Report, Crazy Politico's Rantings, PBD, Sirotablog and AMERICAblog
Washington Post:
Authorizing Surveillance — IN THE PAST week both congressional intelligence committees have taken modest steps toward oversight of the National Security Agency's mysterious program of warrantless wiretapping. First, the House intelligence committee agreed to conduct a comprehensive review …
Washington Post:
Senator Resumes Lobbyist Huddles — After saying in January that he would end his regular meetings with lobbyists, Sen. Rick Santorum (Pa.), the third-ranking GOP leader in the Senate, has continued to meet with many of the same lobbyists at the same time and on the same day of the week.
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New York Times:
Senate Votes to Ban Gifts and Meals of Lobbyists — WASHINGTON, March 8 — Facing accusations that lawmakers are not serious about breaking the tight bond between Capitol Hill and K Street, the Senate voted Wednesday to bar members of Congress and their aides from accepting gifts and meals from lobbyists.
Paul Kiel / TPM Muckraker:
The Daily Muck — Sen. Santorum's (R-PA) Operation Good Neighbor has been the subject of unwelcome publicity lately, and rather than stand and fight, he's decided to cut and run. Says he: "I do not have a personal charity." He just founded the thing - but he's had nothing to do with it since.
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LiberalOasis:
An Iran Strategy — In January, Liberal Oasis criticized Sen. Hilllary Clinton's approach on Iran's nuclear program. — Clinton was seeking to outhawk the Bushies, accusing them of "outsourcing it to others and standing on the sidelines". — That was dumb from the get-go.
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Washington Post:
Negative Perception Of Islam Increasing — Poll Numbers in U.S. Higher Than in 2001 — As the war in Iraq grinds into its fourth year, a growing proportion of Americans are expressing unfavorable views of Islam, and a majority now say that Muslims are disproportionately prone to violence …
David Crary / Associated Press:
Men's Rights Group Eyes Child Support Stay — NEW YORK - Contending that women have more options than they do in the event of an unintended pregnancy, men's rights activists are mounting a long shot legal campaign aimed at giving them the chance to opt out of financial responsibility for raising a child.
Discussion:
GOP Bloggers, Danny Carlton, Ang's Weird Ideas, Sister Toldjah, Bring it On! and Generation Why?
CNN:
Suspect: Church fires started as 'joke' — Three Birmingham college students arrested, charged — BIRMINGHAM, Alabama (CNN) — Three Birmingham college students were arrested and charged Wednesday in connection with a string of Alabama church fires that is described in court papers as a joke that "got out of hand," authorities said.
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Ellen Knickmeyer / Washington Post:
Official Says Shiite Party Suppressed Body Count — BAGHDAD, March 8 — Days after the bombing of a Shiite shrine unleashed a wave of retaliatory killings of Sunnis, the leading Shiite party in Iraq's governing coalition directed the Health Ministry to stop tabulating execution-style shootings …
Discussion:
ECHIDNE OF THE SNAKES, Unqualified Offerings, The Left Coaster, On Deadline, Whatever It Is … and Blah3.com
Washington Post:
Bush: Congress 'Shortchanged' New Orleans — Touring Gulf Coast, President Calls for Restoration of $1.5 Billion for Levee Repairs — NEW ORLEANS, March 8 — President Bush, on a Gulf Coast inspection tour that included his first visit to this city's storm-shattered Lower Ninth Ward …
Discussion:
The Carpetbagger Report, The Moderate Voice, The Next Hurrah and The Democratic Daily Blog
Jacob Weisberg / Slate:
The Three Stooges — Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid, and Howard Dean. — According to the latest CBS News poll, George W. Bush's approval rating hit a personal worst of 34 percent in February, making him the most unpopular president since Nixon during Watergate.
Discussion:
Bark Bark Woof Woof, GOP Bloggers, Random Jottings, Betsy's Page and All Things Beautiful
Digby / Hullabaloo:
The political decadence of late-stage conservatism … There you have it. Winning is the only thing they really care about and the only thing they know how to do. Governing, as we've just had graphically illustrated, was not part of the program. — Jack Abramoff is one of the anointed princes …
Peggy Noonan / Opinion Journal:
Boy in a Bubble — What George Clooney doesn't know about life. — Memo to: The Academy — From: Just another viewer — Re: Advice, as if you wanted more — I cannot remember a time when, in the days after the Academy Awards show, it was not criticized, and even blasted.
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