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 …
Discussion:
Norwegianity, Outside The Beltway, GOP Bloggers, Daily Kos, TPM Muckraker, Prairie Weather, Rising Hegemon, PoliBlog and State of the Day
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.
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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 …
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 …
Discussion:
The Strata-Sphere, Unclaimed Territory, Daily Kos, Vichy Democrats, JABBS and Think Progress
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:
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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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 …
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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CNN:
U.S.: Iran remarks 'provocative' — VIENNA, Austria (CNN) — The United States has dismissed Iran's comments that it can inflict "harm and pain" on Washington for its role in pushing for U.N. Security Council action over Tehran's refusal to halt its nuclear program.
Discussion:
Democrat Taylor Marsh …, firedoglake, The Moderate Voice, AMERICAblog and A Blog For All
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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.
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:
Unqualified Offerings, ECHIDNE OF THE SNAKES, The Left Coaster, On Deadline, Whatever It Is … and Blah3.com
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
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.
Editor and Publisher:
Gallup: More Than Half of Americans Reject Evolution, Back Bible — NEW YORK A Gallup report released today reveals that more than half of all Americans, rejecting evolution theory and scientific evidence, agree with the statement, "God created man exactly how Bible describes it."
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 …