Top Items:
Associated Press:
Bush: We're not trolling your personal life — Lawmakers demand answers on phone records report — WASHINGTON (AP) — Congressional Republicans and Democrats demanded answers from the Bush administration Thursday about a government spy agency secretly collecting records …
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Associated Press:
Text: Bush's Comments on NSA Activities — Remarks by President Bush Thursday on reports of the National Security Agency building a secret database of U.S. telephone records, as transcribed by the White House: — After September the 11th, I vowed to the American people that our government …
Discussion:
Pacific Views
John O'Neil / New York Times:
Bush Says U.S. Spying Is Not Widespread — President Bush today denied that the government is "mining or trolling through the personal lives of innocent Americans," as Democrats expressed outrage over a news report describing a National Security Agency program that has collected vast amounts of telephone records.
Crooks and Liars:
Cafferty: Dictatorship — Jack Cafferty didn't hold back today: — Video-WMP Video-QT — Cafferty: We all hope nothing happens to Arlen Specter, the Republican head of the Senate Judiciary Committee, cause he might be all that stands between us and a full blown dictatorship in this country.
Glenn Greenwald / Unclaimed Territory:
No need for Congress, no need for courts — (updated below) — I just this morning read the obviously significant USA Today article detailing the fact that the NSA is maintaining a comprehensive data base of every call made by every American - both internationally and domestically …
Devlin Barrett / Associated Press:
NSA Stymies Justice Dept. Spying Probe — WASHINGTON — The government has abruptly ended an inquiry into the warrantless eavesdropping program because the National Security Agency refused to grant Justice Department lawyers the necessary security clearance to probe the matter.
Discussion:
The Moderate Voice, Outside The Beltway, TalkLeft, QandO, Pensito Review, Firedoglake and The Glittering Eye
Rich Noyes / NewsBusters.org:
Hyping USA Today's "Big Brother" Bombshell: TV Jumps on Stale NSA Database Story — Seismic! Shocking! Startling! A bombshell!! That's how the ABC, CBS and NBC morning shows described a front-page story in today's (Thursday's) USA Today that breathlessly touted how "NSA has massive database of Americans' phone calls."
Discussion:
OrinKerr.com, USA Today, The Swamp, Right Wing News, PoliBlog, AMERICAblog, The Left Coaster, QandO, BLACKFIVE, Outside The Beltway and The Corner on National …
Glenn Greenwald / Unclaimed Territory:
Legal issues governing the Administration's newly disclosed surveillance program — (updated below - updated again) — Orin Kerr has a post which preliminary assesses some of the legal issues involved with the domestic data gathering program, concluding (in his standard …
USA Today:
Bush defends NSA data collection program — WASHINGTON — Responding quickly to a USA TODAY report that his administration has collected information on tens of millions of domestic phone calls, President Bush today said everthing the National Security Agency has done is legal …
Discussion:
Balloon Juice, Hugh Hewitt, David Corn, Donklephant, Blogcritics.org, Vox Popoli, ECHIDNE OF THE SNAKES and Crooks and Liars
Bloomberg:
NSA Collected Phone Records in U.S., Lott Says (Update1) — May 11 (Bloomberg) — The U.S. National Security Agency has obtained the phone records of millions of Americans in an effort to stop terrorists, a Senate Intelligence Committee member confirmed. — News of the program …
AJStrata / The Strata-Sphere:
Another Day, Another National Security Leak
Another Day, Another National Security Leak
Discussion:
Macsmind, The Next Hurrah, Flopping Aces, Unfogged, The American Thinker, Daily Kos, Sister Toldjah, INTEL DUMP, Riehl World View, The American Street, ReidBlog, News Hounds, Blue Crab Boulevard, Democrats.com, Yourish.com, AfterDowningStreet.org, Brilliant at Breakfast, The All Spin Zone, Pacific Views, Scrutiny Hooligans, AMERICAblog, The Carpetbagger Report, A Blog For All and Gateway Pundit
The Raw Story:
Conyers, Harman introduce bill to kill NSA phone call database
Conyers, Harman introduce bill to kill NSA phone call database
Discussion:
Firedoglake
Matt Stoller / MyDD:
Qwest: Good Corporate Behavior Should Be Rewarded
Qwest: Good Corporate Behavior Should Be Rewarded
Discussion:
AMERICAblog, The American Mind, The Volokh Conspiracy, The Mahablog, Confederate Yankee, Eschaton, The Sideshow, TalkLeft, Obsidian Wings, The Hotline's Blogometer, Midtopia, Decision '08, BluegrassReport.org, Shakespeare's Sister, Wampum, Feministe, dartblog.com, Democrat Taylor Marsh … and Thoughts of an Average Woman
Ryan Alessi / Lexington Herald-Leader:
Grand jury indicts Gov. Ernie Fletcher — The special grand jury that's been investigating state government hiring practices today indicted Gov. Ernie Fletcher on three misdemeanor charges of conspiracy, official misconduct and political discrimination. — The jury also indicted former …
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Thomas B. Edsall / Washington Post:
Democrats Are Fractured Over Strategy, Funds — Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean and the leader of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee have clashed angrily in recent days in a dispute about how the party should spend its money in advance of this fall's midterm elections.
Discussion:
The Washington Monthly, TAPPED, Donklephant, JustOneMinute, Betsy's Page, Oliver Willis and Brainster's Blog
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Glenn Reynolds / Instapundit.com:
The Glenn and Helen Show: Ken Mehlman and Michael Barone on 2006 and 2008 — It's a roundup of Republican problems and solutions in today's Glenn and Helen Show. First, we talk to Ken Mehlman, chair of the Republican National Committee, about polls, anger in the base, and issues like immigration, spending, taxes, and judges.
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Baltimore Examiner:
Snow issues detailed rebuttals to media coverage of the president — WASHINGTON - New White House Press Secretary Tony Snow is starting off in a combative mode against the press by issuing detailed rebuttals to what he considers unfair coverage of Bush. — "The New York Times continues …
Discussion:
Democracy Project, New York Times, Gateway Pundit, News Blog, Hotline On Call, Shakespeare's Sister, The Sundries Shack, UNCoRRELATED, Kesher Talk, Media Blog on National …, Ace of Spades HQ, First Draft, Blue Crab Boulevard, California Conservative, RightWinged.com and All Things Conservative
Washington Post:
Plan to Give D.C. a Vote In Congress Advances — Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.) is teaming up with U.S. Rep. Thomas M. Davis III (R-Va.) to introduce a bill that would for the first time give the District a full vote in Congress, a sign of bipartisan cooperation that advocates of D.C. voting rights hailed as a breakthrough.
Discussion:
MyDD, Betsy's Page, Outside The Beltway, TAPPED, Taegan Goddard's …, Blue Crab Boulevard and ACSBlog
Phillip Martin / Burnt Orange Report:
The Tragedy of House Bill 1 — The Senate voted to pass out an incredibly twisted piece of legislation today after three days of secret meetings behind closed doors. The vote, which was unanimous and confirms that the "private club" of the Texas Senate is more important than the entire population of Texas …
The Raw Story:
DeLay notifies Speaker of the House he will resign June 9 — It's official: Former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-TX) has announced he will resign from Congress June 9. A copy of his resignation letter was acquired by RAW STORY. — Congressman Tom DeLay — Representing the 22nd District of Texas
Jonathan Allen / The Hill:
Gang balks on Judge Boyle — The outlook for Judge Terrence Boyle, nominated to the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, became cloudier yesterday as Democrats reiterated opposition to him and some Republican members of the influential Gang of 14 declined to offer support.