Top Items:
Alexander Bolton / The Hill:
Specter strikes NSA deal — Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Arlen Specter (R-Pa.) and conservative members of his panel have reached agreement on legislation that may determine the legality of the National Security Agency's (NSA) surveillance program, GOP sources say.
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Glenn Greenwald / Unclaimed Territory:
GOP Senators block judicial review of NSA program — A front-page article in this morning's The Hill reports that Sen. Specter has finally made enough concessions to secure the support of the more right-wing members of the Judiciary Committee for his legislation that (along with a bill from Sen. DeWine) …
CNN:
Conservatives appear unmoved on immigration — Poll suggests Bush address swayed viewers — WASHINGTON (CNN) — President Bush's plan to toughen border security may not be enough to overcome opposition within his own party to his "earned-citizenship" proposal, which critics decry as "amnesty," House conservatives said Tuesday.
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Dan Balz / Washington Post:
In Speech, A Balancing Act of Policy And Politics — President Bush once saw the immigration issue as an opportunity to expand the Republican Party by attracting more Hispanic voters with a message of tolerance and inclusion. His nationally televised speech last night was an admission …
judeoscope.ca:
Ayaan Hirsi Ali Press Statement on Resignation from Parliament — I came to Holland in the summer of 1992 because I wanted to be able to determine my own future. I didn't want to be forced into a destiny that other people had chosen for me, so I opted for the protection of the rule of law.
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judicialwatch.org:
Judicial Watch to Obtain September 11 Pentagon Video at 1 p.m. Today — Department of Defense Responds to Judicial Watch Freedom of Information Act Request and Related Lawsuit — (Washington, DC) Judicial Watch, the public interest group that investigates and prosecutes government corruption …
Discussion:
Texas Rainmaker, RightWinged.com, A Blog For All, protein wisdom, Screw Loose Change and Macsmind
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Lorie Byrd / Lorie Byrd.com:
Goodbye Poli — I just posted the following at Polpundit: — It is 1 a.m. and I still have a ton of things to do before I can go to bed and a child up with a fever for the second night in a row, but if I don't post this now, it might not get posted. Forgive me if this is a bit rambling or unclear.
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PoliPundit.com:
An Editorial Change — Let me quote from Lorie's post below: … Lorie was well aware that we were having a private discussion. Yet she saw fit to quote from my e-mails in public, without adequate context. She has forced me to temporarily revoke everyone's posting privileges …
Zogby:
Bush Immigration Speech: Half Disappointed, Half impressed Nation also split whether Bush plan will solve immigration problem; Bush approval - 32% — President Bush's speech to the nation on immigration reform Monday night drew mixed reviews, but left a plurality of likely voters across …
Dana Milbank / Washington Post:
Karl Rove, Bullish on the Budget and the Border — It's a heck of a curse. — Presidential adviser Karl Rove had almost finished his appearance yesterday at the American Enterprise Institute when it happened. Discussing the Bush administration's record on illegal immigration, he blurted out, "We're doing a heck of a job."
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Judith Miller / Opinion Journal:
How Gadhafi Lost His Groove — The complex surrender of Libya's WMD. — As the Bush administration struggles to stop Iran and North Korea from acquiring nuclear weapons, it might recall how Libya was persuaded to renounce terrorism and its own weapons of mass destruction programs …
Glenn Greenwald / Unclaimed Territory:
President's speech mauled by his base — (updated below) — So, President Bush gave his big speech last night designed to mollify his rage-fueled base and to stem the tide of his rapidly collapsing presidency. The speech is done and the reviews are in. How did he do?
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Elisabeth Bumiller / New York Times:
Behind Bush's Address Lies a Deep History — Photographers gathered around President Bush in the Oval Office Monday after his televised speech. "America needs to conduct this debate on immigration in a reasoned and respectful tone," Mr. Bush said. — WASHINGTON, May 15 …
Discussion:
TAPPED, Eschaton, Feministe, NewsBusters.org, Sisyphus Shrugged, AMERICAblog, BrothersJudd Blog and The Rude Pundit
Associated Press:
Venezuela Weighs Selling U.S. Jets to Iran — Venezuela is considering selling its fleet of U.S.-made F-16 fighter jets to another country, perhaps Iran, in response to a U.S. ban on arms sales to President Hugo Chavez's government, a military official said Tuesday.
Morologus / volpac.org:
Real Fencing — I am looking forward to President Bush's speech tonight on border security and immigration. I encourage you to watch it. — In the Senate we have restarted the debate on the critical issues of border security and immigration. Over the next ten days, 20 amendments will be offered by Republicans.
Robert Farley / Lawyers, Guns and Money:
Battle Fatigue — Insty links, in characteristically laconic style, to this comment: … They're talking here not so much about actually fighting the War on Terror, but about how hard it is to be a warblogger. Let that sink in for a minute. Neo-neocon, who apparently has never encountered …
Anne Marie Squeo / Wall Street Journal:
Rove's Camp Takes Center of Web Storm — Bloggers Underscore How Net's Reporting — Dynamics Provide Grist for the Rumor Mill — On Saturday night, attorney Robert Luskin was trying to barbecue at his Washington home when the phone started ringing nonstop.
New York Times:
House Resists Call for Papers in Bribery Case — WASHINGTON, May 15 — Justice Department investigators and lawyers for the House of Representatives are wrangling over a request by the department for Congressional committee documents related to its expanding inquiry into the bribery scheme …
USA Today:
7 killed in Baghdad — BAGHDAD — Fighting between suspected insurgents and Iraqi police killed at least six civilians in Baghdad on Tuesday, and a roadside bomb killed a U.S. soldier on a foot patrol in another part of the capital, officials said. — Thousands flee Mass. floods