Top Items:
MSNBC:
Hayden: Spying has become political football — CIA nominee complains of constant scrutiny of intelligence gatherers — WASHINGTON - CIA nominee Air Force Gen. Michael Hayden complained Thursday that intelligence-gathering has become "football in American political discourse."
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Daniel Rubin / Blinq:
The Hayden Show — 9:15 a.m. Hart Office Building, room 216.
The Hayden Show — 9:15 a.m. Hart Office Building, room 216.
Discussion:
Council on Foreign Relations
Laurie Kellman / Associated Press:
Feingold, Specter Clash Over Gay Marriage — WASHINGTON - A Senate committee approved a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage Thursday, after a shouting match that ended when one Democrat strode out and the Republican chairman bid him "good riddance." — "I don't need to be lectured by you.
Bryan / Hot Air:
Breaking: Ahmadinejad to send a Letter to the Pope — As nearly every single character in the Star Wars universe says, "I have a bad feeling about this." … He also invited Bush to become a Muslim. And you would be wise to interpret the word "invite" to have a whiff of the mob inviting you to dinner at the end of a pier.
Discussion:
All Things Beautiful, protein wisdom, Ninth State, Blue Crab Boulevard, E L Frederick and Liberty and Justice
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Reuters:
Iran president to send letter to Pope - paper — TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is writing a letter to Pope Benedict, following an unprecedented letter to U.S. President George W. Bush earlier this month, a newspaper said on Thursday.
Discussion:
Robert's Blog
Mary Katharine Ham / Hugh Hewitt:
Whaaat???: Illegal Immigration Edition — Seriously, if you could see me now, I'm very Yosemite Sam. Very stampy and tantrumy and incoherent. — Just a few minutes ago, on the floor of the United States Senate, senators debated an amendment to the McCain immigration bill.
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Reuters:
Hamas force battles police in Gaza, 4 hurt — GAZA (Reuters) - Palestinian police fought gunbattles in Gaza City on Friday with a new Hamas-led security force set up by the Islamist government in defiance of President Mahmoud Abbas. — At least four people were wounded …
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Steve Clemons / The Washington Note:
In TWN News: Michael Hayden, Bobby Ray Inman, and Richard Armitage — (Former NSA Director Bobby Inman speaking at George H.W. Bush Presidential Library) — Michael Hayden's CIA Director confirmation hearings start today in the Senate Intelligence Committee at 9:30 a.m. — I'll be listening.
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Judd / Think Progress:
New Ads Funded by Big Oil Portray Global Warming Science as Smear Campaign Against Carbon Dioxide — Yesterday, the Competitive Enterprise Institute - a front group funded by ExxonMobil and other big oil companies - launched two advertisements in response to Al Gore's new movie, An Inconvenient Truth.
Ken Silverstein / Harper's:
"Fairy Tales" — The (lack of) intelligence underpinning Bush's Iraq policy — During the 2003 invasion of Iraq, Saddam Hussein's Information Minister became the butt of a million jokes for predicting that American soldiers were being routed, even as U.S. troops were quickly closing in on Baghdad.
TCS Daily:
Jesus Christ as Poached Egg — Dan Brown's novel The Da Vinci Code is one of the most popular best sellers in recent history and the Sony motion picture to be released this Friday (May 19) is expected to be the first major blockbuster of the summer (given how relatively poorly MI3 performed).
Peggy Noonan / Opinion Journal:
Out of Touch — What the president's immigration speech and "The DaVinci Code" have in common. — What was missing in the president's approach the other night was the expression, or suggestion, of context. The context was a crisis that had gone unanswered as it has built …
Allahpundit / Hot Air:
Nutroots video: Kos makes TV political ad debut — **Watch the video remix. Geraghty calls it "perhaps the most surreal campaign ad I've ever seen." Me, I've seen this movie before; the line "the call's coming from inside the house" figures prominently.
Jonathan Weisman / Washington Post:
Ethics Panel Starts 3 Probes — Ney, Jefferson And Cunningham Cases End Hiatus — After 16 months of inactivity and partisan infighting, the House ethics committee launched investigations last night into bribery allegations against Reps. Robert W. Ney (R-Ohio) and William Jefferson (D-La.) …
Discussion:
TPMmuckraker, Miami Herald, The Carpetbagger Report, Blue Crab Boulevard, Bring it On! and Obsidian Wings
David Streitfeld / Los Angeles Times:
A Job Americans Won't Do, Even at $34 an Hour — Some landscape firms rebut claims that higher pay, not immigration reform, is needed. — Cyndi Smallwood is looking for a few strong men for her landscaping company. Guys with no fear of a hot sun, who can shovel dirt all day long.
Frederic J. Frommer / Associated Press:
Sensenbrenner: Bush Turned Back on Bill — WASHINGTON - Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner, who has pushed a tough border security bill through the House, accused President Bush on Wednesday of abandoning the legislation after asking for many of its provisions. — "He basically turned his back on provisions …