Top Items:
New York Times:
Senate Rejects Measure on Detainees — The Senate today rejected an amendment to a bill creating a new system for interrogating and trying terror suspects that would have guaranteed such suspects access to the courts to challenge their imprisonment. — The vote was 51 to 48 against the amendment …
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William Branigin / Washington Post:
Senate Narrowly Rejects Detainee Bill Provision — The Senate today narrowly rejected a measure that would have allowed suspected terrorists to challenge their detention in federal court, as the body moved closer to passing a White House-backed bill to authorize special military tribunals …
Associated Press:
Senate Passes Detainee Bill Sought by Bush — WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate on Thursday endorsed President Bush's plans to prosecute and interrogate terror suspects, all but sealing congressional approval for legislation that Republicans intend to use on the campaign trail to assert their toughness on terrorism.
Dan Froomkin / Washington Post:
Bush Rules — Today's Senate vote on President Bush's detainee legislation, after House approval yesterday, marks a defining moment for this nation. — How far from our historic and Constitutional values are we willing to stray? How mercilessly are we willing to treat those we suspect to be our enemies?
Bruce Ackerman / Los Angeles Times:
The White House Warden — Congress may give the president the power to lock up almost anyone he thinks is a terror threat. — BURIED IN THE complex Senate compromise on detainee treatment is a real shocker, reaching far beyond the legal struggles about foreign terrorist suspects in the Guantanamo Bay fortress.
Discussion:
Eschaton, Lawyers, Guns and Money, NewsHog, Suburban Guerrilla, Booman Tribune, The Corner, About U.S. Politics and Political Animal
Pamela Leavey / The Democratic Daily:
John Kerry: 'This Bill Permits Torture' — Yesterday the House rushed through Bush's 'torture bill' and today as the Senate is in the midst of debate on the bill it is clear there is no stopping this travesty of justice. The N.Y. Times reports that "House Democrats were prevented from offering …
The Blotter:
Sixteen-Year-Old Capitol Hill Page Concerned About E-mail Exchange with Congressman — Rhonda Schwartz and Maddy Sauer Report: — A 16-year-old male congressional page concerned about the appropriateness of an e-mail exchange with a congressman alerted Capitol Hill staffers to the communication.
Discussion:
AMERICAblog, TPMmuckraker, Brilliant at Breakfast, Shakespeare's Sister and Matthew Yglesias
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Matt Stoller / MyDD:
Lieberman Goes on Rightwing Blog, Attacks Al Gore, Chris Dodd, and Ted Kennedy — I don't normally link to right-wing outlet Pajamas Media, but since this right-wing billionaire backed blog outlet has an exlusive interview with Joe Lieberman.... Lieberman is throwing the whole party under the bus.
Discussion:
Winds of Change.NET, Riehl World View, Roger L. Simon, Ned Lamont for Senate and Solomonia
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Associated Press:
Poll: Lieberman Leads Lamont in Conn. — HAMDEN, Conn. (AP) - Sen. Joe Lieberman has a 10-point advantage over Democrat Ned Lamont among likely Connecticut voters, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released Thursday. — Lieberman, a three-term Democrat running as an independent …
Roll Call:
House Report Details 485 Contacts Between Abramoff Team and White House Officials — Hundreds of contacts between top White House officials and former lobbyist Jack Abramoff and his associates "raise serious questions about the legality and actions" of those officials, according …
Patrick Quinn / Associated Press:
Iraq terror leader recruits scientists — CAIRO, Egypt - In a new audio message Thursday, the leader of al-Qaida in Iraq called for explosives experts and nuclear scientists to join his group's holy war against the West. He also said that more than 4,000 foreign insurgent fighters …
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Bryan Bender / Boston Globe:
Cost of Iraq war nearly $2b a week
Cost of Iraq war nearly $2b a week
Discussion:
Associated Press, Washington Post, The Mahablog, MyDD, TAPPED, Ezra Klein, AMERICAblog, All Spin Zone and Gristmill
CBS News:
Bob Woodward: Bush Misleads On Iraq — Tells 60 Minutes' Wallace That Kissinger Is Regular Visitor To White House — (CBS) Veteran Washington reporter Bob Woodward tells Mike Wallace that the Bush administration has not told the truth regarding the level of violence, especially against U.S. troops, in Iraq.
Discussion:
NewsBusters.org, Taylor Marsh, Think Progress, Wonkette, CNN Political Ticker, The Next Hurrah and Dinocrat
Michelle Malkin:
How not to argue about Islam — This post by Dean Esmay, "calling out Michelle Malkin," is what is known in the business as traffic bait. — So go ahead and click it and give Esmay more of the traffic he wants. I highly recommend you read his post as the classic blogospheric example of how not to argue about Islam.
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Bryan / Hot Air:
Esmay: Do Facts Matter?
Esmay: Do Facts Matter?
Discussion:
One Hand Clapping, Eteraz, The Glittering Eye, Pundit Review, The Peking Duck, Jihad Watch and Cold Fury
Atrios / Eschaton:
Clinton Speaks — The Senate is currently debating a bill on how we treat detainees in our custody, and, more broadly, on how we treat the principles on which our nation was founded. — The implications are far reaching for our national security interests abroad; the rights of Americans at home …
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Senator Bill Frist:
Secure Fence Act to Pass Senate — In a post 9/11 world, border security is a matter of national security. Securing our borders is not an insurmountable problem ... but it has been a problem that too many have been willing to ignore for too long. — While our borders are still inexcusably porous …
Lorie Byrd / Examiner:
Hard to sort out the truth in mainstream media — WASHINGTON - How can we know what to believe? That is what a neighbor asked me several weeks ago over dinner. We were discussing the fact that she no longer believes everything she sees in the news and often wonders what is the truth.
George F. Will / Washington Post:
Checkout for an Undemocratic Checkoff — Unalloyed good news is rare, so rejoice: The foremost achievement of the political speech regulators — a.k.a. campaign finance "reformers" — is collapsing. Taxpayer financing of presidential campaigns, which was in parlous condition in 2004, will die in 2008.
David S. Broder / Washington Post:
Arnold's Turnaround — A GOP Governor Finds the Key: Independence — SACRAMENTO — The Terminator has rescued himself from political ruin by reinventing his approach to government, thus demonstrating in the most dramatic way possible the value of political independence.
Adina Greene / Jerusalem Post:
GPO warns press on doctored photos — The Government Press Office held a meeting with heads of foreign news agencies earlier this month to protest the doctoring of photographs of the recent Lebanon war and the ongoing conflict with the Palestinians, and warned them that action could be taken …