Top Items:
James Gordon Meek / NY Daily News:
W pushes envelope on U.S. spying — New postal law lets Bush peek through your mail — WASHINGTON - President Bush has quietly claimed sweeping new powers to open Americans' mail without a judge's warrant, the Daily News has learned. — The President asserted his new authority …
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Carpetbagger / The Carpetbagger Report:
You've got mail — which Bush thinks he can read
You've got mail — which Bush thinks he can read
Discussion:
Balloon Juice
Glenn Kessler / Washington Post:
Negroponte to Leave Job to Be State Dept. Deputy — Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has persuaded John D. Negroponte to leave his post as director of national intelligence and come to the State Department as her deputy, government officials said last night. — Negroponte's move would fill a crucial hole on Rice's team.
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Booman Tribune:
Negroponte to State: What's Going On? — My little hamster wheel has been spinning white hot ever since I read that John Negroponte is leaving his position as Director of National Intelligence (DNI) to take a position as Deputy Secretary of State. This is some really, really strange stuff.
Dana Milbank / Washington Post:
In the House, Suddenly Righteous Republicans — Thirty-one-year-old Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-N.C.) is not a large man, standing perhaps 5 feet 3 inches tall in thick soles. But he packed a whole lot of chutzpah when he walked into the House TV gallery yesterday to demand …
Discussion:
Firedoglake, The Carpetbagger Report, Ankle Biting Pundits, Balloon Juice, The Caucus, TPMmuckraker and Wonkette
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New York Times:
Ethics Overhaul Tops the Agenda in New Congress — On the brink of regaining power after 12 years, House Democrats said Wednesday that they would move immediately to try to sever ties between lawmakers and lobbyists who figured into scandals that helped Democrats win control of Congress.
Opinion Journal:
The 100 Hours Rush — Speaker Pelosi learned a few things from Tom DeLay. — Congratulations to Speaker Nancy Pelosi and her fellow Democrats, who begin their new control of Congress today. They also deserve full marks for paying attention while in the minority, because it's clear Democrats learned …
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Jonathan Weisman / Washington Post:
Eye on the Clock, House Democrats Put Their Focus On '100 Hours'
Eye on the Clock, House Democrats Put Their Focus On '100 Hours'
New York Post:
RANGEL BOOTS VEEP — EVICTS CHENEY FROM CHOICE CAPITOL DIGS — Rep. Charles Rangel has evicted Vice President Dick Cheney from his office in the Capitol, and the Harlem heavyweight is moving into the prime digs today, The Post has learned. — Gilded letters were freshly painted atop …
Discussion:
The Huffington Post, Taylor Marsh, CNN Political Ticker, Outside The Beltway, The Daou Report and AMERICAblog
George F. Will / Washington Post:
The Right Minimum Wage — A federal minimum wage is an idea whose time came in 1938, when public confidence in markets was at a nadir and the federal government's confidence in itself was at an apogee. This, in spite of the fact that with 19 percent unemployment and the economy contracting …
Robert Tracinski / realclearpolitics.com:
To Win in Baghdad, Strike at Tehran — As early as next week, President Bush is expected to give a major speech announcing a new strategy in Iraq. This is an excellent opportunity for the administration to announce a big strategic change that could dramatically improve America's prospects in Iraq.
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Deb Riechmann / Associated Press:
Miers Resigns As White House Counsel — WASHINGTON (AP) — Harriet Miers, President Bush's failed Supreme Court nominee, has submitted her resignation as White House counsel, the White House announced Thursday. — White House press secretary Tony Snow said the president reluctantly accepted …
Frank Newport / Gallup Poll:
Majority of Americans View Media Coverage of Iraq as Inaccurate — Most likely to say coverage is too negative — PRINCETON, NJ — A majority of Americans — 56% — believe that the news media's coverage of the situation in Iraq is generally inaccurate. About 4 out of 10 Americans agree …
Discussion:
Hot Air
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Barack Obama / Washington Post:
A Chance To Change The Game — This past Election Day, the American people sent a clear message to Washington: Clean up your act. — After a year in which too many scandals revealed the influence special interests wield over Washington, it's no surprise that so many incumbents were defeated …
Discussion:
The Huffington Post
Lois Romano / Washington Post:
Passed Over by Pelosi, Harman Doesn't Get Even. She Gets Mad. — Catfight aftermath: Rep. Jane Harman is still quite irked that House Speaker-designee Nancy Pelosi nixed her for chairman of the House intelligence committee — and she's not exactly being stoic about it.
Arianna Huffington / The Huffington Post:
D.C. Notes: Murtha Again Taking the Lead on Iraq — Arriving on the Hill, Melinda and I made a beeline for the office of Rep. Jack Murtha, the man most responsible for the Democrats seizing control of the 110th Congress (other than George Bush, that is). — His office is filled …
Dahlia Lithwick / Slate:
O Mighty Crisis — THE "CONSTITUTIONAL COLLAPSE" OVER JUDICIAL PAY. — I have been accused by readers of being far too fond of the new chief justice. Several of my colleagues have broken into song when they see me—a little ditty linking me to the chief with a chorus that ends, "k-i-s-s-i-n-g."
Think Progress:
Snow: Americans 'Out of Touch With Reality' In Iraq — Just weeks ago, President Bush insisted that the United States was "absolutely" winning in Iraq. Recently, as the casulties have mounted, he's toned back his sunny rhetoric slightly, saying the United States was not "winning or losing."
Associated Press:
Angry Nixon vowed to 'ruin' diplomatic corps … WASHINGTON (AP) — Embittered by career diplomats during his first term, President Nixon said he wanted to "ruin the Foreign Service" before leaving office, according to newly released State Department documents.