Top Items:
New York Times:
Mining of Data Prompted Fight Over Spying — A 2004 dispute over the National Security Agency's secret surveillance program that led top Justice Department officials to threaten resignation involved computer searches through massive electronic databases, according to current and former officials briefed on the program.
Discussion:
Power Line, Washington Monthly, TalkLeft, The Next Hurrah, Corrente, Needlenose, Prairie Weather, Booman Tribune and Brian Beutler
RELATED:
New York Times:
Mr. Gonzales's Never-Ending Story — President Bush often insists he has to be the decider — ignoring Congress and the public when it comes to the tough matters on war, terrorism and torture, even deciding whether an ordinary man in Florida should be allowed to let his wife die with dignity.
Josh Marshall / Talking Points Memo:
As you can... DATA MINING — As you can see, we now have the first hint of what was at the center of the Ashcroft hospital room showdown. According to the New York Times, what the White House calls the 'terrorist surveillance [i.e., warrantless wiretap] program' originally included some sort of wide scale data mining.
Tom Maguire / JustOneMinute:
I Guess He Should Have Just Burned A Flag — This will make for a fascinating prosecution: … Well, if had burned an American flag the issues would be clear. If he had put a crucifix in a glass of urine, it would have been art. — On the other hand, a book in a toilet, regardless of the book …
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Newsday:
Hate-crime arrests in Quran desecrations at Pace University — NEW YORK (AP) _ A 23-year-old man was arrested Friday on hate-crime charges after he threw a Quran in a toilet at Pace University on two separate occasions, police said. — Stanislav Shmulevich of Brooklyn was arrested on charges …
Steve Benen / Talking Points Memo:
In reviewing Ian... CONFLATING ALL OUR ENEMIES INTO ONE — In reviewing Ian Shapiro's new book, Containment: Rebuilding a Strategy Against Global Terror, Samantha Powers emphasizes a point that has been completely lost on Republican presidential candidates (and the man they hope to replace):
Discussion:
Hullabaloo
RELATED:
Kevin Drum / Washington Monthly:
DIVIDE AND CONQUER....In a review/essay critiquing both the phraseology …
DIVIDE AND CONQUER....In a review/essay critiquing both the phraseology …
Discussion:
TPMCafe blogs
Anne-Marie Slaughter / Washington Post:
Partisans Gone Wild — A funny thing is happening in American politics: The fiercest battle is no longer between the left and the right but between partisanship and bipartisanship. The Bush administration, which has been notorious for playing to its hard-right base, has started reaching across the aisle …
Discussion:
Unqualified Offerings, Eunomia, Wake up America, Hullabaloo, Booman Tribune, Sadly, No!, The Gun Toting Liberal™ and The Impolitic
RELATED:
Washington Post:
Fewer See Balance in High Court Decisions — Growing Numbers In Poll Say Bench Is 'Too Conservative' — About half of the public thinks the Supreme Court is generally balanced in its decisions, but a growing number of Americans say the court has become "too conservative" …
Greg Mitchell / Editor and Publisher:
Press Reports: Another Apparent Iraq Vet Suicide — NEW YORK One of the least covered aspects of the fallout from the Iraq war is the rising toll of suicides, both near the battlefield and back home. — Latest official figures released by the Pentagon reveal at least 116 self-inflicted fatalities in Iraq.
Mark Leibovich / New York Times:
In the '60s, a Future Candidate Poured Her Heart Out in Letters — They were high school friends from Park Ridge, Ill., both high achievers headed East to college. John Peavoy was a bookish film buff bound for Princeton, Hillary Rodham a driven, civic-minded Republican going off to Wellesley.
Damien McElroy / Telegraph:
Iraqi leader tells Bush: Get Gen Petraeus out — Relations between the top United States general in Iraq and Nouri al-Maliki, the country's prime minister, are so bad that the Iraqi leader made a direct appeal for his removal to President George W Bush. — Although the call was rejected …
Steve B. / Educated Soldier:
Paradise: Baghdad... I am not sure if I should be excited about this but; recently, I have found myself waking each morning most anticipating two daily events: time spent in the gym or running and the authoring of this Blog. — In anticipation of writing tonight's post, I had developed two separate topic pieces.
Discussion:
The Belmont Club
David Bauder / Associated Press:
Liberals Going After Fox Advertisers — NEW YORK (AP) - Liberal activists are stepping up their campaign against Fox News Channel by pressuring advertisers not to patronize the network. — MoveOn.org, the Campaign for America's Future and liberal blogs like DailyKos.com are asking thousands …
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baldilocks:
A New Kind of "Chickenhawk" — When I said yesterday that most of Beauchamp's defenders had sense enough to steer clear of the milbloggers, I had no idea that Columbia Journalism Review's Paul McLeary had run out into the open, bare-a** naked. … (Emphasis mine.)
Faiz / Think Progress:
Soltz: Bush Needs To Resolve Whether Pat Tillman Was Killed For His Political Views — Yesterday, Iraq war veteran Jon Soltz wrote on ThinkProgress about Pat Tillman: "Was the man the White House used to promote the war ordered to be killed because he was becoming increasingly critical of the war in Iraq?"
Stephen Farrell / New York Times:
British Pullback in Iraq Presages Hurdles for U.S. — BASRA, Iraq — As American troop levels are peaking in Baghdad, British force levels are heading in the opposite direction as the troops prepare to withdraw completely from the city center of Basra, 300 miles to the south.
Jonathan D. Glater / New York Times:
Certain Degrees Now Cost More at Public Universities — Should an undergraduate studying business pay more than one studying psychology? Should a journalism degree cost more than one in literature? More and more public universities, confronting rising costs and lagging state support …
Discussion:
Washington Monthly