Top Items:
New York Times:
Concern Over Wider Spying Under New Law — Broad new surveillance powers approved by Congress this month could allow the Bush administration to conduct spy operations that go well beyond wiretapping to include — without court approval — certain types of physical searches on American soil …
Discussion:
The Newshoggers, Shakespeare's Sister, Prairie Weather, Corrente, The Heretik, The Next Hurrah and Greenlee Gazette
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ACLU:
In Unprecedented Order, FISA Court Requires Bush Administration to Respond to ACLU's Request That Secret Court Orders Be Released to the Public — Government Must Respond by August 31 — WASHINGTON - In an unprecedented order, the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC) …
Mike Allen / The Politico:
Obama to turn down additional fall debates — Inundated by dozens of invitations, Sen. Barack Obama will turn down requests to join future debates and forums this fall, his Democratic presidential campaign announced Saturday. — Obama will honor his commitment to eight more debates …
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David Plouffe / Obama HQ:
Debates and forums going forward — As we head into the fall, the campaign is entering a new more engaged phase that will give voters an even greater sense of Barack's message of change and require the campaign to make decisions that balance the important role of debates and maximize time to run the kind of campaign we need to.
Discussion:
The Fix, Washington Post, The Swamp, Liberal Values, TIME: Swampland and Political Radar
John Amato / Crooks and Liars:
Fred Thompson...He looks terrible..Oh, and he may get in when he gets in... I can understand why he hasn't announced yet. He looks nothing like the Aqua Velva man Tweety called him...I hope it's just because he lost some weight. The fact that he's doing so well in the polls without doing …
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Rasmussen Reports:
71% Favor Requiring Foreign Visitors to Carry Universal ID Card — Fifty-eight percent (58%) of voters nationwide favor cutting off federal funds for "sanctuary cities" that offer protection to illegal immigrants. A Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey found that just 29% are opposed.
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Suzan Fraser / Associated Press:
Turkish plane hijacking ends peacefully — ANKARA, Turkey - Two men who hijacked a Turkish passenger plane in an apparent protest against the U.S. surrendered to authorities Saturday after holding some crew members and passengers hostage for more than four hours. No one was hurt.
Discussion:
Gateway Pundit
Faiz / Think Progress:
McCain: 'I Was The Greatest Critic' Of The Iraq War Over The Last Four Years — Yesterday on CNN, host Kiran Chetry suggested to Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) that he's been unfairly "painted as being a huge supporter of the president's Iraq strategy. Is that an accurate portrayal?" she asked.
Washington Post:
Qualified to Serve — BEFORE BEING nominated by President Bush to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit, Leslie H. Southwick served for almost 12 years on the Mississippi Court of Appeals, where he participated in thousands of cases spanning the gamut of civil and criminal law.
Orlando Sentinel:
Cops ask for guns, get missile launcher — Authorities trade sneakers, gift cards for 310 weapons — Orlando Police Sgt. Barbara Jones holds a surface-to-air missile launcher that had been turned in to the Orlando Police Kicks for Guns 2007 program on Friday.
Jonathan Finer / Washington Post:
Green Zone Blinders — Late last month the Brookings Institution's Kenneth Pollack and Michael O'Hanlon, just back from a quick trip to Baghdad, proclaimed in the New York Times that "we are finally getting somewhere in Iraq." In June, Sen. Joseph Lieberman, fresh from his latest whirlwind tour …
Discussion:
DownWithTyranny!, Norwegianity, Daily Kos, The Carpetbagger Report, D-Day and Rising Hegemon
Redstate:
Michael Deaver 1938-2007 — "Almost instantaneously, he responded, 'Ronald Reagan was my issue.'" — Since Ronald Reagan passed away a few years ago, we have seen several members of his inner circle follow him once again. Lyn Nofzinger, Jeanne Kirkpatrick, and Cap Weinberger all helped craft …
Discussion:
The American Mind
Steve Benen / Talking Points Memo:
GIULIANI ENDORSES BUSH'S SOCIAL SECURITY PLAN — After Bush won a second term, he entered 2005 in a relatively strong position. He boasted about having "political capital," his approval rating was around 50%, and he looked at the other end of Pennsylvania Avenue and saw a very friendly Republican majority in both chambers.
Anne Richardson / Reuters:
Hundreds pose naked on shrinking Swiss glacier — ALETSCH GLACIER, Switzerland (Reuters) - Hundreds of people posed naked on Switzerland's shrinking Aletsch glacier on Saturday for U.S. photographer Spencer Tunick as part of a Greenpeace campaign to raise awareness of global warming.
Ed Morrissey / Captain's Quarters:
Maliki Tries Statesmanship — Nouri al-Maliki has come under a torrent of criticism in Congress, even among supporters of the war effort in Iraq, as too ineffectual and sectarian to create the kind of political reform necessary to stabilize his nation. The Iraqi Prime Minister has had a number …
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Edward Wyatt / New York Times:
A CBS Reality Show Draws a Claim of Possible Child Abuse — The ads promoting "Kid Nation," a new reality show coming to CBS next month, extol the incredible experience of a group of 40 children, ages 8 to 15, who built a sort of idealistic society in a New Mexico ghost town, free of adults.
Discussion:
The Newshoggers, Blue Crab Boulevard, Captain's Quarters, Wake up America and The Carpetbagger Report