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Obama's Betrayal of the Constitution — BERLIN — PRESIDENT OBAMA's declaration of war against the terrorist group known as the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria marks a decisive break in the American constitutional tradition. Nothing attempted by his predecessor, George W. Bush, remotely compares in imperial hubris.
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Legal Authority for Fighting ISIS — As the Pentagon gears up to expand its fight against ISIS, a fundamentalist Sunni militant group that controls large areas of Iraq and Syria, Congress appears perfectly willing to abdicate one of its most consequential powers: the authority to declare war.
Discussion:
Mediaite, The Huffington Post, Defense One, Daily Kos, Patterico's Pontifications, Washington Examiner, Hot Air, Power Line, Balkinization, CBS DC and Opinio Juris

Kerry: ISIS not a ‘war’ — The United States is not at war with the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS or ISIL), Secretary of State John Kerry said Thursday. — Kerry said the administration's plan to combat ISIS includes “many different things that one doesn't think of normally in context of war” during an interview with CNN.
Discussion:
JustOneMinute, Lawfare, Taylor Marsh, CNN and New York Times


Can Obama Wage War Without Consent of Congress?
Discussion:
Politico

U.S. Pins Hope on Syrian Rebels With Loyalties All Over the Map
Discussion:
JustOneMinute, CANNONFIRE, The Colorado Independent, RedState and The PJ Tatler

Question for the State Department: Isn't Obama waging preemptive war in Iraq now?
Discussion:
The Atlantic Online, Power Line, The Intercept and Washington Free Beacon

John Kerry: No need for “war fever” in ISIS operations
Discussion:
Weekly Standard, Hit & Run, Scared Monkeys, Firedoglake, Truth Revolt and CNN


Sarah Palin's Family Allegedly in Alaska House Party Brawl — Sarah Palin and her family were at the center of a lively party last weekend that erupted into a fight, with daughter Bristol Palin allegedly throwing a right hook, a man who says he was a guest at the party told ABC News.
Discussion:
Amanda Coyne, The Immoral Minority and Roger Ailes
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Witnesses, APD confirm Palin family was present at Anchorage party that turned violent — Police are investigating a brawl that took place in South Anchorage over the weekend involving around 20 people. A witness said it happened during a joint birthday party thrown in part for Todd Palin.
Discussion:
The Moderate Voice, Talking Points Memo, Daily Mail, Guardian, 7online.com, Amanda Coyne, Wonkette, Mediaite, The Immoral Minority and The Raw Story

James Clyburn Recommends ‘Sexting’ To C-SPAN Caller [VIDEO] — Rep. James Clyburn, the third-ranking House Democrat, recently told a C-SPAN caller that “sexting” is an important tool for organizing voters. — Clyburn seemed to confuse basic “texting” with “sexting” …
Discussion:
Washington Post, Wonkette, OnPolitics, Business Insider, Truth Revolt and Mediaite
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What We're Afraid to Say About Ebola — MINNEAPOLIS — THE Ebola epidemic in West Africa has the potential to alter history as much as any plague has ever done. — There have been more than 4,300 cases and 2,300 deaths over the past six months. Last week, the World Health Organization warned that …


Voting rights cases may be headed back to Supreme Court — WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court's decision last year eliminating a barrier against voting procedure changes in mostly Southern states came with a caveat: Chief Justice John Roberts warned that the Voting Rights Act still included a …
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Kansas Supreme Court will hear Chad Taylor ballot case on Tuesday
Discussion:
Daily Kos

Senate blocks campaign finance amendment
Discussion:
Gawker, John Hawkins' Right Wing News, Washington Post and The Hill


Clinton tops Democrats in Iowa while Huckabee leads Republicans — Washington (CNN) — Hillary Clinton is heading to Iowa as the politician that most Democrats would choose as their 2016 presidential nominee. — According to a new CNN/ORC poll, 53% of all registered Democrats contacted …
Discussion:
Wall Street Journal, Politico, Washington Post and Bloomberg View


Democrats' whopper of a strategy flop — President Barack Obama and his Democratic allies hoped to capitalize on the recent wave of companies ditching the U.S. to slice their tax bill as a populist issue to fire up the progressive base and bash Republicans as slaves to corporate interests.


GOP'S UNDERHANDED PUSH FOR OVER-THE-COUNTER BIRTH CONTROL — If Republicans' newfound enthusiasm for birth control seems suspicious, it's with good reason. Following the lead of Colorado U.S. Senate candidate Cory Gardner, a handful of Republicans in midterm races across the country …
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COLORADO SENATE: UDALL HOLDS LEAD BUT RACE COULD GO “EITHER WAY”
Discussion:
The Colorado Independent, The Spot, Washington Times, Washington Free Beacon and Talking Points Memo

GOP congressman calls Cruz remarks to Christian group ‘outrageous and incendiary’ — Rep. Charlie Dent (R-Pa.), a moderate Republican, called remarks made Wednesday by Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Tex.) at a Christian event “outrageous and incendiary.” — In an interview Thursday …
Discussion:
National Review, Mediaite, Talking Points Memo, The Federalist, The Raw Story and Business Insider


DHS asks stores to watch customers behavior for terrorist signs — Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson said his department will be issuing new guidance to retailers this week giving them pointers on how to spot potential terrorists among their customers by looking at what they're buying.
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APNEWSBREAK: US SHARPLY CUTTING DEPORTATIONS
Discussion:
ThinkProgress, National Review and Washington Post


A Matter of Life and Death: The Danger of an Out-of-Control State — The power of the State—of government, in other words—is awesome. And nowhere is that power greater than when it controls life, death, and liberty. The Framers knew this kind of power can corrupt and believed in the principle …
Discussion:
ACS Blog


Getting There — How to transition from Obamacare to real health care reform — Obamacare—or at least the version of it that the president and his advisers currently think they can get away with putting into place—has been upending arrangements and reshuffling the deck in the health system since the beginning of the year.
Discussion:
National Review


New Comic to Anchor ‘Update’ on ‘S.N.L.’ — The new season of “Saturday Night Live” will have a significant change in its cast and its most prominent segment, “Weekend Update.” — Michael Che, a comic perhaps best known for his role as a correspondent on Comedy Central's “The Daily Show …
Discussion:
Mashable, The Huffington Post, Politico, Jezebel and Gawker


Convicted high school shooter TJ Lane back in custody after prison escape — (CNN) — T.J. Lane, a remorseless killer who escaped from an Ohio prison where he was serving three life sentences for a school shooting, has been recaptured, a law enforcement official said.
Discussion:
Mashable, ABC News, The Raw Story, WTVR-TV, Scared Monkeys, Mediaite, myfox8.com, FOX31 Denver and WREG-TV

Shedding Light on the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC): Court Findings from Our 2007-2008 Case — Today we are pleased to announce the release of more than 1,500 pages of once-secret papers from Yahoo's 2007-2008 challenge to the expansion of U.S. surveillance laws.
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U.S. threatened massive fine to force Yahoo to release data
Discussion:
BillMoyers.com, Prairie Weather, Gawker, Mediaite and The Daily Caller