Top Items:
Richard A. Posner / Washington Post:
Our Domestic Intelligence Crisis — We've learned that the Defense Department is deeply involved in domestic intelligence (intelligence concerning threats to national security that unfold on U.S. soil). The department's National Security Agency has been conducting, outside the framework …
Discussion:
Shakespeare's Sister, Crooked Timber, Mark in Mexico, archy, QT Monster's Place, Ars Technica, Betsy's Page and Power Line
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John Schmidt / Chicago Tribune:
President had legal authority to OK taps — President Bush's post- Sept. 11, 2001, authorization to the National Security Agency to carry out electronic surveillance into private phone calls and e-mails is consistent with court decisions and with the positions of the Justice Department under prior presidents.
Discussion:
Instapundit.com, New Sisyphus, protein wisdom, Power Line, The Anchoress, Decision '08 and JunkYardBlog
Washington Post:
Spy Court Judge Quits In Protest — Jurist Concerned Bush Order Tainted Work of Secret Panel — A federal judge has resigned from the court that oversees government surveillance in intelligence cases in protest of President Bush's secret authorization of a domestic spying program, according to two sources.
Discussion:
Knight Ridder, Reuters, Tom Watson, New York Times, hughhewitt.com, The Washington Monthly, In From the Cold, Amygdala, Donklephant, Gateway Pundit, The Moderate Voice, War and Piece, Carol Platt Liebau, Angry Bear, The Strata-Sphere, Power Line, Althouse, The Sideshow, Faithful Progressive, The Poor Man, Incomprehensible …, ACSBlog, Oliver Willis, Shakespeare's Sister, IntoxiNation-News …, The Corner on National …, Say Anything, Daily Kos, NewsBusters.org, Liberty Street, Prometheus 6, TalkLeft and Just a Bump in the Beltway
New York Times:
Spying Program Snared U.S. Calls — WASHINGTON, Dec. 20 - A surveillance program approved by President Bush to conduct eavesdropping without warrants has captured what are purely domestic communications in some cases, despite a requirement by the White House that one end of the intercepted conversations …
Discussion:
Confederate Yankee, The Mahablog, The Huffington Post, The RCP Blog, Making Light, TAPPED, Booman Tribune ~ Boo!, MyDD, The Next Hurrah, The Carpetbagger Report, TKS on National Review Online, San Francisco Chronicle, AMERICAblog, Dr. Sanity, Shakespeare's Sister, Ezra Klein, Hit and Run and NewsBusters.org
Marty Lederman / Balkinization:
Judge Posner and "Ad Hoc Initiatives" (i.e., Presidentially Sanctioned Felonies) — Judge Posner has an Op-Ed in the Washington Post this morning that is understandably receiving a lot of attention. His argument is that the latest scandal reveals a serious gap in the legal intelligence-gathering laws.
Discussion:
Lawyers, Guns and Money
Daniel J. Solove / Concurring Opinions:Judge Posner's Troubling Call for Massive Surveillance
Discussion:
The Washington Monthly
Washington Post:
With Cheney's Vote, Senate Passes Budget Bill — Legislation Would Trim $40 Billion Over 5 Years — The Senate narrowly passed a $40 billion budget-cutting bill today, with Vice President Cheney casting the deciding vote after the chamber split 50-50 on the measure.
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Andrew Taylor / Associated Press:
Cheney Breaks Senate Tie on Spending Cuts — WASHINGTON - The Republican-controlled Senate passed legislation to cut federal deficits by $39.7 billion on Wednesday by the narrowest of margins, 51-50, with Vice President Dick Cheney casting the deciding vote.
TQA / The Questionable Authority:
Kitzcarnival — As most of you are undoubtedly aware, Judge Jones has handed down his anxiously-awaited decision in the Kitzmiller v. Dover lawsuit. This post is (I hope) a one-stop for those interested in commentary on the ruling. I've done my best to incorporate a wide range of blog posts and some more conventional news articles.
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Associated Press:
Senate rejects drilling in Alaska wildlife refuge — Republicans fail to garner enough support to avoid threat of filibuster — WASHINGTON - The Senate blocked oil drilling in an Alaska wildlife refuge Wednesday, rejecting a measure that had been put into a must-pass defense spending bill in an attempt to garner wider support.
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H. Josef Hebert / Associated Press:Senate Blocks Alaska Refuge Drilling
Discussion:
The Left Coaster
Susan Schmidt / Washington Post:
Abramoff Reportedly Negotiating a Deal in Which He Would Plead Guilty, Testify — Former lobbyist Jack Abramoff, facing trial on fraud charges Jan. 9 in Florida, is negotiating a possible deal with the Justice Department, in which he would agree to plead guilty and cooperate …
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Max Boot / Los Angeles Times:
'Plame Platoon' is AWOL on new leaks — Highly classified programs have been revealed, which could provide real aid to our enemies. So where's all that outrage now? — IT SEEMS like only yesterday that every high-minded politician, pundit and professional activist was in high dudgeon …
Richard Morin / Washington Post:
Majority of Americans Support Alito Nomination — A majority of Americans now support the confirmation of U.S. Appeals Court Judge Samuel A. Alito to the Supreme Court to fill the seat of retiring Associate Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll.
Reuters:
Lebanon questions US demand to hand over hijacker — BEIRUT (Reuters) - Lebanon criticised on Wednesday U.S. demands that it hand over a Hizbollah hijacker released by Germany after nearly 19 years in jail for murdering an American. — "Originally they (the U.S. government) could have requested that Germany hand him over.
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David Ignatius / Washington Post:
Revolt of the Professionals — The national security structure that the Bush administration created after Sept. 11, 2001, began to crumble this month because of a bipartisan revolt on Capitol Hill. Newly emboldened legislators forced the administration to accept new rules for the interrogation …
Josh Meyer / Los Angeles Times:
Officials Fault Case Bush Cited — Internal breakdowns, not shortcomings in spy laws, were at play before Sept. 11, they say. — WASHINGTON — In confirming the existence of a top-secret domestic spying program, President Bush offered one case as proof that authorities desperately needed …
Jason Leopold / rawstory.com:
Leak probe not seen to end with Rove, lawyers say — Special Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald is not expected to shut down his investigation into the leak of covert CIA officer Valerie Plame Wilson when he finishes his inquiry of White House Deputy Chief of Staff Karl Rove's role in the leak, lawyers close to the probe said.
Discussion:
Booman Tribune ~ Boo!
