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Political Web, page A1 … for 9:40 AM ET, December 24, 2005
Current Politics Page     Also:   Tech

Top Items:

New York Times:
Spy Agency Mined Vast Data Trove, Officials Report  —  WASHINGTON, Dec. 23 - The National Security Agency has traced and analyzed large volumes of telephone and Internet communications flowing into and out of the United States as part of the eavesdropping program that President Bush approved …
Washington Post:
Alito Urged Wiretap Immunity  —  Supreme Court nominee Samuel A. Alito Jr. once argued that the nation's top law enforcement official deserves blanket protection from lawsuits when acting in the name of national security, even when those actions involve the illegal wiretapping of American citizens, documents released yesterday show.
Discussion: The Sideshow
RELATED ITEMS:
New York Times:
Alito's Zeal for Presidential Power  —  With the Bush administration claiming sweeping and often legally baseless authority to detain and spy on people, judges play a crucial role in underscoring the limits of presidential power.  When the Senate begins hearings next month on Judge Samuel Alito …
Discussion: Confirm Them
Donna Cassata / Associated Press:   Alito Argued to Overturn Roe in 1985 Memo
Hindrocket / Power Line:
IGNORANCE OR BIAS? TAKE YOUR PICK
Discussion: Macsmind and Blogs for Bush
Reuters:
Mosques monitored for radiation: report  —  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. officials have secretly monitored radiation levels at Muslim sites, including mosques and private homes, since September 11, 2001 as part of a top secret program searching for nuclear bombs, U.S. News and World Report said on Friday.
RELATED ITEMS:
Steven Greenhouse / New York Times:
Transit Strike Reflects Nationwide Pension Woes  —  Fast-rising pension costs for government employees - the issue that helped set off this week's transit strike in New York City - are a problem confronting cities, counties and states nationwide, causing many budgetary experts to predict …
Discussion: Greg's Opinion
RELATED ITEM:
Kevin Drum / The Washington Monthly:
PUBLIC EMPLOYEE UNIONS....This single paragraph from the New …
MSNBC:
Slacker Friday  —  A new Think Again column: 'Humility' is Front Page News, here.  —  The strike is over, leaving at least 123 reasons to be glad you live here, or wish you did, beginning with this one. 74.3 percent of New Yorkers voted against Bush.  In Manhattan, the number was 81.7 percent.
Charlie Savage / Boston Globe:
Wiretaps said to sift all overseas contacts  —  Vast US effort seen on eavesdropping  —  WASHINGTON — The National Security Agency, in carrying out President Bush's order to intercept the international phone calls and e-mails of Americans suspected of links to Al Qaeda …
Discussion: Daily Kos
RELATED ITEM:
Charlie Savage / Seattle Post-Intelligencer:
Spy net may pull in all U.S. calls overseas
Discussion: The All Spin Zone
Reuters:
Saddam denounces White House 'liars'  —  BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Saddam Hussein denounced American leaders as liars at a turbulent court hearing on Thursday and his once feared intelligence chief abused prosecutors before threatening to walk out.  —  The former Iraqi president, on trial for his life …
RELATED ITEM:
James Gordon Meek / NY Daily News:
Al Qaeda fiend targeted Bush  —  WASHINGTON - Before he was captured last spring, Osama Bin Laden's top operational commander was solely focused on killing President Bush and Pakistani President Gen. Pervez Musharaff, the Daily News has learned.  —  The capture last May of Al Qaeda's No. 3 leader …
Peggy Noonan / Opinion Journal:
One Cheer for the MSM  —  The media may be biased, but even they support the troops.  —  We all criticize the mainstream media, regularly and with reason.  More and more and day by day the MSM is showing us that its response to the popularity of conservative media and the rise …
Janice Turner / Times of London:
Why real men don't need kiwi fruit  —  THERE IS AN ADVERTISING campaign for L'Oréal that puzzled me at first.  Next to a picture of a late-20s Paul Newmanish guy, the caption reads: "You think you look the business?  She thinks you look overworked."
Robert Mayer / Publius Pundit:
35 IRAQI PARTIES UNITE TO CONTEST ELECTION; LIST OF VIOLATIONS; PROTESTS BEGIN  —  The Sunni lists, along with ex-PM Iyad Allawi's multi-confessional secular list and others, have joined together to contest the results of the December 15 election in order, at the least, to have the results reviewed and their complaints addressed.
RELATED ITEMS:
David Espo / Associated Press:
Analysis: Democrats Win Some Fights  —  WASHINGTON (AP) — The Republican-controlled Congress is staggering home for the holidays.  Democrats, demoralized after last year's election losses, have a spring in their step after outmaneuvering President Bush and GOP congressional leaders in a series of session-ending clashes.
Discussion: AMERICAblog
RELATED ITEM:
Washington Post:
Newly Emboldened Congress Has Dogged Bush This Year
Discussion: danieldrezner.com and Wonkette
James Wolcott:
NIPS AHOY!  —  Sometimes the most satisfying instigations are inadvertent.  Without meaning to, I seem to have incited the most promising catfight since Krystle and Alexis went after each other's wigs in Dynasty.  I recognize "catfight" is a word charged with sexism, and apologize to those it may offend …
Discussion: Cathy's World and Atlas Shrugs
Kristen Mack / Houston Chronicle:
Sanchez looks to make run for county treasurer seat  —  Former City Councilman and twice-defeated mayoral candidate Orlando Sanchez wants to wage a comeback — as Harris County treasurer.  —  If he goes through with it, he will have to take on incumbent Jack Cato in the Republican primary in March.
Discussion: Greg's Opinion and Off the Kuff
David Ignatius / Washington Post:
Slogging and Blogging Through Iraq  —  A Marine blogger who calls himself Captain B is describing the scruffy four-foot Christmas tree at his base in Anbar province, west of Baghdad: "Lacking ornaments for the most part, we used bullets, cigars, Marlboro packs and other things we like and hung them on the tree.
Discussion: Milblogging.com
The Big Trunk / Power Line:
THE TWILIGHT ZONE, PART 3  —  Don't miss John's invaluable analysis of the legal issues raised by the NSA program: "On the legality of the NSA electronic intercept program."  In my view, the legality of the NSA program described by the president and the New York Times is overdetermined …
RELATED ITEM:
The Big Trunk / Power Line:
MORE ON THE LEGALITY OF THE NSA PROGRAM
Discussion: THE ASTUTE BLOGGER
Kevin Drum / The Washington Monthly:
MEME OF FOURS....Via Roy, here's another silly but (as usual) oddly compelling internet list meme:  —  Four jobs you've had in your life: Radio Shack manager, technical writer, product manager, VP of marketing.  —  Four movies you could watch over and over: Star Wars, Office Space, Monty Python and the Holy Grail, The Wizard of Oz.
Discussion: Yellow Dog Blog
RELATED ITEM:
Digby / Hullabaloo:   Meme of Fours  —  Kevin passes the torch of this new meme …

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More Items:

Crooks and Liars:
Novak: There never were WMD's
Discussion: Think Progress
Crooks and Liars:
Novak: What are you guilty of?
Taegan Goddard's Political Wire:
Bush Gains Haven't Helped Republicans
Discussion: Alternate Brain
Teresa Heinz Kerry / Forward:
The Outrageous Silence of George W. Bush
Discussion: Betsy's Page and lgf
Robert Burns / Associated Press:
Bush Scaling Back Troop Levels in Iraq
Discussion: ACSBlog and The Belmont Club
Jason / Generation Why?:
The Value of MSM
Eric Umansky:
IT'S NOT ABOUT THE SNOOPING  —  Marty Lederman, a law professor …
Henry / Crooked Timber:
Wonkery or Wankery?  —  Kevin Drum reads this Washington Monthly …

Earlier Picks:

The Nation:
This Page Available Only to Nation Subscribers
Discussion: Sirotablog
Jeff Goldstein / protein wisdom:
About that U Mass Dartmouth student "targeted" by Homeland Security for reading Mao
Associated Press:
Daschle: Congress Didn't OK Spying Authority
volokh.com:
Abstract … Klein & Stern find that 79% of those surveyed self-report …
Discussion: Hugh Hewitt and Varifrank
Daily Kos:
Comprehensive response to WaMo piece
Mark Blumenthal / Mystery Pollster:
MP IN POQ  —  Finally (for today) I have a surprise and something …
Leon H / RedState.org:
The Birth of a Known Fact™  —  Folks, we are witnessing …
Discussion: The Mahablog and Cold Fury
Bob Geiger / Yellow Dog Blog:
A Night With Scott Ritter - And Some Other Guy
 
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