Top Items:
Ellen Knickmeyer / Washington Post:
U.S. Has End in Sight on Iraq Rebuilding — Documents Show Much of the Funding Diverted to Security, Justice System and Hussein Inquiry — BAGHDAD — The Bush administration does not intend to seek any new funds for Iraq reconstruction in the budget request going before Congress in February, officials say.
David D. Kirkpatrick / New York Times:
Alito Supporters Portray Nominee as Less Polished — WASHINGTON, Jan. 1 - As Judge Samuel A. Alito Jr. enters his final week of dress rehearsals for his Supreme Court confirmation hearings, participants say his performance has already made one thing clear: he will never be as polished …
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Fox News:
Transcript: McConnell, Schumer — The following is a transcript from "FOX News Sunday" on Jan. 1, 2006: — CHRIS WALLACE, HOST: I'm Chris Wallace. A new controversy about that NSA domestic spying program, next on "Fox News Sunday". — As we begin 2006, there's a growing debate …
Discussion:
New York Times, Power Line, The Washington Monthly, The Carpetbagger Report and The Heretik
New York Times:
Muslim Scholars Were Paid to Aid U.S. Propaganda — WASHINGTON, Jan. 1 - A Pentagon contractor that paid Iraqi newspapers to print positive articles written by American soldiers has also been compensating Sunni religious scholars in Iraq in return for assistance with its propaganda work, according to current and former employees.
Discussion:
The Washington Monthly, Jihad Watch, AMERICAN FUTURE, Ace of Spades HQ, The Revealer …, PoliBlog and All Things Beautiful
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Marty Lederman / Balkinization:
So Much for the President's Assent to the McCain Amendment — The President signed the Defense Appropriations bill on Friday. In his signing statement he did at least two notable things. — First, with respect to several provisions of the bill, the President signaled his intention …
Kobayashi Maru:
The MSM Franchise - Erosion... and Backlash? — I find it tremendously ironic that during a period in which the blogsophere has enabled personal and political expression to flourish like no other in history (easier, cheaper, freer and more accessible) the anti-Bush crowd says that it is more concerned …
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TBogg:
Okay. Enough celebrating. Let's get started... It's 2006, wingnuttery abounds and time's a'wastin'.... First up, K-Lo rings in the New Year: … Unfortunately Mitt Romney was unavailable for smoochies (he must have been with one of his wives) and so K-Lo was forced to finish off her Zima alone …
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Mark Ballard / 2theadvocate.com:
Blanco orders remodeling just after storms — Office tab: $564,838 — Some members of the governor's staff will return from the three-day holiday on Tuesday to newly renovated offices at the State Capitol. — Shortly after the two hurricanes, Gov. Kathleen Blanco decided to renovate some of her staff's offices.
Discussion:
Hotline On Call, Betsy's Page, A Blog For All, Gut Rumbles, Thespis Journal, Louisiana Libertarian and Taegan Goddard's …
Andrew Miga / Associated Press:
Kerry Positioned for '08 White House Bid — WASHINGTON - It's almost as if Sen. John Kerry never stopped running for president. He still jets across the country, raising millions of dollars and rallying Democrats. He still stalks the TV news show circuit, scolding President Bush at every turn.
Discussion:
Captain's Quarters, Shakespeare's Sister, The RCP Blog, The Florida Masochist and Dohiyi Mir
John M. Broder / New York Times:
States Take Lead in Push to Raise Minimum Wages — Despite Congressional refusal for almost a decade to raise the federal minimum wage, nearly half of the civilian labor force lives in states where the pay is higher than the rate set by the federal government.
Telegraph:
Sniper shot that took out an insurgent killer from three quarters of a mile — Gazing through the telescopic sight of his M24 rifle, Staff Sgt Jim Gilliland, leader of Shadow sniper team, fixed his eye on the Iraqi insurgent who had just killed an American soldier.
Salman Masood / New York Times:
Pakistanis Back Off Vow to Control Madrasas — ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, Jan. 1 - As the incendiary training at some of Pakistan's seminaries drew renewed focus in the weeks after the July 7 bombings in London, President Pervez Musharraf promised to bring the schools into the mainstream and expel …
Peter Finn / Washington Post:
Russia Warned on Natural Gas Dispute — EU Plans Emergency Session to Address Sharp Drop in Gas Imports — MOSCOW, Jan. 2 — Several European countries reported sharp drops Monday in the level of natural gas they are receiving from Russia as a dispute over pricing between …
Discussion:
Rook's Rant
Monica Davey / New York Times:
Recruited in Wartime, a Young Private Now Faces Her First Deployment to Iraq — LYNDON, Kan., Dec. 31 - When she signed up for the Army in 2004, Katherine Jordan had little to say about war. Asked about Iraq at the time, she said she was far more concerned about the rigors of basic training …
Peter Slevin / Washington Post:
Judge Upholds Prayer Limits in Ind. State House — Some in Both Parties Vow to Fight Ruling — CHICAGO, Dec. 31 — In a spirited duel over prayer, members of the Indiana state House are at odds with a federal judge who ruled that the daily invocation appeals too often to Jesus Christ and a Christian god.
Hullabaloo:
Divine Right Of Republicans — This Newsweak story is, well, weak: … First of all, I'm sick of this bulls**t about the president being the commander in chief all the time. This isn't a military dictatorship. Citizens, and even lawyers in the Justice department, don't have a commander in chief.
Discussion:
Daily Kos
