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Political Web, page A1 … for 1:55 AM ET, January 3, 2006
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Top Items:

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 …
RELATED ITEMS:
Lyle Denniston / SCOTUSblog:
Move to scuttle Hamdan, Al Odah cases?  —  The Bush Administration appears to be preparing to try to scuttle the two most significant pending cases on the legal rights of foreign nationals now being held at the terrorism prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.  One of those cases has been granted review …
Matthew J. Franck / Bench Memos on National …:
How Alito Helped Bush 20 Years Ago  —  Today's Washington Post has one more item of interest, an article about Samuel Alito's role in sketching, in 1986, the Reagan administration's strategy of issuing presidential "interpretive signing statements" declaring the executive branch's understanding …
Hilzoy / Obsidian Wings:
Bush "Signs" McCain And Graham Amendments  —  Via Marty Lederman at Balkinization: On Friday, the President signed the law including the McCain and Graham Amendments.  However, he did so with several large caveats.  I'm going to put most of this post below the fold, since it's long.
Discussion: Shakespeare's Sister
Glenn Greenwald / Unclaimed Territory:
What happened to the conservative legal approach?  —  Susie Madrak observes that the Constitution (and other laws) sure do seem quite "flexible" in the hands of those seeking to defend George Bush — a particular irony given how stridently they rail against such legal theories in other contexts.
Discussion: Liberty Street and The Heretik
Financial Times:
Stand-off cuts gas supplies to Europe  —  European countries on Monday suffered large cuts to their gas supplies as a bitter stand-off between Russia and Ukraine over gas prices intensified.  —  Supplies of Russian gas to Italy fell by 25 per cent, according to Eni, the country's biggest oil and gas supplier.
Discussion: Daily Kos
RELATED ITEMS:
Peter Finn / Washington Post:
Russia Warned on Natural Gas Dispute
Discussion: Mark in Mexico and Rook's Rant
Andrew E. Kramer / New York Times:
Russia Restores Most of Gas Flow Despite Dispute With Ukraine
April Castro / Associated Press:
Comptroller in Texas Walks Away From GOP  —  AUSTIN, Texas - Texas Comptroller Carole Keeton Strayhorn turned her back on the Republican Party and announced Monday she will run for governor as an independent.  —  The move allows Strayhorn to escape a potentially ugly primary battle against Gov. Rick Perry.
RELATED ITEMS:
R.G. Ratcliffe / Houston Chronicle:
Strayhorn enters governor's race as independent
Discussion: Off the Kuff
Hotline On Call:
Strayhorn, A.K.A., Scott's Mommy, To Run As An Eye ("I")
Hotline On Call:
Welcome To Oh...Six  —  The Hotline pauses for a bit and what happens?  News still breaks out.  Imagine that.  So to catch you up, here's our summary of the past ten days, in it's-not-hackneyed-until-we-do- it "Best Of/Worst Of" form.  —  Best use of a college bowl game …
RELATED ITEMS:
Franklin Foer / The New Republic:
OY, THE MSB:  —  Last month, I wrote a column against the Mainstream Blogosphere.  I argued that the MSB has made a grave mistake in relentlessly attacking the credibility of the New York Times and Washington Post.  For decades, conservatives have been trying to shred these institutions.
RELATED ITEM:
Atrios / Eschaton:
Shorter Blogosphere  —  The Left wants to the press …
Discussion: firedoglake
Digby / Hullabaloo:
Contextualizing  —  Jane discusses this article in today's NY Times about how blogging is affecting journalism and she makes this important point: … There was a guy who did this kind of journalism long before technology made it possible for many of us to carry on the tradition.
RELATED ITEM:
Jane Hamsher / firedoglake:
Link You Huskies, Link!  —  Digby: … If there was one thing …
Atrios / Eschaton:
2005 was the year that the president of the United States declared proudly that he had broken the law repeatedly and with full intention, that he had the power to do so whenever he wanted to, and that he would continue to do so whenever he determined it to be desirable.
Gordon Trowbridge / militarycity.com:
Troops sound off  —  Military Times Poll finds high morale, but less support for Bush, war effort  —  Support for President Bush and for the war in Iraq has slipped significantly in the last year among members of the military's professional core, according to the 2005 Military Times Poll.
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.
ShrinkWrapped:
"Bear Baiting" at the New York Times  —  Many years ago I had a child enter Psychoanalysis because his temper was interfering with his ability to function in school as well as infuriating his parents to distraction.  All children test limits with authority figures and the Child Therapy situation is no different.
Discussion: The Anchoress
RELATED ITEM:
Kobayashi Maru:
The MSM Franchise - Erosion... and Backlash?
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 …
Gail Russell Chaddock / Christian Science Monitor:
Coming to the Hill: lots of hearing-room drama  —  Probes of war policies will begin amid ethical scrutiny of members.  —  WASHINGTON - It's going to be a banner year for C-SPAN.  That's because Congress is gearing up for the most dramatic slate of hearings since the Clinton impeachment fracas.
Michelle Malkin:
CHUCK SCHUMER, ONE-ARMED PLUMBER  —  I had a "See, I told you so" moment yesterday morning watching Sen. Chuck Schumer on Fox News Sunday attempt to excuse the NYT/NSA leaks.  —  First, watch Schumer spin when Chris Wallace asks him about the DOJ criminal investigation into the NYT/NSA leaks:

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More Items:

Romesh Ratnesar / Time:
The Book Behind the Bombshell
Bull Moose:
The Persisting Peril  —  The Moose fears that our elites …
Gary Farber / Amygdala:
BLUE IN THE FACE.  I tend to write lots of my stuff in comments …
Discussion: Pharyngula and The Sideshow
Steve Clemons / The Washington Note:
President Bush: Please Define "Democracy"
ReddHedd / firedoglake:
Trust: You Have to Earn It, Every Day, Part I
Discussion: The Heretik
Roy / alicublog:
MUNICH AS A MOVIE.  I'm not much on late Spielberg.
Joe Gandelman / The Moderate Voice:
Are America's Political Elites …
Discussion: Centerfield
John Schwartz / New York Times:
What Are You Lookin' At?  —  WHAT does it take to get Americans riled …

Earlier Picks:

Ruth Marcus / Washington Post:
Spy Controversy, Redux
Shakespeare's Sister:
Thank a Progressive for the Luxury of Your Disdain
TigerHawk:
The ethics of journalism: A proposal for reform
Agence France Presse:
France turns the page on 'annus horribilis' of 2005
TBogg:
Welcome To The New Gay Not just for hangers... you...
Discussion: James Wolcott and Daily Kos
Captain Ed / Captain's Quarters:
Journos Reckon With Empowered Readership, Still Mostly Clueless
AJStrata / The Strata-Sphere:
The Media Cannot Stop Itself From Helping Our Enemies
Hullabaloo:
Divine Right Of Republicans
Discussion: Daily Kos and The Green Knight
 
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