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Political Web, page A1 … for 2:35 PM ET, January 12, 2006
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Top Items:

Associated Press:
Sen. Biden Suggests Scrapping Hearings  —  WASHINGTON - Supreme Court nominees are so mum about the major legal issues at their Senate confirmation hearings that the hearings serve little purpose and should probably be abandoned, Democratic Sen. Joe Biden said Thursday.
RELATED ITEMS:
Richard Cohen / Washington Post:
Loose Lips Sink . . .  Biden's Leadership Is Lost in All His Talk  —  The only thing standing between Joe Biden and the presidency is his mouth.  That, though, is no small matter.  It is a Himalayan barrier, a Sahara of a handicap, a summer's day in Death Valley, a winter's night at the pole …
New York Times:
Democrats Take Aggressive Tack; Alito Is Unfazed  —  WASHINGTON, Jan. 11 - Democrats tried with increasing frustration on Wednesday to elicit more specific views from Judge Samuel A. Alito Jr. about abortion and other topics and sought to build a case against his nomination to the Supreme Court …
Sam Alito / TalkLeft:
Sparks Fly at Alito Hearing  —  We were waiting for some fireworks at Judge Sam Alito's confirmation hearing.  Tuesday was definitely dullsville.  We wanted sparks to fly.  We wanted to hear  —  Bell's going to ring  —  Hear the alarms  —  Better tell the fire chief  —  To quit playing cards
Laurie Kellman / Associated Press:
Alito's Wife Cries at Confirmation Hearing  —  WASHINGTON — Martha-Ann Bomgardner left her husband's confirmation hearings in tears, returning not long after.  The episode elicited sympathy for her from senators of both parties _ and instant finger-pointing.
Michelle Malkin:
ALITO WATCH: THE DEAD HORSE DEMOCRATS  —  We're an hour and a half into the hearings and I need to hear no more.  It's all about the Dems beating dead horses.  Over and over again.  Unitary executive.  CAP.  Vanguard.  Vanguard.  Vanguard.  —  John Podhoretz marvels …
Peggy Noonan / Opinion Journal:
Biden His Time  —  Judge Alito's low-affect tour de force.
Discussion: Conglomerate Blog
Dale Russakoff / Washington Post:
Alito Disavows Controversial Group
Ronald A. Cass / realclearpolitics.com:
Judge Alito's Confirmation Battle …
Discussion: Althouse
Joan Vennochi / Boston Globe:
Senate's swirling winds
Sidney Blumenthal / Guardian:
George Bush's rough justice
Clark Hoyt / Knight Ridder:
Knight Ridder's Alito story: Factual and fair
Discussion: MyDD and AMERICAblog
Tom Bevan / The RCP Blog:   How Many Dems Could Be Confirmed?
Adam Liptak / New York Times:
O'Connor Casts a Long Shadow on the Nominee
Discussion: The American Princess
Reuters:
Some 'Pieces' buyers offered refund  —  NEW YORK (Reuters) — Random House is offering refunds to readers who bought James Frey's drug and alcohol memoir "A Million Little Pieces" directly from the publisher, following accusations the author exaggerated his story.
RELATED ITEMS:
Edward Wyatt / New York Times:
Writer Says He Made Up Some Details
John / AMERICAblog:
AMERICAblog just bought General Wesley Clark's cell phone records for $89.95  —  UPDATE: We tried to get the cell phone records of other high-profile Washingtonians like ABC's George Stephanopoulos, the Washington Post's Dana Milbank, and the New York Time's Adam Nagourney …
Discussion: ECHIDNE OF THE SNAKES
CNN:
Hajj stampede kills hundreds  —  MINA, Saudi Arabia (CNN) — At least 345 people have been killed in a stampede during a symbolic stoning ritual at the annual Hajj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia, according to the country's health ministry.  —  Health Minister Hamad al-Maneh told Saudi TV …
New York Times:
Local Insurgents Tell of Clashes With Al Qaeda's Forces in Iraq  —  BAGHDAD, Iraq, Jan. 11 - The story told by the two Iraqi guerrillas cut to the heart of the war that Iraqi and American officials now believe is raging inside the Iraqi insurgency.  —  In October, the two insurgents said in interviews …
Glen Johnson / Associated Press:
AP Newsbreak: GOP group to give up $500,000 in Abramoff-related donations donations  —  BOSTON —Days after calling on his party to exhibit higher ethical standards, Gov. Mitt Romney said the Republican Governors Association would donate to charity $500,000 in contributions it received …
ctv.ca:
Ad wasn't an attack on military: Paul Martin  —  Paul Martin defended the series of controversial ads his Liberal Party unleashed this week and continued his attack on Stephen Harper, painting him as a leader who subscribes to a far right-wing ideology.  —  In an interview Thursday morning …
Michael Fumento / American Spectator:
The James Wolcott Treatment  —  Every once in awhile, in the spirit of "know thy enemy," you have to brace yourself and take a peek inside the fetid mind of an influential defeat-nik.  "Enter, if you will," as Rod Serling might have said, "the head of one James Wolcott."
Hindrocket / Power Line:
MEANWHILE, THERE'S A WAR ON  —  We noted here the mysteriously under-covered story of the three would-be terrorists who were arrested in Italy after vowing to launch an attack on America that would dwarf September 11.  A reader sent us a link to this article, which has more:

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More Items:

Daveed Gartenstein-Ross / The Counterterrorism Blog:
Iranian Military Plane Crash: Act of Sabotage?
Discussion: In the Bullpen
Bill Gertz / Washington Times:
Ex-official warned against testifying on NSA programs
Discussion: Prairie Weather
Tony Batt / Las Vegas Review-Journal:
ABRAMOFF INVESTIGATION: Sources conflict on Reid status
Discussion: AMERICAblog
The Hill:
America is shifting leftward
Discussion: TheAgitator.com
Duncan Gardham / Telegraph:
Hamza 'had Big Ben as terror target'
Dafna Linzer / Washington Post:
Russia Won't Block U.S. on Iran
Discussion: The Heretik
George Skelton / Los Angeles Times:
Gov.'s Shift to the Center Is Paying Off, but There's at Least One Catch

Earlier Picks:

Max Blumenthal / The Huffington Post:
Alito's Pro-Internment Witness: "You Can Forget About Civil Rights"
Discussion: Daily Kos
Roger L. Simon / Mystery Novelist and Screenwriter:
To the Manor Born - Psychoanalyzing Teddy
RedState:
RedState's View: John Shadegg for Majority Leader
Mary Beth Schneider / indystar.com:
Daniels: Boost tax on cigarettes 25 cents
Rick Lyman / New York Times:
Texas Redistricting Is One More Hurdle for DeLay
Thomas B. Edsall / Washington Post:
Lobbyists' Emergence Reflects Shift in Capital Culture
Elizabeth Holtzman / The Nation:
The Impeachment of George W. Bush
 
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