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John O'Neil / New York Times:
Intelligence Deputy Defends Surveillance Program — Gen. Michael V. Hayden, who led the National Security Agency when it began a program of warrantless wiretaps, vigorously defended the program today, but acknowledged that it depends on a lower standard of evidence than required by courts.
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William Branigin / Washington Post:
Bush Defends Domestic Spying — Deputy National Intelligence Chief Says Program Allows Better Terrorist Tracking — President Bush and the nation's deputy national intelligence chief today defended the legality of a controversial domestic spying program, describing it as a vital tool …
Discussion:
RightWinged.com, The Democratic Daily Blog, Stop The ACLU, Wonkette and Democratic Veteran
Jennifer Loven / Associated Press:
Bush Calls Surveillance Legal, Necessary — MANHATTAN, Kansas - President Bush pushed back Monday at critics of his once-secret domestic spying effort, saying it should be termed a "terrorist surveillance program" and contending it has the backing of legal experts, key lawmakers and the Supreme Court.
Rick Hasen / Election Law:
BREAKING SUPREME COURT ELECTION LAW NEWS: SUPREME COURT UNANIMOUSLY REVERSES WISCONSIN CAMPAIGN FINANCE CASE, DENIES CERT IN KEY JUDICIAL ELECTIONS CASE, AND SETS ARGUMENT TIMES IN REMAINING CAMPAIGN FINANCE CASES — WRTL: Lyle Denniston reports on SCOTUSBlog: "The Supreme Court ruled on Monday …
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David Stout / New York Times:Justices Ask Court to Reconsider Campaign Finance Case
Discussion:
ACSBlog
Anthony Phillips / This Is London:
George sinks to new low — First he shocked TV viewers and his colleagues by pretending to be a cat and lapping milk from Rula Lenska's hand. — Now George Galloway is set to attract further derision after performing a dance routine on Celebrity Big Brother - in a tight-fitting, red leotard.
Michelle Malkin:
THE AMAZON.COM REVIEW CESSPOOL — Much has been made of the rabid Left's online swarm that shut down the Washington Post's blog comment section. The comments seemed comparatively tame to me. Maybe I'll copy off Chapter 6 of Unhinged and send it off to the WaPo ombudsman and her editors to help them feel better.
Ed Whelan / Bench Memos on National Review Online:
More of the New York Times's Wisdom — The New York Times editorial page has long shown that it does not deserve to be taken seriously on the topic of Supreme Court nominations, and its boring and baseless anti-Alito screed today merely provides further confirmation of the point.
Digby / Hullabaloo:
Killing Me Softly — I'm feeling down right now. I know I shouldn't. The fact that Tom DeLay has stepped down is such a huge victory for humanity all by itself that I should be dancing a jig for the next six months. But, I'm down in the dumps, mostly because I am watching George W. Bush repeat …
Spengler / Asia Times:
Why the West will attack Iran — Why did French President Jacques Chirac last week threaten to use non-conventional - that is, nuclear - weapons against terrorist states? And why did Iran announce that it would shift foreign-exchange reserves out of European banks (although it has since retracted this warning)?
John Hawkins / Right Wing News:
Right-Of-Center Bloggers Select The Most & Least Desired 2008 Republican Nominee (2006 Edition) — Right Wing News emailed more than 230 right-of-center bloggers and asked them to send us a ranked list 1-5 of the candidates that they would most like to take the Republican nomination for President …
Greg Myre / New York Times:
A Man Called Hitler Runs for a Seat He May Not Fill — JENIN, West Bank, Jan. 18 - The candidate's name is Jamal Abu Roub, but everyone here calls him Hitler because, well, that is the name he has answered to quite comfortably since he was a teenager. — Mr. Roub, 40, is a leader …
Shelby Steele / Opinion Journal:
Hillary's Plantation — Hillary Clinton reveals her fear of Condi Rice. — Of course Hillary Clinton's recent claim that Republicans run the House of Representatives like a "plantation" was old-fashioned political and racial pandering. After all, she uttered this remark at what certainly …
David Carr / New York Times:
Soothe the Blog and Reap the Whirlwind — LAST Thursday, Deborah Howell, the ombudsman for The Washington Post, posted a clarification on the newspaper's Web site after suggesting in her Sunday column that the lobbyist Jack Abramoff had made "substantial campaign contributions to both major parties."
Greg Sargent / TAPPED:
MEMO TO DEAN: NEXT TIME, REBUT ROVE'S ARGUMENT. So how should Democrats respond to the GOP's decision to make national security a key issue in the midterm elections? Here's a starting point: Whenever Republicans misrepresent Democratic positions on security issues, Dems shouldn't let the falsehoods go unchallenged.
Sabrina Tavernise / New York Times:
Abduction of U.S. Reporter Underscores Risks in Iraq — BAGHDAD, Iraq, Jan. 22 - The tools of her trade were a notebook, pen, Islamic head covering and Arabic name to pass unnoticed through Iraqi streets. — Together with an interpreter and a driver, Jill Carroll, a 28-year-old American journalist …
Dan Eggen / Washington Post:
Politics Alleged In Voting Cases — Justice Officials Are Accused of Influence — The Justice Department's voting section, a small and usually obscure unit that enforces the Voting Rights Act and other federal election laws, has been thrust into the center of a growing debate …
La Shawn Barber / Townhall.com:
Marching for life and against the "Negro Project" — On January 8, 2006, I attended the Justice Sunday III conference at Greater Exodus Baptist Church, a predominantly black church in Philadelphia. Reverend Herbert Lusk preached passionately against abortion and called it murder.
Ezra Klein / TAPPED:
A PRE-STATE OF THE UNION PRIMER. Another day, another detailed preview of George W. Bush's State of the Union health care proposals. This morning's iteration comes from the LA Times' Peter Gosselin, one of the best social policy reporters in the country. But even the best reporters …
Discussion:
The Washington Monthly, Angry Bear, Shakespeare's Sister, Talking Points Memo, Interesting Times and Ezra Klein
