Top Items:
Dan Eggen / Washington Post:
White House Dismissed '02 Surveillance Proposal — The Bush administration rejected a 2002 Senate proposal that would have made it easier for FBI agents to obtain surveillance warrants in terrorism cases, concluding that the system was working well and that it would likely be unconstitutional to lower the legal standard.
Discussion:
JustOneMinute, The Volokh Conspiracy, AMERICAblog, dailykos.com, Crooks and Liars and The Washington Monthly
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Jonathan S. Landay / Knight Ridder:
In 2002, Justice Department said eavesdropping law working well — WASHINGTON - A July 2002 Justice Department statement to a Senate committee appears to contradict several key arguments that the Bush administration is making to defend its eavesdropping on U.S. citizens without court warrants.
Jim Puzzanghera / Lexington Herald-Leader:
More Americans favor impeaching Bush, poll says — Today's topic: Domestic spying — WASHINGTON - The word "impeachment" is popping up increasingly these days and not just off the lips of liberal activists spouting predictable bumper-sticker slogans. — After the unfounded claims …
Ron Fournier / Associated Press:
Sen. Clinton Blasts Bush on Eavesdropping — WASHINGTON - Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton called President Bush's explanations for eavesdropping on domestic conversations without warrants "strange" and "far-fetched" Wednesday in blistering criticism ahead of the president's State of the Union address.
MSNBC:
Bush to visit spy agency, defend surveillance — Sen. McCain, uncertain if president exceeded authority, welcomes hearings … WASHINGTON - President Bush heads to the National Security Agency on Wednesday for another speech defending his controversial spying program …
Discussion:
Michelle Malkin, Stop The ACLU, Sister Toldjah, Booman Tribune, Pam's House Blend, The Left Coaster, Needlenose and AMERICAblog
news, politics, jobs …:
Panel: Interactivity Ethics — Last Thursday, washingtonpost.com turned off the reader comments feature on post.blog , a blog dedicated to sharing news by and about The Post and washingtonpost.com. The move came after several comments containing personal attacks, profanity and hate speech …
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Digby / Hullabaloo:
Incivility — Boy that Washington Post chat with bloggers sure was fun, huh kids? It's really cool when guys like Glenn Reynolds cojmpletely misrepresent themselves in a national forum. It shows once again how out of control the left is. — Here's Glenn:
Roger L. Simon / Mystery Novelist and Screenwriter:
What to do about the new Axis of Evil? — I'm talking about Yahoo, Microsoft and Google, of course, those three Internet mega-corporations who are actively cooperating with totalitarianism in China. — Google is the latest to prostrate itself before the new emperors. Timesonline sums it up:
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Michael Liedtke / Associated Press:Google Agrees to Censor Results in China
Discussion:
The Peking Duck, RConversation, Hog On Ice, Pajamas Media, Vodkapundit, Inside Larry's Head, The Heretik, Loaded Mouth, The Reaction, Say Anything and Daimnation!
New York Times:
Senators in Need of a Spine — Judge Samuel Alito Jr., whose entire history suggests that he holds extreme views about the expansive powers of the presidency and the limited role of Congress, will almost certainly be a Supreme Court justice soon. His elevation will come courtesy …
Bridget / GOP Vixen:
SO LONG, FAREWELL, AUF WIEDERSEHEN, GOODBYE, GALLOWAY! — George Galloway, who hoped to use reality TV as a platform to further his socialist ideology but instead used it as a platform to act like a cat and dance in a red leotard, has been voted out of the Celebrity Big Brother house!! From the Guardian:
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Kevin Sites / Agence France Presse:
Hamas goes to urns refusing to disarm — GAZA CITY (AFP) - Hamas, the radical Islamist faction behind a majority of attacks on Israel, vowed not to disarm or negotiate with the Jewish state if it enters the Palestinian parliament after the election. — Unbowed by international pressure …
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Robert B. Bluey / Human Events:
Federalist Society Slams ABC's Scalia Story: Repeat of Rather-Mapes — The conservative Federalist Society, the centerpiece of an ABC News story questioning Justice Antonin Scalia's ethics, today compared the network's reporting on the story to the infamous Dan Rather and Mary Mapes episode …
Brian Ross / ABCNEWS:
EXCLUSIVE: Al Qaeda Sees Resurgence in Pakistani Tribal Areas — Videotape Shows Terror Network Actively Recruiting, Plotting Attacks — Jan. 24, 2006 — Al Qaeda and its former protectors — the Taliban — are in the midst of a powerful resurgence, according to accounts by local officials …
Jerusalem Post:
Iran: We'll put Israel in 'eternal coma' — TEHERAN, IRAN — Were Israel to attack Iran's nuclear facilities, Iran would respond so strongly that it would put the Jewish state into "an eternal coma" like Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's, the Iranian defense minister said Wednesday.
Reuters:
Fatah officials say Hamas won PA elections — Officials in the ruling Fatah Party said Thursday that Hamas captured a majority of seats in Palestinian legislative elections, shortly after the militant group claimed victory. — The Fatah officials, speaking on condition of anonymity …
LiberalOasis:
The Worst-Case Alito Scenario Looms — Senate Dems are perhaps heading into a worst-case scenario with the Alito nomination, at least, worst-case for the party's reputation. — Achieving 41 "No" votes, yet not filibustering the nomination. — The NY Times reports: … And CNN's Ed Henry reported yesterday:
hrw.org:
United Nations: U.S. Aligned With Iran in Anti-Gay Vote — Rice Must Explain Repressive UN Ban on LGBT Rights Groups — (Washington, D.C., January 25, 2006) - In a reversal of policy, the United States on Monday backed an Iranian initiative to deny United Nations consultative status …
Discussion:
IntoxiNation-News …
John R. Lott Jr / New York Times:
Pulling Rank — REPUBLICAN senators have found a new friend during judicial confirmations: the American Bar Association. During the confirmation hearings of John G. Roberts Jr. and Samuel A. Alito Jr., the senators invoked A.B.A. evaluations to ward off Democratic attacks …
Arnold Kling / EconLog:
Giffen's Paradox of Health Care — If you thought that Bush economics was an oxymoron before, wait until you read this morning's lead story in the Washington Post. — Evidently, the Administration believes that health care is a Giffen good, so that if you subsidize it, total spending on it will decline.
Discussion:
Marginal Revolution, TAPPED, Preemptive Karma, Say Anything, Think Progress and Needlenose
Charlie Savage / Boston Globe:
AG's memo raises questions on Patriot Act — Suggests it's not needed for domestic spying — WASHINGTON — A footnote in Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales's 42-page legal memo defending President Bush's domestic spying program appears to argue that the administration does not need Congress …
Peter Baker / Washington Post:
The Realities of Exporting Democracy — A Year After Bush Recast Foreign Policy, Progress Remains Mixed — Sitting in a prison cell halfway around the planet, an Egyptian opposition leader forced President Bush this month to confront the question of how serious he was when he vowed to devote …
Drew Brown / Knight Ridder:
Army reaching breaking point, experts warn — WASHINGTON - A pair of reports by outside experts in the last two days warn that the Army has been stretched thin by repeated combat tours in Iraq and Afghanistan and could soon reach the breaking point. — The first, a report on the Iraq war …
Norm / normblog:
The good, the bad and the combination — Here I am, lifelong atheist, going out to bat for religion once again - actually, not for religion, since I do not think there are valid grounds for religious belief, but against unbalanced forms of rejection of all that religion stands for and some of the values it may embody for its adherents.
