We always praise weblogs that do ORIGINAL reporting and try to feature some of them prominently here so readers can check out the NEW information presented in some of these weblogs (most blog posts including on this one are basically extended op-ed pieces versus original reporting). A MUST READ can be found HERE today via The Talking Dog which has an interview with Andrew Patel, one of the lawyers for Jose Padilla. Padilla who was recently the subject of a Supreme Court decision. We’ll give...

E. J. Dionne Jr’s Friday column in the Washington Post: Abramoff and His Vanishing Friends Today’s Toledo Blade: Bush asked to list sources of Noe, Abramoff gifts Today’s Cincinnati Enquirer: My Congressman Denies Abramoff WASHINGTON - Rep. Steve Chabot said Friday that he’ll give the $5,000 his campaign received from Indian tribes represented by former Washington lobbyist Jack Abramoff to Over-the-Rhine’s Joseph House for Homeless Veterans. The donation comes three...

The New York Times: A secret Pentagon study has found that as many as 80 percent of the marines who have been killed in Iraq from wounds to the upper body could have survived if they had had extra body armor. Such armor has been available since 2003, but until recently the Pentagon has largely declined to supply it to troops despite calls from the field for additional protection, according to military officials.

Washington Post: A report by the Congressional Research Service… concluded yesterday that the administration’s justification for the warrantless eavesdropping authorized by President Bush conflicts with existing law and hinges on weak legal arguments.

According to the AP via the New York Times, someone has been kidnapped and her Iraqi translator has been murdered.

A new AP-Ipsos poll is telegraphing a warning to Republicans in Congress: if elections were held right now the Democrats would be back in control. (AP) In an ominous election-year sign for Republicans, Americans are leaning sharply toward wanting Democrats to take control of Congress, an AP-Ipsos poll finds. Democrats are favored 49 percent to 36 percent. The poll was taken this week as Republican lobbyist Jack Abramoff pleaded guilty to tax evasion, fraud and corruption charges and agreed to aid...

GREAT FALLS, Mont. (AP) — A cow that escaped a slaughterhouse dodged vehicles, ran in front of a train, braved the icy Missouri River and took three tranquilizer darts before being recaptured six hours later…

What questions are “appropriate” for judicial nominees has become a contentious issue throughout the Alito and Roberts hearings. A recent article published in the Yale Law Journal’s online supplement argues that we should focus on asking how the nominee would have decided past cases. I provide commentary and analysis back at my own blog. But really interesting stuff.

Cross-Posted To The Debate Link Probably a foolish one, but whatever–and we’re on the topic in my Constitutional Law class, so may as well address it now. The 14th Amendment to the Constitution reads, in part, that “No state shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges and immunities of citizens of the United States.” This clause, as far as I understand it, was meant to overrule the Supreme Court’s decision in Barron v. City of Baltimore, 32 U.S....

I have seen or been emailed a LOT of analyses. Here are links to some of them: Charles Krauthammer: A Calamity for Israel (Washington Post) PBS NewsHour: IMPACT OF SHARON’S EXIT FROM ISRAELI POLITICS Union for Reform Judaism Prime Minister Ariel Sharon: A Tribute. Also, A Reform Perspective on the Current Situation & Reform Jewish Leader Condemns Pat Robertson’s Statements on PM Sharon Plus Prayers, Information, Biographies & Video The Israel Project - Iranian President to...

Satire from Andy Borowitz: RETURNED ABRAMOFF DONATIONS ERASE NATIONAL DEBT Lawmakers Scramble To Shed Trillions in Tainted Cash Politicians in Washington hurried today to dump trillions of dollars worth of campaign donations from disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff, giving the money to the Treasury Department and all but wiping out the national debt….

Time Magazine (Hat-Tip AMERICAblog): Washington’s power players have always bragged about being well-wired, but for disgraced former congressman Duke Cunningham, “wired” wasn’t just a figure of speech. In a week when legislators are focused on the question of who else might be brought down by ex-lobbyist Jack Abramoff’s cooperation with prosecutors as he seeks lenient sentencing over his two federal guilty pleas this week, sources tell TIME that in a separate investigation,...

The Department of Defense is going to try to develop a new lie detector that could prove useful in military and other operations — but could mean then end of a lot of political careers if members of the public ever get ahold of it: THE US Department of Defense has revealed plans to develop a lie detector that can be used without the subject knowing they are being assessed. The Remote Personnel Assessment (RPA) device will also be used to pinpoint fighters hiding in a combat zone, or even to...

…at Maverick Views a new sometimes-centrist blog. Seriously. It’s written by political thinker and attorney Alan Stewart Carl who created the thoughtful The Yellow Line blog, but retired from it due to time constraints. He warns that he may not post as frequently on this one, but he wants to get back into blogging with a fresh start and be less constrained by the term “centrist”: As the tagline says, I’ll be aiming for somewhere near the center, but that doesn’t...

Check out this from the Tacoma WA News-Tribune: IRS tracked taxpayers’ political affiliation The News Tribune Published: January 6th, 2006 02:30 AM A Hat-Tip to my friend Ms. Julien!

Singer Lou Rawls died today due to lung cancer. Another great entertainer departs from the scene.

You can read a slew of great weblog posts (and submit your own) by reading the weekly non-partisan Carnival of the Vanities.

Haaretz: His brain is bleeding again and the prognosis is not good. UPDATE from Jerusalem Post: The 3-hour surgery is complete and he’s been taken for another CAT scan. UPDATE from BBC News: Doctors treating Israeli PM Ariel Sharon say he has made a marked improvement after more brain surgery but remains in a critical condition. UPDATE from Haaretz: Pressure on Sharon’s brain has been reduced

Is he “baaack” — or is he now on his way out? Just as Arnold Schwarzenegger smoothly made the change from body builder to movie star…..just as he seamlessly moved from the world of Hollywood to the world of Sacramento….California’s Governor has now executed a MAJOR shift. Will it prove to be an artful shift — or will it be perceived as clumsy and backfire? He successfully ran for governor in a recall presenting himself as the quintessential outsider/independent:...

NOTE: Co-blogger Jack Grant posted this highly original and thoughtful piece on this site yesterday. We are running it again, high up in today’s postings, to ensure it gets maximum readership. Please keep scrolling since newer posts are below this one. This post is HIGHLY RECOMMENDED to ALL (those who might agree or disagree with Jack). Cross-posted to Random Fate. — A preface is needed: One month ago I was in France, sleeping in a hotel room after my possessions had been moved from...