US not seeking permanent Iraq bases: White House
The White House denied Thursday that the United States seeks permanent military bases in Iraq, days after the US “war czar” said that would be part of talks next year on long-term security ties.

Bush pushes Democrats to OK war funding
WASHINGTON – President Bush sternly pressed Democrats to approve money to fund the Iraq war “without strings and without delay” before leaving town for the Christmas holidays, something congressional leaders have already indicated they will not do.

Pelosi: Bush and His Republican Allies Are Preventing Extra Funds from Reaching Our Troops (by Office of the Speaker )
Washington, D.C. — Speaker Nancy Pelosi issued the following statement today in response to President Bush’s remarks this afternoon at the Pentagon: “Earlier this month, Congress approved nearly a half trillion dollars for the Department of Defense. Just two weeks ago, House Democrats passed $50 billion in additional funding for our troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. We have provided every penny that is currently necessary to fund Defense Department operations in Iraq, Afghanistan, and around the world. It is President Bush and his Republican allies in the Senate who are preventing extra funds from reaching our troops.“

TSA plan to gather more data protested
WASHINGTON — A government proposal to start collecting birth dates and genders of people reserving airline flights is drawing protests from major airlines and travel agencies that say it would be invasive, confusing and “useless.”

Judge: Feds must release telecom records
SAN FRANCISCO – An electronic privacy group challenging President Bush’s domestic spying program scored a minor victory after a judge ordered the federal government to release information about lobbying efforts by telecommunications companies to protect them from prosecution.

Leahy Starts Formal Process that Could Lead to a Contempt Citation for Karl Rove and Others (by Jonathan Turley)
Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy has formally determined that Karl Rove, John Bolten, former White House political director Sara Taylor and her deputy, J. Scott Jennings, are in violation of the Senate subpoenas and must comply “immediately” or face legal consequences… This ruling would allow the matter to go to the Senate.Notably, Leahy found that Bush was not involved in the firing of U.S. Attorneys. This helped undermine the claim of executive privilege.

A New Beginning for American Families: The Dodd Plan for Fair, Practical Bankruptcy Reform (thanks to Space Cowboy at Shakesville – click through for a wonderful picture of Banker Cat turning down ur loan)
In a Dodd Administration, hardworking people who have fallen on hard times will be afforded a new beginning that re-establishes a safety net and helps families get back on their feet. As President, he will:
- Modify the means test to ensure families have sufficient resources to live on
- Protect children, not creditors
- Ensure all medical debts are dischargeable
- Permit bankruptcy courts to restructure mortgages so families can stay in their homes
- Allow private student loans to be dischargeable
Too bad Dodd can’t get more traction.  I like his defense of the Constitution, too.

Giuliani Defends Spending on His Mayoral Security
Rudolph W. Giuliani [Thursday] night called a Web site’s account of his spending a “political hit job” as his campaign struggled to explain why hundreds of thousands of dollars in travel expenses for his mayoral security detail were billed to obscure city offices instead of the Police Department. [A] senior aide to Mr. Giuliani … contended that the billing followed longstanding procedures in which legitimate travel expenses for the police detectives were spread among the budgets of various mayoral offices.

Giuliani Denies Obscuring Mayoral Expenses
New York City Comptroller Bill Thompson told ABC News that Giuliani’s administration billed obscure city agencies for his security detail’s travel expenses during his visits to the Hamptons… Thompson said this about the Mayor’s explanation, “That’s not the way that we operate these days, and it would not be the preferred way of doing business,” Thompson said. “In the end, it’s a very convoluted way of getting things done.”

Light Amidst the Shag (by Josh Marshall at Talking Points Memo)
I fear … that we are only rubbing the surface of the true Shag Fund in this incipient probe. Clearly there’s the travel money — billed to whatever NYC office — used for trips and security for Rudy out at the Hamptons shags. But we also know now that while Rudy was conducting an extramarital affair with Judi he gave her her own NYPD car and driver to be squired around the city with. Where’d the money for that come from?

Rudy’s Ties to a Terror Sheikh
Giuliani’s business contracts tie him to the man who let 9/11′s mastermind escape the FBI