"James Bamford has a detailed article in the NYTimes this morning regarding the NSA and its expanded use by the Administration.

   [Bamford writes] "In essence, N.S.A. seemed to be on a classic fishing expedition, precisely the type of abuse the FISA court was put in place to stop. At a news conference, President Bush himself seemed to acknowledge this new tactic. 'FISA is for long-term monitoring,' he said. 'There's a difference between detecting so we can prevent, and monitoring'."

   Bamford continues: "This eavesdropping is not the Bush administration's only attempt to expand the boundaries of what is legally permissible."

Reddhead comments, "Certainly worth a read. And the detail dovetails with what Arkin's Early Warning blog has been discussing as well. (Doesn't it somehow seem as though this Administration has taken Orwell and Phillip K. Dick as some sort of "how to" manual as opposed to cautionary tales?) ..." (Read the entire News Round-Up.)

TalkLeft, via ReddHead at FireDogLake blog, reports -- mysteriously -- "Clinton and Liel Sing for Peace" ...

"Just go watch."

"From Heckles to Halos ," writes today's Los Angeles Times about how soldiers are treated ...

"In dramatic contrast to the Vietnam War era, U.S. service personnel now are being treated to strangers' spontaneous bursts of gratitude. — There's a diner called Peggy Sue's about eight miles outside of Barstow, and as hard as Lt. Col. Kenneth Parks tries, he can never seem to pay his bill. ..."

Kos makes fun of Ill O'Reilly, and notes a list of the top 10 cities in which to live ...

"... Top places to live, according to CNN/Money Magazine, Outside Magazine, and Mens Journal (Bend, OR sounds really nice). The Economist Intelligence Unit (a business analyst outfit) ranked the world's top cities in "livability". Vancouver, CA came in first. No American city cracked the top 10. ..."

AFP reports that Christmas is bittersweet in New Orleans ...

"For three generations of women fending off the cold outside their uninhabitable brick home, the past seems brighter than the future. ... Read all."

Sad news: Two U.S. soldiers died today, Christmas Day, in a Baghdad bomb attack ...

"There have been two U-S deaths in Baghdad on this Christmas day. The military says two soldiers were killed in bomb attacks. Both were with Task Force Baghdad. A statement says only that the first soldier 'died from wounds sustained by an improvised explosive device' ... Read all." (Will Christmas ever be the same for their families?)

Photo caption ...

"A soldier of the 1st battalion 327th infantry regiment wears a Christmas hat before leaving the US base for a patrol mission in the northern city of Hawijah. Iraqi newspapers published an appeal by families of four Western hostages for their freedom. (AFP/Filippo Monteforte) ... " (Via Yahoo News Slide Show)

We can't rest either, can we ... but we can sure take a few hours to have some fun ... do anything fun today? ...