WE Blog

Colleen Kollar-Kotelly (in photo), the presiding judge of the secret Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, is arranging a classified briefing for her and her fellow judges about the Bush administration’s eavesdropping program, The Washington Post reported. The judges are concerned both about the legality of the domestic spying and whether information gleaned from the eavesdropping was improperly used to gain authorized wiretaps from their court. “The questions are obvious,” U.S. District Judge Dee Benson of Utah told the Post. “What have you been doing, and how might it affect the reliability and credibility of the information we’re getting in our court?”
Posted by Phillip Brownlee

Not that it matters a whit, but Gov. Kathleen Sebelius is among the 37 governors who’ve opted for inclusively worded holiday cards this year. Hers feature a seasonal painted image of Cedar Crest and the greeting: “Wishing you a joyful holiday season and a new year blessed with health, happiness and peace.” According to the Web site Stateline.org, nine governors’ cards mentioned “Christmas,” with Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee using the word four times and also referring to “our Savior’s birth” and the “Messiah.” In a surprisingly tight-fisted minority were the governors of Minnesota, Nevada and New Mexico, who sent out no cards at all. Then there is Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco, who, not surprisingly, has been too busy to make a decision either way.
Posted by Rhonda Holman