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The Hardball Briefing On MSNBC
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Today marks the 20th national celebration of the Martin Luther King, Jr.
Holiday. President Bush celebrated the day "by taking in a gospel performance
and viewing the Emancipation Proclamation," the Associated Press reports. This
afternoon, he also spoke at a ceremony honoring King. Here's the AP's full
report: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10877377.
The AP also finds that "[m]ost Americans believe there has been significant
progress in achieving [King's] dream of racial equality, though blacks are more
skeptical." Here's more on their new poll: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10865903.
Learn more about King's life and the ongoing work of the King Center in
Atlanta, Georgia: http://www.thekingcenter.org.
And read about plans for a national memorial for King in Washington, D.C.:
http://www.mlkmemorial.org.
Former Vice President Al Gore observed the holiday by blasting the president in
a fiery speech about civil rights and constitutional powers. Gore said, "A
president who breaks the law is a threat to the very structure of our
government." The AP has more on his speech:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10878885.
In a statement, RNC Press Secretary Tracey Schmitt said, "Al Gore's incessant
need to insert himself in the headline of the day is almost as glaring as his
lack of understanding of the threats facing America. While the president works
to protect Americans from terrorists, Democrats deliver no solutions of their
own, only diatribes laden with inaccuracies and anger."
On Hardball tonight, Chris will talk with Spc. Tony Lagouranis (Ret.), a former
Army interrogator at Abu Ghraib prison, about some of the same issues Gore hit
hard on today. Lagouranis, who is highly critical of the detention and
interrogation practices used in the Iraq War, will discuss the war and the
ongoing debate over torture.
Hardball's David Shuster will have the latest on a report by the Congressional
Research Service that calls the Bush Administration's justification for the
formerly secret NSA domestic spying operation not "well-grounded." Also,
Kenneth Bass, a former counsel for the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court,
will be here to talk about the debates over domestic spying powers and torture.
Meet Bass here:
http://www.skgf.com/professionals.php?page=professionals&action=result&AttorneyID=110.
Plus, Chris will talk tonight with Republican attorney Ben Ginsberg, who was
counsel for both of the president's campaigns, and Democratic strategist Steve
McMahon, who was a media advisor for DNC Chairman Howard Dean's presidential
campaign. Ginsberg and McMahon will discuss the Abramoff fallout, the
developing House leadership contest, Abramoff-tainted Rep. Bob Ney (R-OH)'s
temporary relinquishing of his committee chairmanship, the upcoming Senate vote
on the Supreme Court nomination of Sam Alito, and much more. Find out more
about Ginsberg and McMahon here:
http://www.pattonboggs.com/Attorneys/detail.aspx?attorney=231 and
http://www.msastrategies.com/mcmahon.html.
Here are some things you might not have read yet today:
--MSNBC.com's feature "Race in America" http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3032561
--AP reports on Africa's first elected female head of state
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10865705
--Newsweek explains how Alito breezed through his hearings
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10854373/site/newsweek
--NBC's First Read http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3626796
--Doonesbury http://www.doonesbury.com/strip/dailydose/index.html
Brooke Brower compiled the "Hardball Briefing" in Washington, D.C.
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