W.H. to Reid: Cut deal with Lieberman  —  The White House is encouraging Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) to cut a deal with Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) and eliminate the proposed Medicare expansion in the health reform bill, according to an official close to the negotiations.

Under Murdoch, Tilting Rightward at The Journal  —  Sunday was the second anniversary of the sale of The Wall Street Journal to Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation.  At that time, a chorus of journalism church ladies (I was among them) warned that one of the crown jewels of American journalism …

Obama gives himself B+ for first months in office  —  WASHINGTON — US President Barack Obama, in remarks aired late Sunday, awarded himself a B plus for his first 11 months in office, stressing in an interview with talk show queen Oprah Winfrey that there was still much to be done.

Why James Chartrand Wears Women's Underpants  —  You know me as James Chartrand of Men with Pens, a regular Copyblogger contributor for just shy of two years.  —  And yet, I'm a woman.  —  This is not a joke or an angle or an analogy — I'm literally a woman.  —  This is my story.

This Is Huge: Rep. Bart Gordon Will Not Run For Re-Election  —  Boom goes the press release: … There really isn't anyway to spin as anything but bad for Democrats.  Whatever their reasons, the retirement of both John Tanner and Bart Gordon mean that only two years before redistricting …

Disaster and Denial  —  When I first began writing for The Times, I was naïve about many things.  But my biggest misconception was this: I actually believed that influential people could be moved by evidence, that they would change their views if events completely refuted their beliefs.

Race for 2010 Remains Close; Democrats Recover Slight Lead  —  Republican lead among independents narrows significantly  —  PRINCETON, NJ — Democrats have regained the slim edge they enjoyed earlier this year over Republicans in the latest update of Gallup's generic congressional ballot …

Franken feuds with GOP's No. 4  —  Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.) and Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) sparred sharply on the Senate floor Monday evening, a departure from the usually dormant speeches in the august chamber.  —  Franken said he was struck by a speech in which he said Thune had refused …

Pong, You're Dead: The Dems' Secret Weapon  —  Sudden Victory: People in the know in Washington appear to have already considered and dismissed the “ping pong” option—the possibility that if the Senate finally passes a compromise health care bill, Pelosi's House might simply vote “yes” …

Speaker Pelosi named finalist for Time magazine ‘Person of the Year’  —  House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) is among the seven finalists chosen for Time magazine's annual “Person of the Year,” according to media reports on Monday.  —  {mosads}Other finalists in the realm of politics include …

What's going on?  CRU takes down Briffa Tree Ring Data and more  —  Odd things are going on at the Climate Research Unit at the University of East Anglia.  —  Widely available data, existing in the public view for years, is now disappearing from public view.  —  Google shows the link was once valid

New right-wing Christmas carol: ‘Illegals in my Yard.’  —  This weekend, Human Events posted an offensive parody of the famous Christmas carol, “Feliz Navidad,” entitled “Illegal Aliens In My Yard.”  Besides repeatedly referring to undocumented immigrants as “illegals,” …

BRANDED A CHEAT  —  A recent issue of Forbes features a full-page ad for the consulting firm Accenture with Tiger Woods striding through tall grass.  The tagline reads, “The road to high performance isn't always paved.”  To which the obvious rejoinder these days is “Sometimes it runs straight into a fire hydrant.”