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.

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” …

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 …

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 …

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.

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

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 …

Climate talks row sees negotiations ‘suspended’  —  Negotiations at the UN climate summit have been suspended after developing countries withdrew their co-operation.  —  Delegations were angry at what they saw as moves by the Danish host government to sideline talks on more emission cuts under the Kyoto Protocol.

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.”

Courtney Love Loses Legal Control of Daughter  —  Courtney Love no longer has legal control of her daughter.  TMZ has learned a legal guardian has been appointed to care for 17-year-old Frances Bean Cobain.  —  Guardianships of this nature are frequently established when the parent is not capable of taking care of their children.

Bayh wants Obama to veto omnibus bill  —  Sen. Evan Bayh (D-Ind.) called on President Barack Obama Monday to veto the $1.1 trillion omnibus spending bill that just passed through Congress.  —  Bayh was one of three Democrats who joined most Senate Republicans in voting against the bill …

Charles Lane on job-killers that should be killed  —  With unemployment stuck around 10 percent, President Obama has pledged “to take every responsible step to accelerate the pace of job growth.”  Here's a thought: Instead of trying to “create” jobs by tweaking this tax break or increasing …

DeMint warns of ‘emergency rally’  —  Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) is putting Capitol Hill on a “Code Red” alert Tuesday in an effort to stop the Senate's health care reform legislation.  —  In a release from his office Monday, DeMint announced he will speak at what is being billed as an …

The ‘Cost Control’ Bill of Goods  —  How Peter Orszag and the White House sold a health-care illusion.  —  Printer  —  Friendly  —  ObamaCare's core promise—better quality care for everyone at lower costs—is being exposed as an illusion as it degenerates into the raw exercise of political power.

Torture, Chrysler cases ended; 3 grants  —  The Supreme Court refused on Monday to hear a major new case involving a claim of torture by four Britons while they were held at Guantanamo Bay.  It also wiped out the last remaining challenge to the deal that saved the automaker Chrysler, and it granted three new cases.

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,” …