Top Items:
Andy Stern / SEIU:
Letter from President Andy Stern to SEIU members: Where do we go from here? — A little over a year ago, you stood up and showed a nation that Yes, We Can. You knocked on doors, picked up phones, wrote your friends and family and neighbors and helped ring in a resounding victory.
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Mike Allen / The Politico:
Axelrod: Left ‘insane’ to sink bill — Trying to stave off a sudden fusillade from the left, White House senior adviser David Axelrod said Thursday that Howard Dean's criticisms of health-care reform are “predicated on a bunch of erroneous conclusions” and that for progressives to torpedo the legislation …
Peter Wallsten / Wall Street Journal:
Democrat Blues Grow Deeper in New Poll — For First Time, Voters Split Over Who They Want in Control After 2010 Elections, and Obama's Approval Rating Falls Below 50% — President Obama makes a statement on health care after meeting with Senators on Tuesday.
Discussion:
The Moderate Voice, The Note, Top of the Ticket, Pollster.com All Content, Taylor Marsh, The Politico, Washington Examiner, Connecting.the.Dots, Pundit & Pundette, Daily Kos, National Review Online, Commentary, msnbc.com, Real Time Economics, AmSpecBlog, The Lonely Conservative, American Power, Shot in the Dark and Hot Air
Howard Dean / Washington Post:
Health-care bill wouldn't bring real reform — If I were a senator, I would not vote for the current health-care bill. Any measure that expands private insurers' monopoly over health care and transfers millions of taxpayer dollars to private corporations is not real health-care reform.
Discussion:
Washington Monthly, Politics Daily, Weekly Standard, TPM LiveWire, Philly.com, Power Line, Think Progress, DISSENTING JUSTICE, The Hill, Washington Wire, Wonk Room, The Corner on National …, Washington Times, National Review Online, msnbc.com, Commentary, Examiner, The Huffington Post, CBS News, Outside The Beltway, Hotline On Call, Brilliant at Breakfast, DownWithTyranny!, Taylor Marsh, The Huffington Post, AmSpecBlog, Liberal Values, The Note, The Plum Line, Ben Smith's Blog, Paul Krugman, Political Punch, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, AMERICAblog News, MyDD and Truthdig
Igor / Think Progress:
Sen. Sanders: 'As of this point, I'm not voting for the bill.' — Moments ago, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) announced that he is prepared to vote against the Senate health care bill in light of the recent decision to strip the public option and the Medicare buy-in provision from the legislation.
Discussion:
Left in the West, The Huffington Post, Open Left, The Plum Line, Washington Post, Washington Monthly, Wonk Room, TPMDC, Indecision Forever, The Politico, Taegan Goddard's …, Firedoglake, FiveThirtyEight, MyDD, Hot Air, Newshoggers.com, Liberal Values, The Moderate Voice, Daily Kos, DownWithTyranny!, AMERICAblog News and The Lonely Conservative
Matthew Dowd / Washington Post:
Success on health reform holds risks for Democrats — President Obama needs an exit strategy. I am not referring to Afghanistan or Iraq (though there are quite a few similarities between the situation Obama is in on health-care reform and the political difficulties President George W. Bush faced on Iraq).
Discussion:
Wall Street Journal, Weekly Standard, Dr. Melissa Clouthier, Bloomberg, Commentary and The World Newser
Carrie Budoff Brown / The Politico:
Vote by Christmas in peril — Reid is operating under a tight timeline. — Under the rosiest scenario, he needs to begin taking the procedural steps by this weekend to end the debate — and it would still take until Dec. 23 or Dec. 24 until the bill reaches final passage.
Discussion:
Townhall.com
JammieWearingFool:
‘This Is Their Hajj’ — It's bad enough we have to endure …
‘This Is Their Hajj’ — It's bad enough we have to endure …
Discussion:
Transterrestrial Musings
Chris Cillizza / Washington Post:
Howard Dean, health care reform spoiler?
Howard Dean, health care reform spoiler?
Discussion:
Video Cafe's feed
blogs.telegraph.co.uk:
Climategate goes SERIAL: now the Russians confirm that UK climate scientists manipulated data to exaggerate global warming — Climategate just got much, much bigger. And all thanks to the Russians who, with perfect timing, dropped this bombshell just as the world's leaders are gathering …
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RIA Novosti:
What the Russian papers say — MOSCOW, December 16 (RIA Novosti) Russia trading in diplomatic recognition / U.S. uses NATO as a tool to integrate Russia into its project for a new world order - expert / New round of struggle to end Cold War / Russia affected by Climategate /
Discussion:
Watts Up With That?, Pajamas Media, blogs.telegraph.co.uk, Climate Audit, Andrew Bolt and The Air Vent
Wall Street Journal:
Insurgents Hack U.S. Drones — $26 Software Is Used to Breach Key Weapons in Iraq; Iranian Backing Suspected — WASHINGTON — Militants in Iraq have used $26 off-the-shelf software to intercept live video feeds from U.S. Predator drones, potentially providing them with information they need …
TMZ.com:
Sarah Palin's McCain Cover Up — For the first time ever, Sarah Palin used her head to make a searing political comment — a frontal attack on Sen. John McCain. — The failed Vice Presidential nominee took time off from shilling her book to vacation with her son Trig …
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Mike Allen / The Politico:
Palin supports McCain ‘100 percent’ — Declaring that she “was honored and proud to run with him,” former Alaska governor Sarah Palin pushed back hard Wednesday against a report that she had disrespected Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) by blacking out his name on a sun visor she wore on vacation.
Discussion:
The Note, TMZ.com, No More Mister Nice Blog, Top of the Ticket, msnbc.com, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Raw Story and The Awl
Nate Silver / FiveThirtyEight:
20 Questions, 20 Responses — I'm happy that this debate seems to be evolving into something a little more civilized on all sides. This is my response to Markos Moulitsas (DK) at Daily Kos and Jon Walker (JW) at FireDogLake who were kind enough to respond to the 20 questions I posed earlier.
Discussion:
Daily Kos, The New Republic, Democratic Strategist, The Huffington Post, Bob Cesca's Awesome Blog! and Open Left
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Rasmussen Reports:
50% Now Say Global Warming Caused by Long-Term Planetary Trends, Political Class Strongly Disagrees — Public skepticism about the officially promoted cause of global warming has reached an all-time high among Americans. — A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 50% …
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Lenore Taylor / TheAustralian:
Penny Wong jeered, Hugo Chavez cheered — THE Copenhagen climate summit was pretty much summed up in the high-level segment yesterday when Penny Wong's speech was interrupted by whistles and chanting and Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez got a standing ovation.
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Suzanne Goldenberg / Guardian:
US backs $100bn climate fund — Hillary Clinton pledges US support for a $100bn fund to help poor countries adapt to climate change providing their leaders sign up to a deal — Analysis: What Clinton's speech means for Copenhagen — The US moved to assert its leadership and save …
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Ariel Leve / Times of London:
Dramatic American intervention brings climate deal closer
Dramatic American intervention brings climate deal closer
Discussion:
protein wisdom
Washington Times:
Walpin-gate may snag Mrs. Obama — Skullduggery alleged in White House dismissal of inspector general — No inspector general can unearth corruption without access to his office, computer or staff. An “administrative leave” putting an IG in that position has the same effect, for all intents and purposes, as an immediate firing.
Discussion:
The Washington Independent
Jeffrey M. Jones / Gallup:
Palin's Favorable Up Slightly; Obama's Holds Steady — Obama (56%) more popular than Palin (44%) — PRINCETON, NJ — After the release of her much-publicized autobiography and the ensuing book tour, Sarah Palin is still viewed more unfavorably than favorably by Americans …
Tom Coburn / Wall Street Journal:
The Health Bill Is Scary — Government guidelines would likely have forbidden the test I used to discover Sheila's cancer. — Printer — Friendly — I recently suggested that seniors will die sooner if Congress actually implements the Medicare cuts in the health-care bill put forward by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid.