Top Items:
Paul Krugman / New York Times:
A Dangerous Dysfunction — Unless some legislator pulls off a last-minute double-cross, health care reform will pass the Senate this week. Count me among those who consider this an awesome achievement. It's a seriously flawed bill, we'll spend years if not decades fixing it, but it's nonetheless a huge step forward.
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New York Times:
Health Bill Passes Key Test in the Senate With 60 Votes — WASHINGTON — After a long day of acid, partisan debate, Democrats held ranks early Monday in a dead-of-night procedural vote that proved they had locked in the decisive margin needed to pass a far-reaching overhaul of the nation's health care system.
Discussion:
Washington Monthly, Taylor Marsh, The Caucus, Indecision Forever, Riehl World View, Video Cafe's feed, The Reaction and Wonkette
Robert Pear / New York Times:
Deep in Health Bill, Very Specific Beneficiaries — WASHINGTON — Buried in the deal-clinching health care package that Senate Democrats unveiled over the weekend is an inconspicuous proposal expanding Medicare to cover certain victims of “environmental health hazards.”
Dana Milbank / Washington Post:
An ugly finale for health-care reform — Going into Monday morning's crucial Senate vote on health-care legislation, Republican chances for defeating the bill had come down to a last, macabre hope. They needed one Democratic senator to die — or at least become incapacitated.
Michael O'Brien / The Hill:
CBO pegs Nelson's Nebraska Medicaid deal cost at $100 million — Nebraska will receive $100 million in assistance for its state Medicaid program under provisions negotiated by Sen. Ben Nelson (D) in the Senate's healthcare reform bill. — The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) …
Washington Post:
Health-care bill clears crucial vote in Senate, 60 to 40 — Senate Democrats won a milestone victory early Monday in the health-care debate, approving a procedural motion to move the reform legislation to final passage later this week, and without a single vote to spare.
The Huffington Post:
Feingold: Obama Responsible For Loss Of Public Option — WHAT'S YOUR REACTION? — Sen. Russ Feingold (D-Wisc.) formally announced on Sunday that he would support the Senate's final version of health care reform. But in doing so he cast blame for the loss of a public option …
Michelle Malkin:
Cash for Cloture: Demcare bribe list, Pt. II — A month ago, I compiled Part I of the Demcare bribe list as Harry Reid rushed before Thanksgiving to secure his first cloture vote on the government health care takeover. (Quick re-cap: $300 million Louisiana Purchase for Landrieu …
Discussion:
Associated Press, Dr. Melissa Clouthier, Gateway Pundit, JOSHUAPUNDIT, The Politico and The Confluence
The Note:A Whodunit: The $100 million mystery hospital
Discussion:
ABCNEWS, The Corner on National …, Outside The Beltway, American Spectator, Hot Air and Power Line
Kevin Bogardus / The Hill:Cloture vote foreshadows conference tussle over final healthcare bill
Discussion:
The Politico, Commentary, Liberal Values, The Confluence and And So it Goes in Shreveport
Michelle Malkin:Sneaky Sunday Senate liveblog, open thread; the building backlash …
Discussion:
GayPatriot, News from www.nptelegraph.com, Omaha World-Herald, The Hill and Small Business …
Jeffrey Young / The Hill:Senate Democrats unite for landmark healthcare vote
Discussion:
The Politico
SEK / Lawyers, Guns and Money:
Intentions be damned, Avatar is racist (as is praying for and/or to “JaMarcus Manning"). — Annalee Newitz writes that “[w]hether Avatar is racist is a matter of debate,” but it isn't: the film is racist. Its fundamental narrative logic is racist: it transposes the cultural politics of Westerns …
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Paul Krugman:
The WYSIWYG president — There's a lot of dismay/rage on the left over Obama, a number of cries that he isn't the man progressives thought they were voting for. — But that says more about the complainers than it does about Obama himself. If you actually paid attention to the substance …
Washington Post:
Fed's approach to regulation left banks exposed to crisis — Foreclosures already pocked Chicago's poorer neighborhoods but the downtown still was booming as the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago convened its annual conference in May 2007. — The keynote speaker, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke …
Martina Stewart / CNN:
Obama gets an ‘A’ for effort from Schwarzenegger — Washington (CNN) - Not every Republican is a critic of President Obama. At least one thinks the president is doing a fine job - at least when it comes to the effort involved in being the country's chief executive.
Discussion:
JammieWearingFool
Washington Post:
The Salahis' night at the White House and a contentious day after — Case closed. — That's the verdict the White House has emphatically handed down on the embarrassing and troubling security breach a fame-craving Virginia couple performed during the Obama administration's first state dinner, on Nov. 24.
Discussion:
The Page
Kpicket / The washington times Blogs:
Sen. Whitehouse: foes of health care bill are birthers, right-wing militias, aryan groups — ****Updated with video link and more transcript — Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) today took shots at those who are not supporting the health care legislation.
Discussion:
RedState, American Spectator, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, AmSpecBlog, Seattle Times, The Other McCain, YID With LID and Pajamas Media
Rasmussen Reports:
Election 2010: North Dakota Senate — 2010 North Dakota Senate: Hoeven 58%, Dorgan 36% — Incumbent Democratic Senator Byron Dorgan may have a serious problem on his hands if Republicans recruit Governor John Hoeven to run for the U.S. Senate in North Dakota next year.
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