Delaying Vote, Debt Panel Splits on Taxes and Spending  —  WASHINGTON — The chairmen of President Obama's debt-reduction commission have been unable to win support from any of the panel's elected officials for their proposed spending cuts and tax increases, underscoring the reluctance …

WikiLeaks Founder Julian Assange Tells TIME: Hillary Clinton ‘Should Resign’  —  Hillary Clinton, Julian Assange said, “should resign.”  Speaking over Skype from an undisclosed location on Tuesday, the WikiLeaks founder was replying to a question by TIME managing editor Richard Stengel …

Judge upholds healthcare reform law  —  A federal judge in Virginia on Tuesday rejected a legal challenge to the healthcare reform law, the second time the law's mandate that people buy insurance has been ruled constitutional.  —  The lawsuit was brought by Liberty University …

Is GOP Breaking Silence on Sarah Palin for President?  —  Among Potential GOP Contenders, Politeness Still Rules  —  When the television host and former Florida congressman Joe Scarborough published a scathing op-ed piece in Politico against Sarah Palin on Tuesday, he was not only trying to put a dent in her presidential ambitions.

House May Block Food Safety Bill Over Senate Error  —  A food safety bill that has burned up precious days of the Senate's lame-duck session appears headed back to the chamber because Democrats violated a constitutional provision requiring that tax provisions originate in the House.

In Tax Cuts, the Options Run Short  —  Democrats have left themselves in a tough spot on the Bush tax cuts.  After delaying the issue until after the election and then being trounced in that election, they find themselves with little leverage.  —  If they cannot come up with a plan …

Cantor Urges ‘Open Mind’ On VA Legislature Plan To Blow Up The Constitution  —  Incoming House Majority Leader Eric Cantor is part of a class of Republicans who say they want to change the country fundamentally — and to that end, Cantor isn't dismissing a plan by legislators in his home state …

30 Most Dynamic Cities in the World  —  What is the most dynamic city in the post-recession world?  —  The surprising answer is Istanbul, according to a new report that shows the developing world is leading the way out of the Great Recession.  —  Grading each metropolis by the growth …

I'm A Gay Guy And A Veteran  —  I'm a gay guy, meaning I'm pretty carefree and happy, pretty tolerant, and not a homosexual.  At the same time, I'm pretty focused and results-oriented, but not to an excess unfair to others.  So, how do I react to the Pentagon's study of the effects of repealing Don't Ask, Don't Tell?

State seeks expedited ruling in Miller lawsuit  —  VOTE SUIT: Alaska risks being deprived of a senator, they say.  —  The state is asking a judge to decide a case over Alaska's still-disputed U.S. Senate race by next week.  —  In court papers, attorneys for the state seek a ruling by Dec. 9 due to …

Health Care Union Drops Coverage For Children  —  Perhaps you have to be familiar with New York politics to understand how truly bizarre this story is: 1199 is dropping its health care coverage for children.  1199 is the extraordinarily powerful local health care workers' union which has pushed …

Inaugural scoop: Steelman files for Senate  —  Former Missouri state treasurer Sarah Steelman is expected to file the official paperwork Wednesday to run for U.S. Senate in 2012, POLITICO has learned.  —  Before filing as a candidate with the Secretary of the Senate this afternoon …

Co-host spittin' mad over Spitzer  —  Tweet  —  Eliot Spitzer's TV sidekick is so fed up with playing second fiddle to the hooker-loving ex-gov that she's threatening to walk, sources told The Post yesterday.  —  Washington Post columnist Kathleen Parker actually stormed off the set of the …

Catholics Fire Back in Christmas Billboard Battle  —  The latest salvo in the Christmas wars has landed, blocks from the New York entrance of the Lincoln Tunnel.  —  The Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights has responded to a a Christmas-debunking billboard sponsored by American Atheists …

F.C.C. Chairman Outlines Broadband Framework  —  WASHINGTON — Thwarted by the courts, by lawmakers on Capitol Hill and by some of his fellow commissioners, the Federal Communications Commission chairman will try again on Wednesday to devise a new strategy for regulating broadband Internet service providers.

Here I am listening — for the first time — to Rush Limbaugh talking about me.  —  I've got the podcast of today's show, where he's reading from this blog post of mine:  —  And let me invite Rush to go on Bloggingheads.tv and diavlog with me about the so-called chickification problems that plague our world today.

Europe's Crisis Widens  —  Italy, Spain See Bonds Sink, Portugal Faces Rating Cut as Faith in Rescue Ebbs  —  In Rome, students protesting spending cuts clashed with police  —  Investors dismissed European leaders' latest attempt to restore market calm, raising doubts about whether governments …

From WikiChina  —  While secrets from WikiLeaks were splashed all over the American newspapers, I couldn't help but wonder: What if China had a WikiLeaker and we could see what its embassy in Washington was reporting about America?  I suspect the cable would read like this:

Bolton does not believe two-state solution is working  —  He also said the revealed Arab support also punctures the Obama administration's contention that progress on the Israeli-Palestinian peace process was needed to help rally the Arab world's help on Iran.