Top Items:
Brian Beutler / TPMDC:
House Dems Pass Only Middle Class Tax Cut Bill — Using a wily procedural maneuver to tie Republican hands, House Democrats managed to pass, by a vote of 234-188, legislation that will allow the Bush tax cuts benefiting only the wealthiest Americans to expire. — Democrats were not united on the issue.
RELATED:
Brian Montopoli / CBS News:
CBS News Poll: Most Oppose GOP Tax Plan — CBS News Poll analysis by the CBS News Polling Unit: Sarah Dutton, Jennifer De Pinto, Fred Backus and Anthony Salvanto. — Republicans have argued that the midterm elections have given them a mandate on what they are calling one of the most …
Discussion:
Politics Daily, Donklephant, CBS News and Balloon Juice
Ezra Klein:
‘Chicken crap’ by the numbers — Soon-to-be-House Speaker John Boehner is not happy to see the House Democrats pushing a bill that includes only the tax cuts for income under $250,000. “I'm trying to catch my breath so I don't refer to this maneuver going on today as chicken crap, all right?”
Discussion:
The Politico, Daily Kos and Comments from Left Field
Brian Beutler / TPMDC:
Boehner Blasts Dems' ‘Chickencrap’ Tax Cut Vote Gambit (VIDEO) — This afternoon, House Democrats will hold an up or down vote on vote on President Obama's plan to extend tax cuts to income below $250,000, and they've figured out a way to prevent the Republicans from pulling procedural tricks …
Discussion:
Mediaite, National Review, Ezra Klein, Salon, The Moderate Voice, New York Times and Fox Nation
The Huffington Post:
Bush Tax Cuts: Fears Mount Of White House Cave On Top Priority — WHAT'S YOUR REACTION? … WASHINGTON — Democrats and Republicans tentatively agreed late Thursday to hold four “test votes” on Friday to see who holds the balance of power and what the final details of a tax-cut compromise will be …
Discussion:
TPMDC, AMERICAblog News and Hullabaloo
E.J. Dionne / The Moderate Voice:
Where Is Obama Going? — WASHINGTON — As I was passing through security at Boston's Logan Airport on Tuesday night, a TSA worker discovered a penny in one of the bins that had just gone through the screener. — He picked up the coin, turned to a colleague and said with a grim smile: “This is your Obama bonus.”
Discussion:
Connecting.the.Dots
Jordan Fabian / The Hill:
Over 30 Democrats defect as test vote on tax cuts passes
Over 30 Democrats defect as test vote on tax cuts passes
Discussion:
Washington Post, CNN and Firedoglake
Kathleen Hunter / Roll Call:
House Passes Democratic Tax Bill
House Passes Democratic Tax Bill
Discussion:
CNN, Associated Press and Washington Monthly
Greg Sargent / The Plum Line:
Andy Stern will vote No on deficit commission
Andy Stern will vote No on deficit commission
Discussion:
Politics Daily, Political Punch, Washington Post and Daily Kos
EconomistMom.com:
Can We Do the Non-Crazy Thing with the Bush Tax Cuts?
Can We Do the Non-Crazy Thing with the Bush Tax Cuts?
Discussion:
Mother Jones, Economix, iOwnTheWorld.com, Obsidian Wings, Yglesias, Grasping Reality …, The Caucus and Roll Call
Gschwarzcnn / CNN:
Boehner rips House Democrats tax vote as ‘chicken crap’
Boehner rips House Democrats tax vote as ‘chicken crap’
Discussion:
The Note, Political Correction RSS, Firedoglake, The Politico, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, The Page and American Power
Patricia Murphy / Politics Daily:
John Boehner Calls Vote on Middle-Class-Only Tax Cut ‘Chicken Crap’
John Boehner Calls Vote on Middle-Class-Only Tax Cut ‘Chicken Crap’
Discussion:
Los Angeles Times and American Power
Jordan Fabian / The Hill:
House passes legislation to extend only some tax cuts
House passes legislation to extend only some tax cuts
Discussion:
Babalú Blog and New York Magazine
Ezra Klein:
Why did the Democrats falter on the tax cuts?
Why did the Democrats falter on the tax cuts?
Discussion:
The New Republic, No More Mister Nice Blog, The Plum Line, Washington Post, Taylor Marsh and Wonkette
Jake Sherman / The Politico:
Boehner: Dem tax bill ‘chicken crap’
Boehner: Dem tax bill ‘chicken crap’
Discussion:
Crooks and Liars, Daily Kos, FrumForum, The Note and The Hill
Jesus Diaz / Gizmodo:
NASA Finds New Life (Updated) — NASA has discovered a new life form—called GFAJ-1—that doesn't share the biological building blocks of anything currently living in planet Earth. It's capable of using arsenic to build its DNA, RNA, proteins, and cell membranes. This changes everything.
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Gizmodo / Wired Science:
NASA Finds New Life Form — By Jesus Diaz, Gizmodo — Hours before its special news conference today, the cat is out of the bag: NASA has discovered a completely new life form that doesn't share the biological building blocks of anything currently living on planet Earth. This changes everything.
Discussion:
ThinkProgress, Commentary, National Review, Alas, a blog, TechCrunch, ironlisa.com, Hit & Run and Marginal Revolution, more at Mediagazer »
Dennis Overbye / New York Times:
Microbe Finds Arsenic Tasty; Redefines Life — Scientists said Thursday that they had trained a bacterium to eat and grow on a diet of arsenic, in place of phosphorus — one of six elements considered essential for life — opening up the possibility that organisms could exist elsewhere …
Discussion:
newsfeed.time.com, Hot Air, Watts Up With That? and The Awl
Igor Volsky / Wonk Room:
The DADT Hearings In Six Minutes: GOP Talking Points Debunked — This morning, during a hearing about the impact of repealing Don't Ask, Don't Tell before the Senate Armed Services Committee, Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Mike Mullen, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates …
Discussion:
Prop 8 Trial Tracker, The Plum Line, Joe. My. God., Washington Monthly, Towleroad News #gay and Open Left
RELATED:
Fox News:
Mullen: Troops Who Balk at Change in Gay Service Policy Can Find Other Work
Mullen: Troops Who Balk at Change in Gay Service Policy Can Find Other Work
Discussion:
Weasel Zippers and Hot Air
Igor Volsky / Wonk Room:
McCain Exudes Grumpiness At DADT Hearing
McCain Exudes Grumpiness At DADT Hearing
Discussion:
ThinkProgress, Prop 8 Trial Tracker, Pam's House Blend, Daily Kos and Speakeasy
Elisabeth Bumiller / New York Times:
McCain Questions Pentagon on Repeal of Gay Ban
McCain Questions Pentagon on Repeal of Gay Ban
Discussion:
The Atlantic Online, CNN, Power Line, The Daily Dish, Maggie's Farm, FrumForum, A plain blog about politics and Towleroad News #gay
Matt Lewis / Politics Daily:
Why Mike Pence Could Steal Sarah Palin's Thunder … “If Mike Pence keeps talking, the left will soon have to stop talking about Sarah Palin.” — That's according to The Detroit News' Nolan Finley's latest editorial. Finley goes on to note that, “Mike Pence is no Sarah Palin.
Discussion:
Detroit News, Hot Air and GOP 12
RELATED:
William A. Jacobson / Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion:
The Republican Party Can't Win Without The Support of Palin Supporters
The Republican Party Can't Win Without The Support of Palin Supporters
Discussion:
The Gateway Pundit, Cubachi, HillBuzz.org, Liberty Pundits Blog and Conservatives4Palin.com
Bristol Palin / Facebook:
Mr. Olbermann—Sorry We Can't All Be As Perfect As You — Recently, a left wing commentator named Keith Olbermann attacked me for being a spokesperson for abstinence education and for being an Ambassador for the Candies Foundation, which promotes teen pregnancy awareness and prevention education.
Discussion:
Weasel Zippers and Wonkette
Elissa Fink / Tableau Software blogs:
Why we removed the WikiLeaks visualizations — Wednesday afternoon, Tableau Software removed data visualizations published by WikiLeaks to Tableau Public. We understand this is a sensitive issue and want to assure the public and our users that this was not an easy decision, nor one that we took lightly.
Discussion:
techPresident, msnbc.com, Boing Boing, TPMMuckraker, Guardian and Salon, more at Techmeme »
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Glenn Greenwald / Salon:
More Joe Lieberman-caused Internet censorship
More Joe Lieberman-caused Internet censorship
Discussion:
TPMMuckraker, Crooks and Liars, Hit & Run, The Atlantic Online and American Power, more at Techmeme »
Lbentzterp / CNN:
TRENDING: An Unscripted Moment on Palin's book tour — Spirit Lake, Iowa (CNN) - It was an unscripted moment on Sarah Palin's tour to promote her new book, “America by Heart.” As hundreds of Palin's fans filed inside a cordoned off area of a northern Iowa Walmart today …
The Politico:
Black Caucus whips for Charlie Rangel reprimand — The Congressional Black Caucus snapped into action in defense of Charles Rangel Thursday as the House prepared to censure him for 11 ethics violations. — Using whip cards produced by the office of House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn (D-S.C.) …
Discussion:
Gawker, ABCNEWS, JOSHUAPUNDIT, TPMMuckraker and The Gateway Pundit
RELATED:
Bill Gertz / Washington Times:
Inside the Ring: Counterspies hunt Russian mole inside National Security Agency — NSA mole hunt — The National Security Agency (NSA) is conducting a counterintelligence probe at its Fort Meade, Md., headquarters in a top-secret hunt for a Russian agent, according to a former intelligence official close to the agency.
Discussion:
The Jawa Report, FrumForum and Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion
Kendra Marr / The Politico:
Newt Gingrich wants immigration overhaul — Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich has a bold goal for the next decade: Overhaul the country's immigration system so that every worker in the United States is legal. — “We are not going to deport 11 million people,” Gingrich said Thursday as he kicked off his first forum on Latino issues.
Discussion:
FrumForum, Washington Post and Politics Daily
RELATED:
Reid Wilson / Hotline On Call:
Tea Party Caucus Takes $1 Billion In Earmarks — Members of the Congressional Tea Party Caucus may tout their commitment to cutting government spending now, but they used the 111th Congress to request hundreds of earmarks that, taken cumulatively, added more than $1 billion to the federal budget.
Sam Roberts / City Room:
A Month After Elections, 200,000 Votes Found — The city's Board of Elections routinely reminds New Yorkers that the election night vote count is unofficial and preliminary. — Still, the difference in the results from Nov. 2 and in the returns formally certified by the board on Wednesday seems striking …
Discussion:
The BRAD BLOG
Terry / CNSNews:
Bachmann: ‘There Needs To Be an Insurrection’ Against GOP Leaders If They Don't Hold Straight Vote to Repeal Obamacare — (CNSNews.com) — Rep. Michele Bachmann (R.-Minn.), founder and chairman of the House Tea Party Caucus, told CNSNews.com that there will need to be an “insurrection” …
Discussion:
Weasel Zippers
Ed Morrissey / Hot Air:
Deficit commission: What ObamaCare needs is ... death panels — The good news for Barack Obama: the Associated Press reports today that Obama's deficit commission wants to keep most of ObamaCare in place. The bad news: they pronounce it unsustainable — unless it includes hard caps on c0verage and decisions made to stop care.
Discussion:
Associated Press, YID With LID and Conservatives4Palin.com
The Note:
Michelle Rhee's Next Move: Florida Governor-Elect Rick Scott's Transition Team — ABC News' Michael Falcone reports: — An interesting move for former Washington, DC schools chief Michelle Rhee. She's joining Florida Republican Governor-elect Rick Scott's education transition team.
Discussion:
FrumForum and Ben Smith's Blog