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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.
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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:
Donklephant, The Hill, Politics Daily, The Nation, Balloon Juice and EconomistMom.com

Freezing Out Hope — After the Democratic “shellacking” in the midterm elections, everyone wondered how President Obama would respond. Would he show what he was made of? Would he stand firm for the values he believes in, even in the face of political adversity?
Discussion:
Brilliant at Breakfast, Prairie Weather, Washington Post, The Confluence, Riehl World View and Ezra Klein

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:
Right Turn, TPMDC, Connecting.the.Dots, The Daily Caller, AMERICAblog News and Hullabaloo

Obama, GOP in quiet talks to extend tax cuts — The White House and congressional Republicans have begun working behind the scenes toward a broad deal that would prevent taxes from going up for virtually every U.S. family and authorize billions of dollars in fresh spending to bolster the economy.
Discussion:
Washington Monthly, Ezra Klein, Wall Street Journal, The Politico, New York Times and FrumForum


Obama Seeking Aid for Jobless in Any Deal on Tax Cuts
Discussion:
The Hill, The Hill, Washington Post, TPMDC, Daily Kos and The Caucus

‘Chicken crap’ by the numbers
Discussion:
The Politico, Daily Kos, Comments from Left Field and Crooks and Liars

Over 30 Democrats defect as test vote on tax cuts passes
Discussion:
Washington Post, Squawk Box, CNN, New York Magazine and Firedoglake

Where Is Obama Going? — WASHINGTON — As I was passing through …
Discussion:
CNN

Boehner Blasts Dems' ‘Chickencrap’ Tax Cut Vote Gambit (VIDEO)
Discussion:
National Review, Mediaite, Salon, Associated Press, Taylor Marsh, Washington Monthly, Fox Nation, The Moderate Voice and Ezra Klein

Andy Stern will vote No on deficit commission
Discussion:
Political Punch, Politics Daily, Washington Post, The Daily Caller and Daily Kos


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, NewsBusters.org blogs, Wonkette and JammieWearingFool


House censures Rep. Charles Rangel in 333-79 vote — In the final minutes as the votes were tallied on the board above him, Rep. Charles B. Rangel stood alone, his mouth open, watching the count rise. After 21/2 years of pleading his innocence and $2 million in legal fees …
Discussion:
Outside the Beltway, Gothamist and Election Law
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House censures Rep. Charles Rangel — The 40-year congressman is the first House member in nearly three decades to receive such sanction. The New York Democrat tells his colleagues: 'I know in my heart I'm going to be judged not by this Congress but by my life, my activities, my contributions to society.'
Discussion:
Alan Colmes' Liberaland


Black Caucus whips for Charlie Rangel reprimand
Discussion:
Gawker, DownWithTyranny!, The Gateway Pundit, JOSHUAPUNDIT, ABCNEWS and TPMMuckraker

Rangel Censured Over Violations of Ethics Rules
Discussion:
City Room

Rangel Censure Vote Is Rare Ritual
Discussion:
Scared Monkeys, Big Government and Weasel Zippers

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, this CNN crew popped …
Discussion:
ABCNEWS
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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

The Republican Party Can't Win Without The Support of Palin Supporters
Discussion:
The Gateway Pundit, HillBuzz.org, Liberty Pundits Blog and Cubachi


McCain Exudes Grumpiness At DADT Hearing — Since President Obama announced his intent to repeal Don't Ask, Don't Tell in this year's State of the Union Address, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) — who had previously said that he was open to considering repeal if the military carefully studied …
Discussion:
Questions and Observations, ThinkProgress, Pam's House Blend, Daily Kos and Open Left
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Mullen: Troops Who Balk at Change in Gay Service Policy Can Find Other Work
Discussion:
Hot Air and Weasel Zippers

The DADT Hearings In Six Minutes: GOP Talking Points Debunked
Discussion:
Open Left, The Plum Line, Joe. My. God., Washington Monthly and Towleroad News #gay


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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NASA Finds New Life Form
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ThinkProgress, NASA, Commentary, TechCrunch, ironlisa.com, Alas, a blog, National Review, Hit & Run and Marginal Revolution, more at Mediagazer »

Microbe Finds Arsenic Tasty; Redefines Life
Discussion:
Washington Post, Hot Air, newsfeed.time.com and The Awl

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, Guardian, Boing Boing and TPMMuckraker, more at Techmeme »
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More Joe Lieberman-caused Internet censorship
Discussion:
The Nation, TPMMuckraker, Guardian, Hit & Run, Crooks and Liars and The Atlantic Online, more at Techmeme »


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:
The Politico and Weasel Zippers

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:
Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion and FrumForum


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:
Hugh Hewitt's TownHall Blog, FrumForum, Washington Post and The Other McCain

A Tax Reform Vision — I have a vision. — Sometime over the next couple of weeks, President Obama issues a statement that reads: “Over the past several months, Republicans and Democrats have been fighting over what to do with the Bush tax cuts. I have my own views …
Discussion:
The Huffington Post


Why I'm voting ‘yes’ — Sen. Dick Durbin announces that he will vote in favor of the U.S. deficit commission plan — On Friday, when President Barack Obama's National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform gathers to consider a plan to bring our national debt under control, I will be voting yes.
Discussion:
Washington Post and Los Angeles Times


Feds Warrantlessly Tracking Americans' Credit Cards in Real Time — Federal law enforcement agencies have been tracking Americans in real-time using credit cards, loyalty cards and travel reservations without getting a court order, a new document released under a government sunshine request shows.
Discussion:
LewRockwell.com Blog, Raw Story and The Gateway Pundit