Top Items:
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, Fox Nation and Hullabaloo
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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, Comments from Left Field and Daily Kos
Richard E. Cohen / The Politico:
GOP to upend spending process — House Republicans seem intent on blowing up the staid appropriations process when they take power in January — potentially upending the old bulls in both parties who have spent decades building their power over the federal budget.
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.
Discussion:
Guardian, Daily Kos, The Reality-Based Community, Arkansas Blog and FrumForum
Gschwarzcnn / CNN:
Boehner rips House Democrats tax vote as ‘chicken crap’ — Washington (CNN) - House GOP Leader John Boehner ripped House Democrats for moving ahead with a vote Thursday just on extending tax cuts for those making $250,000 or less, calling the move “chicken crap.”
Discussion:
The Politico, Reuters, The Page and American Power
EconomistMom.com:
Can We Do the Non-Crazy Thing with the Bush Tax Cuts? — I am no longer going to “let the perfect be the enemy of the good.” I am no longer going to try to talk people into seeing that the “right” thing to do with the Bush tax cuts would be to let them all expire.
Discussion:
Economix, Mother Jones, Yglesias, iOwnTheWorld.com, Obsidian Wings, Grasping Reality …, Roll Call and The Caucus
Jordan Fabian / The Hill:
Over 30 Democrats defect as test vote on tax cuts passes — Thirty-three House Democrats broke with their party Thursday on a key test vote on a bill that would extend only some of the expiring Bush era tax cuts. — The House narrowly passed debate rules on the proposal 213-203.
Discussion:
CNN, Firedoglake and Washington Post
Ezra Klein:
Why did the Democrats falter on the tax cuts? — This post by Greg Sargent contains some wise words on the psychology of the Democrats: … It's very important to realize how strong of a hand Democrats had — and to some degree, have — on the Bush tax cuts.
Discussion:
The New Republic, Taylor Marsh, No More Mister Nice Blog, The Plum Line, Wonkette and ABCNEWS
David M. Herszenhorn / New York Times:
Senate Republicans Threaten Tax Dispute Blockade — WASHINGTON — Not even 24 hours after President Obama met with senior Republican Congressional leaders and expressed hopes for a “new dialogue,” renewed partisan fury engulfed the Senate on Wednesday, as Republicans threatened to block …
E.J. Dionne / The Moderate Voice:
Where Is Obama Going? — WASHINGTON — As I was passing through …
Where Is Obama Going? — WASHINGTON — As I was passing through …
Discussion:
Connecting.the.Dots
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:
American Power
Gschwarzcnn / CNN:
Tax deal getting close, Democrats worried Obama may cave
Tax deal getting close, Democrats worried Obama may cave
Discussion:
Firedoglake, The Politico, The Hill and TPMDC
Kathleen Hunter / Roll Call:
House Passes Democratic Tax Bill
House Passes Democratic Tax Bill
Discussion:
Washington Monthly and Associated Press
Jake Sherman / The Politico:
Boehner: Dem tax bill ‘chicken crap’
Boehner: Dem tax bill ‘chicken crap’
Discussion:
Crooks and Liars, The Note and Daily Kos
Michael A. Memoli / Los Angeles Times:
House OKs extension of tax cuts for some Americans
House OKs extension of tax cuts for some Americans
Discussion:
Alan Colmes' Liberaland, Gawker, Oliver Willis and ABCNEWS
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.
Discussion:
Little Green Footballs, Ò", Hit & Run, Towleroad News #gay, Maggie's Farm, Raw Story, Runnin' Scared, Gawker and Zandar Versus The Stupid
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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:
Commentary, Alas, a blog, National Review, TechCrunch, Hit & Run and Marginal Revolution, more at Mediagazer »
Dennis Overbye / New York Times:
Subsisting on Arsenic, Microbe May Redefine 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:
Hot Air, newsfeed.time.com, Watts Up With That? and The Awl
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.
Discussion:
ThinkProgress, iOwnTheWorld.com, Wonkette, Daily Kos, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, Raw Story, Washington Monthly, TPMDC, Swampland and Florida Independent
RELATED:
Molly K. Hooper / The Hill:
Tea Partiers resist GOP healthcare repeal tactic
Tea Partiers resist GOP healthcare repeal tactic
Discussion:
Big Government, The Politico, Washington Monthly, The Sundries Shack, Zandar Versus The Stupid and msnbc.com
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:
ThinkProgress, Washington Monthly, Open Left, Washington Post, Joe. My. God. and Towleroad News #gay
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Greg Sargent / The Plum Line:
The military leadership's challenge to GOP Senators
The military leadership's challenge to GOP Senators
Discussion:
Crooks and Liars, Hullabaloo and PostPartisan
Elisabeth Bumiller / New York Times:
McCain Questions Pentagon on Repeal of Gay Ban
McCain Questions Pentagon on Repeal of Gay Ban
Discussion:
A plain blog about politics and Towleroad News #gay
Charlie Savage / New York Times:
U.S. Weighs Prosecution of WikiLeaks Founder, but Legal Scholars Warn of Steep Hurdles — WASHINGTON — Calls to prosecute the founder of WikiLeaks, Julian Assange, mounted this week as his organization began releasing documents from a cache of 250,000 State Department cables …
Discussion:
The Nation, techPresident, CNBC, EconoSpeak, Democracy in America, The Daily Dish, FP Passport, Guardian and Salon
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Dana Milbank / Washington Post:
A strange way to honor the founding fathers — Republicans gained control of the House last month on a promise to “restore the Constitution.” So it is no small irony that one of their first orders of business is an attempt to rewrite the Constitution. — On Tuesday, Rep. Rob Bishop …
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 …
George F. Will / Washington Post:
Obama's time-warp focus on the New START treaty — The Framers of the Constitution, a nuisance regretted by most modern presidents, gave the legislative branch - another indignity inflicted on presidents, as they see it - an important role in making foreign policy.
Discussion:
Eunomia, POWIP, protein wisdom and The Foundry
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Josh Marshall / Talking Points Memo:
JUAN WILLIAMS ON UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE — If we want people to work and keep up their work ethic, why are we keeping them on unemployment insurance to not work? — That seems to be Juan Williams take on the current situation. In this clip from Fox News today Juan Williams explains …
Discussion:
TPMDC and Hullabaloo
Amiram Cohen / Haaretz:
Disaster in the North: 40 dead as fire rages across Carmel Mountains — Firefighters: We lost complete control of the fire; mass evacuation from northern towns begins; bus evacuating some 50 prison guards gets caught in the flames, killing 40. — 40 people died on Thursday as a huge brushfire …
Discussion:
Politics Daily, Agence France Presse and Israel Matzav
Allan Hall / Daily Mail:
Muslim imam who lectures on non-violence in Germany is arrested for beating up his wife — A Muslim imam who lectures on non-violence and advises the German government on interfaith issues has been arrested in Germany for beating up his wife. — Sheikh Abu Adam, 40, is now on remand …
Discussion:
JOSHUAPUNDIT, The Jawa Report, The Gateway Pundit and Knowledge is Power
Kevin O'Rourke / Eurointelligence:
LETTER FROM DUBLIN — It is one thing to know that someone you love is terminally ill; their death still comes as a shock. — I certainly don't want to compare the arrival of the EU-IMF team in Dublin last week to a bereavement. But I was surprised at how upsetting I found it, given that it came as no surprise.
Discussion:
The Atlantic Online, Grasping Reality …, Crooked Timber and The Irish Economy
Jeremy P. Jacobs / Hotline On Call:
DeMint Sets Sights On Four Dems — South Carolina Sen. Jim DeMint (R) is turning his attention to 2012 and using the vote this week on an earmark moratorium to pick his Democratic targets. — DeMint sent an email to the supporters of his Senate Conservatives Fund early Wednesday highlighting four Democrats …
Discussion:
The Atlantic Online, TPMDC and Riehl World View
Washington Post:
Presenting plan to cut deficit, commission members offer surprising compromises — Members of President Obama's bipartisan deficit commission expressed a surprising willingness Wednesday to compromise on issues that have long divided Republicans and Democrats, including raising taxes and cutting Social Security.
Michael O'Brien / The Hill:
Graham: Feingold ‘may run against Obama in 2012’ — Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said Thursday he thinks outgoing Sen. Russ Feingold (D-Wis.) could challenge President Obama in the 2012 primaries. — Graham said Feingold, a reliably liberal senator who lost his bid for reelection this fall …
Discussion:
Weasel Zippers
Tom Jensen / Public Policy Polling:
Brown in good position — As Scott Brown's first year in the Senate comes to a close he remains an extremely formidable political presence and leads five hypothetical 2012 reelection opponents by margins ranging anywhere from 7 to 19 points. — Vicki Kennedy (48-41) and Deval Patrick …
Discussion:
Yglesias and Taegan Goddard's …