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.

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.

Hedge Funds Tapped Rescue Program  —  Hedge funds and investors whose bearish trades on housing helped them profit amid the credit crisis were among those that benefited from a U.S. government emergency rescue program to kick-start lending, according to Federal Reserve data released Wednesday.

RTC  —  Receiving / paying for stolen property IS a crime.  Once the official request to not release classified information was issued the release IS a crime.  In the US the maximum penalty for that crime is death.  —  Mark Anthony  —  Why haven't British police arrested WikiLeaks boss …

NASA Finds New Life (Updating live)  —  NASA has discovered a completely new life form that doesn't share the biological building blocks of anything currently living in planet Earth, using arsenic to build its DNA, RNA, proteins, and cell membranes.  This changes everything.  Updating live.

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.

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 …

Joe Lieberman emulates Chinese dictators  —  (updated below)  —  The comparison of these two passages is so telling in so many ways:  —  The Washington Post, today: … The Guardian, yesterday: … Talking Points Memo — in an article headlined: “How Lieberman Got Amazon To Drop Wikileaks” …

Gingrich calls for shake-up at the RNC  —  Washington (CNN) - Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich is calling for a shake-up at the Republican National Committee, another setback for Chairman Michael Steele as he decides whether to seek a second term atop the party organization.

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 …

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.

The Republican case for ratifying New START  —  Republican presidents have long led the crucial fight to protect the United States against nuclear dangers.  That is why Presidents Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush negotiated the SALT I, START I and START II agreements.

Sarah Palin has earned the right to run for president  —  To the dismay of all but hard-core political junkies, the endless campaign is a reality of modern politics.  With some midterm races still unresolved, voters' attention is already turned to 2012.  And no potential presidential candidate …

'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' Hearings: Live Updates From Washington  —  WHAT'S YOUR REACTION? … The Senate Armed Services committee is holding hearings for the military's controversial “Don't Ask, Don't Tell” policy on Thursday.  Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, who in November urged Congress …

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 …

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 …

It took a guy to do this?  House Speaker-elect John Boehner orders a change to benefit just 71 members  —  For some reason it took a male Speaker of the House to accomplish this:  —  The nearly six dozen female members of the incoming House of Representatives will have a new restroom …

Fox is quickly becoming the second-chance employer for fiery figures  —  Don't panic.  Fox is hiring.  —  The leading cable news network and its business news offshoot, Fox Business Network, have made a habit of signing up reporters and media personalities who've found themselves on the wrong side in employee-employer spats.

Judge sets expedited schedule for Senate vote-count lawsuit  —  NEXT WEEK: Arguments are set for Wednesday in Miller's challenge.  —  JUNEAU— A judge on Wednesday set an expedited schedule for arguments in the legal challenge to Alaska's U.S. Senate race, saying it was important to resolve …