Top Items:
Ezra Klein:
An imperfect, but not-that-bad, deal on the tax cuts — The White House and the Republicans are pretty close to a final deal on the Bush tax cuts. Here are the specifics, though it's worth saying that as near as this is to completion, it's still not done, and so it could change:
Discussion:
The Baseline Scenario, NPR, Felix Salmon, Taylor Marsh, Firedoglake, Economist's View, No More Mister Nice Blog and The New Republic
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Shailagh Murray / Washington Post:
Tax-cut deal reached between Obama, Republicans — President Obama and congressional Republicans agreed Monday to a tentative deal that would extend for two years all the Bush-era income tax breaks set to expire on Dec. 31, continue unemployment benefits for an additional 13 months …
Pat Garofalo / ThinkProgress:
Obama Agrees To Extend All Bush Tax Cuts And Cut Estate Tax In Deal With Republicans — The White House just announced that it has settled on the details of the deal it's been cooking up with Congressional Republicans over the coming expiration of the Bush tax cuts.
Discussion:
Los Angeles Times, Off the Charts Blog, DISSENTING JUSTICE and South Capitol Street
Jon Ward / The Daily Caller:
Obama and GOP reach deal on two-year extension of Bush tax cuts for all incomes — President Obama and congressional Republicans have reached a tentative deal to extend the Bush tax cuts for all income levels and are presenting the proposal to congressional Democrats Monday afternoon, The Daily Caller has learned.
Discussion:
CNN, Wall Street Journal, The TrogloPundit, Political Punch, Pirate's Cove, AmSpecBlog, The Hill, Hot Air, The Hill, Wake up America, RedState, National Review, The Fix and New York Times
David Dayen / Firedoglake:
Tax Cut Deal Includes Monstrous Estate Tax, Dividend Concession — I don't think we should jump on this fully until we see a full solution. But enough of the usual suspects have signaled that a tax cut deal is imminent, with the same broad contours, that we should take a look at the particulars.
Wall Street Journal:
White House Proposes Payroll-Tax Holiday — WASHINGTON—Aides to President Barack Obama are proposing a one-year reduction in the payroll tax as part of negotiations with Congress on a broader package to stave off income-tax increases due to take effect next year.
Discussion:
Michelle Malkin, Don Surber and New York Magazine
Andrew Samwick / Capital Gains and Games blogs:
If This Is Working Together, I'll Take Gridlock — A weak economy is not an excuse to spend money we don't have on things we don't need. I am with Stan on this tax cut deal. And Paul Krugman, for that matter. I repeat my view that the Bush era tax cuts should expire on schedule.
Discussion:
ourfuture.org/blogs_chrono/*, The Huffington Post and Guardian
Ezra Klein:
The Bush tax cuts in one chart — It's time, I think, to repost this chart showing how much taxpayers at different income levels would get from the Democratic plan, which was to simply extend the cuts for income under $250,000, and the Republican plan, which was to extend the cuts for everyone:
Discussion:
Top of the Ticket, Politics Daily, Connecting.the.Dots and Alas, a blog
Ezra Klein:
Who graduates, who votes and who's unemployed — in one graph — It seems a little crazy that tax cuts for the nation's very richest residents are commanding more political energy and consensus than unemployment insurance. Among other things, the tax cuts aren't popular. Unemployment insurance is.
Discussion:
Mother Jones and The New Republic
The White House:
Statement by the President on Tax Cuts and Unemployment Benefits Room 430 — Eisenhower Executive Office Building — THE PRESIDENT: Hello, everybody. Sorry to keep you waiting. — For the past few weeks there's been a lot of talk around Washington about taxes and there's been a lot …
Discussion:
The Hill, Pajamas Media, The Foundry, Open Congress, News Hounds and Economics Policies …
New York Times:
Tax Deal Suggests New Path for Obama
Discussion:
Economix, New York Times, Guardian, FiveThirtyEight, The Sundries Shack and ourfuture.org/blogs_chrono/*
James Hohmann / The Politico:
Bush job approval rating higher than Obama's
Discussion:
Hot Air, The Gateway Pundit, Weasel Zippers, Power Line and FrumForum
Ezra Klein:
Why aren't the Democrats using reconciliation to pass the tax cuts?
Discussion:
The Atlantic Online and The Impolitic
Michael O'Brien / The Hill:
Bachmann: GOP could scuttle tax deal tied to extending jobless aid
Discussion:
Sky Dancing, Daily Kos, Outside the Beltway, Zandar Versus The Stupid and CNN
Felicia Sonmez / Washington Post:
Retiring Sen. George Voinovich to oppose any extension of Bush-era tax cuts
The Huffington Post:
Tax Cut Deal: White House, GOP Leaders Close To Agreement
Discussion:
The Gateway Pundit, DownWithTyranny! and Daily Kos
Sam Youngman / The Hill:
Obama, GOP strike deal to extend Bush-era tax cuts by two years
Discussion:
The Nation and The Hill
The Caucus:
Deal on Bush Tax Cuts Trims Payroll Levy
Discussion:
Wall Street Journal, Mother Jones, National Review, Philly.com, AMERICAblog News and Daily Kos
Carrie Budoff Brown / The Politico:
Obama, Republicans reach deal to extend tax cuts
Discussion:
Firedoglake, AlterNet, Eunomia, CNN, South Capitol Street, Balloon Juice, Online NewsHour, Economix, Wonk Room and Colorlines
David Weigel / Weigel:
Just How Big of a Dive is Obama Taking on Tax Cuts?
Discussion:
The Moderate Voice, AmSpecBlog, The New Republic and Yglesias
Brian Beutler / TPMDC:
They've Got A Deal? White House And GOP Come To Terms On Tax Cuts
Discussion:
Hullabaloo, The Daily Caller, BAGnewsNotes, AMERICAblog News and AmSpecBlog
Christopher Hitchens / Slate:
The WikiLeaks founder is an unscrupulous megalomaniac with a political agenda. — In my most recent book, I reprint some words from a British Embassy cable, sent from Baghdad to the Foreign Office in 1976. The subject is Iraq's new leader. His quiet coup d'etat is reassuringly described as …
Discussion:
Telegraph, Hot Air, JOSHUAPUNDIT, Tim Blair, Daniel W. Drezner and Right Wing News, more at Mediagazer »
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Michael Calderone / Yahoo! News:
Some news outlets stop calling WikiLeaks a ‘whistle-blower’
Discussion:
CNN, Guardian, The Nation, Crikey, CNET News, Raw Story, Online NewsHour, Techdirt, South Capitol Street, News: News blog and The Daily Caller, more at Mediagazer »
Declan McCullagh / CNET News:
MasterCard pulls plug on WikiLeaks payments
Discussion:
The Moderate Voice, News: News blog, BBC, Raw Story, Guardian, Salon, Threat Level and Gawker, more at Techmeme »
Glenn Greenwald / Salon:
The lawless Wild West attacks WikiLeaks
Discussion:
Raw Story, TwitLonger, AlterNet, BBC, The Excavator, Concurring Opinions, Tom Watson, Press Association, Guardian, New York Times, Hit & Run and Politics Daily
Lbentzterp / CNN:
TRENDING: Elizabeth Edwards stops cancer treatment, releases statement — (CNN) - Elizabeth Edwards is surrounded by family and friends in her North Carolina home after being informed by her doctors that further cancer treatment would be unproductive. — “Elizabeth has been advised …
Discussion:
American Power, The Moderate Voice, ABCNEWS and The Page
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Sandra Sobieraj Westfall / People.com:
Elizabeth Edwards's Cancer Spreads — Elizabeth Edwards's cancer fight has taken a turn for the worse, with the disease spreading to her liver and doctors recommending against additional treatment. — “Elizabeth has been advised by her doctors that further treatment of her cancer would be unproductive.
Discussion:
Politics Daily, USA Today, CBS News, TPMDC, About.com US Liberal Politics, Ben Smith's Blog, Gawker and New York Magazine
Ben Armbruster / ThinkProgress:
TX GOP Official Opposes Jewish House Speaker: Christians ‘Are The People That Do The Best Jobs’ — Last month, several Tea Party activists formed a right-wing coalition to oust Rep. Joe Straus (R) as Texas House Speaker. They began circulating emails with anti-Semitic messages against Straus, who is Jewish.
Discussion:
Alan Colmes' Liberaland, Mediaite and South Capitol Street
Felix Salmon:
Chart of the day: U.S. taxes — Stephen Culp has another striking chart today: — This chart should be ingrained in the mind of anybody who cares about fiscal policy. The main things to note: — Federal taxes are the lowest in 60 years, which gives you a pretty good idea …
Discussion:
Firedoglake and Hullabaloo
Jill / Feministe:
Some thoughts on “sex by surprise” — There's a lot going around in bloglandia and on the interwebs about WikiLeaks honcho Julian Assange's sexual assault charge in Sweden; commentators are saying that Assange didn't really rape anyone, and these are trumped-up charges of “sex by surprise …
Discussion:
Poynter, The Other McCain, Whiskey Fire, Focal Point, Crooks and Liars, Threat Level, Shakesville and Barefoot and Progressive
Rasmussen Reports:
Most Say Continuing Offshore Ban Will Hurt Economy — The Obama administration announced last week that it is continuing the ban on offshore oil and gas drilling along the Eastern seaboard and in the eastern portion of the Gulf of Mexico. Most voters expect that decision to drive up gas prices and hurt the economy.
Discussion:
Hot Air and HotAirPundit
Daily Express:
BRITAIN IS FREEZING TO DEATH — MIDDLE class families are among millions of Britons who cannot afford to heat their homes this winter, as elderly ride on buses all day to stay in the warm. — After a week of snow and freezing temperatures a shocking picture has emerged of the bleak months ahead for 5.5 million households.
Discussion:
Don Surber and Althouse
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