House Democrats defy Obama on tax cut bill  —  (CNN) - Defying President Obama, House Democrats voted Thursday not to bring up the tax package that he negotiated with Republicans in its current form.  —  “This message today is very simple: That in the form that it was negotiated, it is not acceptable to the House Democratic caucus.

LEAKED EMAIL: Fox boss caught slanting news reporting  —  At the height of the health care reform debate last fall, Bill Sammon, Fox News' controversial Washington managing editor, sent a memo directing his network's journalists not to use the phrase “public option.”

December 2011  —  On the straight economics, the tax deal is worth doing.  But the history of the past two years drives home, if anyone doubted it, that economic policy must be considered from a political economy point of view; that you have to think ahead to how current policies affect …

Palin in Progress: What Does She Want?  —  For the longest time, Sarah Palin was leery of Facebook.  Some of the comments left on her page during the 2008 vice-presidential campaign were so withering and unpleasant that it took months of coaxing by her staff and her daughters Bristol and Willow …

Elizabeth Edwards funeral to be protested by Westboro church  —  According to the Westboro Baptist Church's Web site, the Kansas church known for its anti-homosexual protests will protest Elizabeth Edwards's funeral in Raleigh, N.C., near the Edenton Street United Methodist Church on Saturday.

Julian Assange should be awarded Nobel peace prize, suggests Russia  —  Russia urges Assange nomination in calculated dig at the US over WikiLeaks founder's detention  —  Russia has suggested that Julian Assange should be awarded the Nobel peace prize, in an unexpected show of support from Moscow for the jailed WikiLeaks founder.

Most Americans Say They're Worse Off Under Obama: Poll  —  More than 50 percent of Americans say they are worse off now than they were two years ago when President Barack Obama took office, and two-thirds believe the country is headed in the wrong direction, a Bloomberg National Poll shows.

Levin: Clock is ticking on defense bill  —  The leading Senate Democrat on military matters pleaded with the upper chamber to start debating the 2011 defense policy bill, but he struck a pessimistic tone over the bill's chances to make it to the president's desk for the final signature.

The Obama Stimulus Impact?  Zero  —  Liberals are still arguing that the federal spending stimulus wasn't large enough.  How many multiples of nothing—its result according to new evidence—would they like?  —  For the past two years, economists writing on these pages and elsewhere …

Sarah Palin's Reading List: Political Star Insists She's Well-Informed  —  Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin is the only person to make the Most Fascinating list three consecutive years in a row.  Palin tells Walters that she is seriously considering a run for the White House and believes she can beat President Obama in 2012.

Senate Dems cancel vote on DREAM Act  —  (CNN) — Senate Democrats conceded Thursday they don't have the votes to pass the DREAM Act, a bill that would have offered a path to citizenship for some illegal immigrants who entered the United States as children.  —  Democrats voted to pull the measure from consideration on Thursday.

GOP gets queasy over earmark ban  —  After agreeing to kill earmarks, some of the most conservative GOP lawmakers are already starting to ask themselves: What have we done?  —  Indeed, many Republicans are now worried that the bridges in their districts won't be fixed …

The night Chris Matthews told the truth  —  I was watching Hardball tonight and came up with this when Democratic Senator Barbara Boxer said Republicans are for the “wealthy rich,” as opposed — I suppose — to the wealthy poor.  —  I hope you like it.  The transcript follows:

Will Pigford vindicate Andrew Breitbart?  —  This summer Andrew Breitbart, publisher of a number of conservative news sites, found himself in the throws of a media scandal of dramatic proportions — and one which he later discovered went far deeper than a mere contextual snafu.

Ron Paul, Author of ‘End the Fed,’ to Lead Panel Overseeing Fed  —  Dec. 9 (Bloomberg) — Representative Ron Paul, Texas Republican and author of “End the Fed,” will take control of the House subcommittee that oversees the Federal Reserve.  —  House Financial Services chairman-elect Spencer Bachus …