Bernie Sanders: In 2007, “the top 1 percent of all income earners in the United States made 23.5 percent of all income,” which is “more than the entire bottom 50 percent.”  —  Bernie Sanders, in viral speech, says top 1 percent earn more than 23 percent of U.S. income

Great news: Bill Clinton apparently now president again  —  The depressing truth: Given the alternative, it really would be great news.  —  I can't do justice to what you're about to see.  The spectacle of the president bugging out of his own press conference to go to a Christmas party is weird enough …

Palin-Hating Columbia Professor, Huffington Post Blogger, Busted for Incest  —  Let's begin with a flashback, shall we?  In July 2009, when Sarah Palin resigned as governor of Alaska, Columbia University professor David Epstein wrote at his Huffington Post blog: … Got that?

Navy Sets World Record With Incredible, Sci-Fi Weapon  —  U.S. Navy engineers at the Office of Naval Research prepared and test-fired a slug from their rail gun in a 2008 test firing.  On Friday, December 9, the ONR will attempt to break its own record.  —  A theoretical dream for decades …

Levi's Story  —  A study on “When Marriage Disappears: The Retreat from Marriage in Middle America” was published Monday by the National Marriage Project at the University of Virginia and the Center for Marriage and Families at the Institute for American Values.

SOCIAL SECURITY'S HUMBLE ORIGINS.... When President Obama was doing his best to defend his tax deal with congressional Republicans to the left the other day, he emphasized to his allies that “in order to get stuff done, we're going to compromise.”  —  To bolster his case, the president noted …

Poll: Obama's losing support; Romney would beat him now  —  WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama's approval ratings have sunk to the lowest level of his presidency, so low that he'd lose the White House to Republican Mitt Romney if the election were held today, according to a new McClatchy-Marist poll.

The White House's case for the tax-cut deal in one graph  —  They're circulating this around the Hill:  —  It's also worth nothing that those numbers could end up looking a lot better — say, if the payroll-tax cut gets extended next year, which many think likely - or …

John Not a Speaker at Elizabeth Edwards Funeral  —  Her Estranged Husband Missing from List of Those Slated to Give Eulogies  —  (CBS) Plans are set for Elizabeth Edwards' funeral Saturday.  —  Mourners will hear tributes from her daughter and two close friends - but not her estranged husband …

Ellison: Dems must “create crisis” to force GOP on tax cut  —  St. Paul, Minn. — Minnesota 5th District Congressman Keith Ellison said Thursday that Democratic lawmakers “need to create a real crisis” to force Republicans to renegotiate the tax cut compromise.

From Audacity to Animosity  —  No president has alienated his base the way Obama has.  —  We have not in our lifetimes seen a president in this position.  He spent his first year losing the center, which elected him, and his second losing his base, which is supposed to provide his troops.

TDS Contributor Mike Lux: An Open Letter to the President  —  This post by Democratic strategist and TDS advisory board member and contributor Mike Lux, author of The Progressive Revolution: How the Best in America Came to Be, is cross posted from Open Left.

The Tax Compromise Must Now Die  —  House Democrats have rejected the Senate's negotiated tax compromise.  In a rowdy meeting in which one Democratic Congressman said loudly “F— the President,” the House Democrats turned Nancy Reagan and just said no.  —  Barney Frank still thinks it would pass, most likely with House Republicans.