Top Items:
Charles Krauthammer / Washington Post:
Swindle of the year — Barack Obama won the great tax-cut showdown of 2010 - and House Democrats don't have a clue that he did. In the deal struck this week, the president negotiated the biggest stimulus in American history, larger than his $814 billion 2009 stimulus package.
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Paul Krugman / New York Times:
Obama's Hostage Deal — I've spent the past couple of days trying to make my peace with the Obama-McConnell tax-cut deal. President Obama did, after all, extract more concessions than most of us expected. — Yet I remain deeply uneasy — not because I'm one of those “purists” …
Jackie Calmes / New York Times:
Obama Weighs a Broad Tax Overhaul
Obama Weighs a Broad Tax Overhaul
Discussion:
Ben Smith's Blog, The Politico, Bloomberg, No More Mister Nice Blog, Guardian, CNN, Reuters, NPR, National Review, The Moderate Voice, Commentary, The New Republic, South Capitol Street, The Daily Beast, Hot Air, Law Blog, Ezra Klein, The Hill, Power Line, Hullabaloo, Online NewsHour, The Hill, TPMDC, Sky Dancing, JustOneMinute and Washington Post
Glenn Thrush / The Politico:
Chuck Schumer vs. President Obama — It wasn't on the White House's official schedule, but on Nov. 22 Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) quietly slipped into the Oval Office on a self-appointed mission to steel Barack Obama for the tax cut fight. — Schumer, the newly anointed message guru …
Discussion:
Firedoglake, Don Surber, The New Republic, The Huffington Post, Ben Smith's Blog, RedState and The Foundry
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The Politico:
The dirtiest word in politics: Has Barack Obama been caught triangulating? — The naughty word is “triangulation,” and it does indeed sound like something that in some conservative locales might still be against the law, even if rarely prosecuted when practiced by consenting adults.
Discussion:
ABCNEWS, Salon, Washington Wire and Politics Daily
David Brooks / New York Times:
Obama's Very Good Week — Over the past week we've seen …
Obama's Very Good Week — Over the past week we've seen …
Discussion:
Open Left, Booman Tribune and Sister Toldjah
Greg Sargent / The Plum Line:
How the White House will sell angry House Dems on tax cut deal
How the White House will sell angry House Dems on tax cut deal
Discussion:
Firedoglake, Ezra Klein, TPMDC, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, Iowa Independent and The Reid Report
Jonathan Bernstein / A plain blog about politics:
Catch of the Day — Mori Dinauer: … Perfect.
Catch of the Day — Mori Dinauer: … Perfect.
Discussion:
American Prospect and South Capitol Street
ABCNEWS:
Assange Lawyers Prepare for U.S. Spying Indictment — Attorney Says American Indictment Related to Espionage Act Imminent for Wikileaks Founder — Wikileaks founder Julian Assange, the man behind the publication of more than a 250,000 classified U.S. diplomatic cables …
Discussion:
The Nation, Guardian, TechCrunch, TPM LiveWire, The Enterprise Blog, Foreign Policy, Clusterstock, TalkLeft, Raw Story, Mediaite, News: News blog, Boing Boing and The Agonist
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Naomi Wolf / The Huffington Post:
Espionage Act: How the Government Can Engage in Serious Aggression …
Espionage Act: How the Government Can Engage in Serious Aggression …
Discussion:
Underground
Glenn Greenwald / Salon:
The media's authoritarianism and WikiLeaks
The media's authoritarianism and WikiLeaks
Discussion:
South Capitol Street, Close Read, Gawker, Emptywheel, Tablet Magazine, Open Left, Pressthink and CNN, more at Mediagazer »
Jordan Fabian / The Hill:
‘Filibernie’: Sanders blasts tax deal for five hours and counting — Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) is railing against President Obama's tax-cut package in a lengthy floor speech. — Sanders, one of the Senate's leading liberals, is protesting Obama's deal with Republicans …
Discussion:
The Note, TPMDC, The Confluence and Sky Dancing
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David Dayen / Firedoglake:
Sanders' Long Senate Floor Speech Brings Attention to Details of Tax Cut Deal
Sanders' Long Senate Floor Speech Brings Attention to Details of Tax Cut Deal
Discussion:
NPR, USA Today and Crooks and Liars
Shira Toeplitz / The Politico:
Bernie Sanders filibuster stalls Senate
Bernie Sanders filibuster stalls Senate
Discussion:
The Nation, The Note, National Review and RealClearPolitics Video Log
National Review:
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.
Discussion:
The Daily Dish
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Ben Smith / Ben Smith's Blog:
Levi Johnston and the marriage decline — National Review's Kathryn Jean Lopez has a long interview today on a new report headed, “The Retreat from Marriage in Middle America.” — The author, W. Bradford Wilcox, found a growing gap between the marriages of the affluent and well-educated …
Cubachi:
Richard Wolffe mocks Palin and C.S. Lewis as just “a children's author” — I don't know if I should expect any better from ignoramuses from MSNBC, but this is supposedly a “respectable news organization” with shallow and arrogant individuals who only live to ridicule and belittle without thinking.
Discussion:
The Other McCain, Liberty Pundits Blog and iOwnTheWorld.com
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Byron York / Washington Examiner:
BELTWAY CONFIDENTIAL — Obama honors Nobel winner with statement about himself — There was an extraordinary scene at the awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo Friday morning. The prize went to imprisoned Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo, who was barred by the Chinese government from attending the ceremony.
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New York Times:
The Senate Stands for Injustice — On one of the most shameful days in the modern history of the Senate, the Republican minority on Thursday prevented a vote to allow gay and lesbian soldiers to serve openly in the military of the United States. They chose to filibuster a vital defense bill …
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Fox News:
Senate Tax Cut Package Filled With Sweeteners, Obama Predicts Passage
Senate Tax Cut Package Filled With Sweeteners, Obama Predicts Passage
Discussion:
The Huffington Post, Outside the Beltway and The Gateway Pundit
Kyle Trygstad / Roll Call:
Cornyn: Alaskans Deserve Full Representation
Cornyn: Alaskans Deserve Full Representation
Discussion:
ThinkProgress and TPMDC
Digby / Hullabaloo:
Dismantling The safety Net, One Program At A Time — Peter Orszag really has it in for the social security program. We already know that he's selling the ridiculous idea that if the Democrats agree to cut social security they will be rewarded for doing it.
Discussion:
New York Times and Eschaton
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Harold Pollack / The Reality-Based Community:
Wow I am disgusted by Peter Orszag's move to Citigroup
Wow I am disgusted by Peter Orszag's move to Citigroup
Discussion:
The Atlantic Online, AMERICAblog News, Sunlight Foundation and DealBook
St. Petersburg Times:
Gov.-elect Rick Scott hints at school vouchers for all at St. Petersburg rally — ST. PETERSBURG — Florida Gov.-elect Rick Scott on Thursday blew the door wide open to the idea of a voucherlike program for all students, saying he's working with lawmakers to allow state education dollars …
Discussion:
Ben Smith's Blog
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Ron Matus / St. Petersburg Times:
Public school advocates fear Scott's voucher-like proposal
Public school advocates fear Scott's voucher-like proposal
Discussion:
Washington Monthly and Jay Bookman
Andrew Sullivan / The Daily Dish:
Introducing “The Cannabis Closet” — Longtime Dishheads will remember that rather extraordinary reader email thread that had to do with secret middle-class, mainstream marijuana use - for medical and non-medical reasons. The thread “The Cannabis Closet” began with one reader email in March 2009 …
Discussion:
Dennis the Peasant and South Capitol Street
Jim Newton / New Yorker:
IKE'S SPEECH — Afew months ago, Grant Moos was closing his boathouse, near Hackensack, Minnesota, as he does every summer, tying up loose ends, sweeping up debris. This year, though, his sister Kathy insisted that it was finally time to do something about six cardboard boxes that for decades …
Richard Vedder / Innovations:
The Great College-Degree Scam — With the help of a small army of researchers and associates (most importantly, Chris Matgouranis, Jonathan Robe, and Chris Denhart) and starting with help from Douglas Himes of the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the Center for College Affordability and Productivity …
Discussion:
Instapundit, Maggie's Farm, EconLog and Hit & Run
Karen Tumulty / Washington Post:
Santorum: A 2012 long shot tests the water — GOFFSTOWN, N.H. - It was pushing 10 p.m., and Rick Santorum was sitting at the corner table in a near-empty Dunkin' Donuts. The garishly lit scene might have been lifted straight from the movie “Primary Colors.”
Discussion:
TPMDC, Ballot Box, Eunomia, Iowa Independent, USA Today, GOP 12 and The Page
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Bloomberg:
Americans in Poll Want Deficit Cut With Entitlements Secured — Americans want Congress to bring down a federal budget deficit that many believe is “dangerously out of control,” only under two conditions: minimize the pain and make the rich pay. — The public wants Congress to keep …
Discussion:
theblogprof, The Note, Capital Gains and Games blogs, AMERICAblog News and Paul Krugman
Andrew Sullivan / The Daily Dish:
DADT Repeal: Heads They Win; Tails We Lose — If it fails in the Senate - despite solid public support, endorsement from the Joint Chiefs, backing from the Defense Secretary, a big majority in the House and a 57 - 40 vote in the Senate - what does this say about gays having a fair chance in the legislative process?
Discussion:
Ben Smith's Blog
Sen. Joseph Lieberman / GovTrack.us:
A bill to provide for the repeal of the Department of Defense policy concerning homosexuality in... Overview … The text of this legislation is not yet available on GovTrack. It may not have been made available by the Government Printing Office yet. — Introduced — Referred to Committee
Discussion:
TPMDC, PostPartisan, Wonk Room, Prop 8 Trial Tracker and Joe. My. God.
Susan Crabtree / The Hill:
Dems show signs of abandoning Obama elsewhere after frustration with tax deal — Incensed over President Obama's tax compromise, House Democratic leaders are showing signs of abandoning the administration and going their own way on critical issues such as national security.
Discussion:
Hot Air, The Gateway Pundit, Michelle Malkin, The Politico, Wake up America and Roll Call