Top Items:
Alexander Bolton / The Hill:
Senate Dems unveil $1.1T spending bill — Senate Democrats have filed a $1.1 trillion omnibus spending bill that would fund the government through fiscal year 2011, according to Senate GOP sources. — The 1,924-page bill includes funding to implement the sweeping healthcare reform bill …
RELATED:
Fox News:
Revolt: Republicans Angry About Omnibus Spending Bill Decry ‘Total Mess’
Revolt: Republicans Angry About Omnibus Spending Bill Decry ‘Total Mess’
Discussion:
And So it Goes in Shreveport and Hot Air
David M. Herszenhorn / The Caucus:
Dreaming of a Post-Christmas Congress
Dreaming of a Post-Christmas Congress
Discussion:
Washington Monthly, Yglesias, TPMDC, Taegan Goddard's … and Daily Kos
Scott Wong / The Politico:
Omnibus includes $8B in earmarks
Omnibus includes $8B in earmarks
Discussion:
Sky Dancing, The Note, Daily Kos and FrumForum
Stephen Dinan / Washington Times:
Reid threatens to keep Congress into next year
Reid threatens to keep Congress into next year
Discussion:
RedState, Pat Dollard and Weasel Zippers
David Rogers / The Politico:
Democrats' budget bill: $1.1 trillion; 1,900 pages
Democrats' budget bill: $1.1 trillion; 1,900 pages
Discussion:
Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion and FrumForum
Washington Post:
Senate spending bill contains thousands of earmarks
Senate spending bill contains thousands of earmarks
Discussion:
Washington Monthly, Ezra Klein and Right Turn
James Richardson / RedState:
RedState Action Alert: Dissect the Omnibus
RedState Action Alert: Dissect the Omnibus
Discussion:
Washington Post, Hot Air, Right Wing News, Betsy's Page, gopleader.gov, National Review, Associated Press and Whiskey Fire
Patrick Gavin / The Politico:
WHITE HOUSE APPOINTS JON BON JOVI — Actor. Poet. Musician. Performer. Rocker Jon Bon Jovi can now add one more title to his impressive resume: White House appointee. — On Tuesday, President Barack Obama signed an executive order establishing the White House Council for Community Solutions …
Discussion:
Michelle Malkin and Scared Monkeys
RELATED:
The Politico:
Obama plans 2011 staff makeover — President Barack Obama has delayed the most significant staff shuffle of his presidency until after New Year's — but the changes may be more sweeping than anticipated and could include the hiring of high-profile Democrats defeated in the midterms.
Discussion:
FrumForum
Ed O'Keefe / Federal Eye:
Obama taps Jon Bon Jovi for new advisory board — Rocker Jon Bon Jovi. (Skip Bolen Photo) — Looks like all those years of performing for Democratic candidates has paid off: President Obama is tapping rocker Jon Bon Jovi to serve on a new presidential advisory council.
Discussion:
Firedoglake and Weasel Zippers
Sam Youngman / Ballot Box:
The left's frustration with President Obama will hamper his fundraising
The left's frustration with President Obama will hamper his fundraising
Discussion:
JammieWearingFool
Lori Montgomery / Washington Post:
House Democrats consider amendments to estate tax — As the Senate prepared Tuesday to push through a sweeping tax package negotiated by the White House and congressional Republicans, House leaders were looking to amend the measure to satisfy the concerns of angry liberals without unraveling the deal altogether.
RELATED:
The Politico:
Tax deal stumbles toward final vote
Tax deal stumbles toward final vote
Discussion:
The Hill, Hot Air, USA Today and Flopping Aces
Mike Lillis / The Hill:
House Democrats urge longer extension of unemployment benefits
House Democrats urge longer extension of unemployment benefits
Discussion:
The American Independent, The Politico and The Democratic Daily
Jeffrey M. Jones / Gallup:
Congress' Job Approval Rating Worst in Gallup History — Thirteen percent approve of the way Congress is handling its job — PRINCETON, NJ — Americans' assessment of Congress has hit a new low, with 13% saying they approve of the way Congress is handling its job.
Discussion:
The Hill, Outside the Beltway, Top of the Ticket, CNN and JammieWearingFool
RELATED:
Washington Post:
Post-ABC Poll: Public not yet sold on GOP — Republicans made major gains in the November elections, but they have yet to win the hearts and minds of the American people, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll. — The midterm elections - where Republicans gained 63 seats …
Discussion:
Federal Eye, Outside the Beltway, Daily Kos, Front Row Washington, Behind the Numbers, The Politico and Politics Daily
Sewell Chan / New York Times:
G.O.P. Panelists Dissent on Cause of Crisis — WASHINGTON — The Republican members of the commission appointed by Congress to investigate the causes of the financial crisis plan to release on Wednesday a document that assigns government housing policies substantial blame for the origins of the 2008 financial crisis.
Discussion:
naked capitalism and Prairie Weather
RELATED:
Reuters:
Financial Crisis Panel In Turmoil As Republicans Defect; Plan To Blame Government For Crisis — WHAT'S YOUR REACTION? … The four Republicans appointed to the commission investigating the root causes of the financial crisis plan to bypass the bipartisan panel and release their own report Wednesday …
Discussion:
Guardian and Emptywheel
Eric Schmitt / New York Times:
Air Force Blocks Sites That Posted Secret Cables — WASHINGTON — The Air Force is barring its personnel from using work computers to view the Web sites of The New York Times and more than 25 other news organizations and blogs that have posted secret cables obtained by WikiLeaks, Air Force officials said Tuesday.
Discussion:
AMERICAblog News, The Confluence, ParaPundit, Wonkette and FrumForum
RELATED:
Martin Indyk / The New Republic:
How We Can Honor Richard Holbrooke's Memory — As Richard Holbrooke's friends and colleagues gathered in the entrance to George Washington Hospital last night to console each other and begin the vigil for his soul, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton came down from saying goodbye to her friend and adviser.
Discussion:
Shakesville
RELATED:
Jess Bravin / Wall Street Journal:
U.S. to Appeal Health Ruling — Move Advances Constitutional Struggle Likely to Reach Supreme Court by 2012 — The Justice Department said it would appeal a decision invalidating a core provision of the federal health-care overhaul, the next skirmish in a constitutional struggle likely …
RELATED:
Lev Grossman / Time:
Mark Zuckerberg — On the afternoon of Nov. 16, 2010, Mark Zuckerberg was leading a meeting in the Aquarium, one of Facebook's conference rooms, so named because it's in the middle of a huge work space and has glass walls on three sides so everybody can see in.
Discussion:
The Moderate Voice, The Next Web, The Gateway Pundit, This Just In, TechCrunch, The Page and PopEater, more at Techmeme »
Kevin Baron / Stars & Stripes:
Marine commandant concluded DADT repeal may risk lives — ARLINGTON, Va. — The nation's top Marine Corps officer said he could not endorse a change in the “don't ask, don't tell” law that could cause distractions or endanger the lives of Marines in combat.
Discussion:
Outside the Beltway, Hot Air, Towleroad News #gay, American Power and Swampland
RELATED:
Igor Volsky / ThinkProgress:
Marine Commandant Suggests Presence Of Gays Would Endanger The Lives …
Marine Commandant Suggests Presence Of Gays Would Endanger The Lives …
Discussion:
Wonk Room, Pam's House Blend, 67.59.172.92 and Dennis the Peasant
Jonathan Martin / The Politico:
GOP donors: We'll leave if Steele stays — Some of the Republican Party's most prominent donors reacted Tuesday with shock — and then fury — to Michael Steele's decision to seek re-election, bluntly warning that they would not raise money for the party if the controversial chairman wins another term.
Discussion:
FrumForum and The Gateway Pundit
Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System:
For immediate release — Information received since the Federal Open Market Committee met in November confirms that the economic recovery is continuing, though at a rate that has been insufficient to bring down unemployment. Household spending is increasing at a moderate pace …
Discussion:
Grasping Reality …, Economist's View, The Atlantic Online, New York Times, Clusterstock and Calculated Risk
David Cay Johnston / Nieman Reports:
It's Scary Out There in Reporting Land — ‘Beats are fundamental to journalism, but our foundation is crumbling.’ — To understand how badly we're doing the most basic work of journalism in covering the law enforcement beat, try sitting in a barbershop. When I was getting my last haircut …
Discussion:
Poynter and Philly.com
Theodore H. Frank / Washington Examiner:
Manhattan Moment: Courts shouldn't ignore due process to create class actions — Wal-Mart v. Dukes, a case claiming job discrimination against at least 1.5 million women, reached the Supreme Court last week after the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco agreed, in a 6-5 vote …
Discussion:
Betsy's Page
Michael C. Moynihan / Reason:
Assange's Extremist Employees — Why is WikiLeaks employing a well-known Holocaust denier and his disgraced son? — Last week, I wrote that the widely-linked article positing that the CIA was behind a Swedish woman's accusation of rape against Julian Assange was authored by a Russian-born …
Discussion:
The Local, Little Green Footballs, Weasel Zippers, Harry's Place and Hit & Run
Tim Graham / NewsBusters.org blogs:
Amazing: WaPo Fails to Publish Own Poll on ObamaCare's Lowest Popularity Ever — A new ABC-Washington Post poll found ObamaCare sunk to its lowest popularity yet: 52 percent opposed, and only 43 percent in favor. ABC mentioned the poll without fanfare at the end of a Jake Tapper report …