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Why I'm Posting Bail Money for Julian Assange — Yesterday, in the Westminster Magistrates Court in London, the lawyers for WikiLeaks co-founder Julian Assange presented to the judge a document from me stating that I have put up $20,000 of my own money to help bail Mr. Assange out of jail.
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Julian Assange granted bail: live updates — • Assange granted bail to cheers from supporters — • He remains in custody as Sweden says it will appeal — • Assange criticises Visa, MasterCard and Paypal from cell — • Police worked case against Madeleine McCann's parents


Richard Holbrooke dies: Veteran U.S. diplomat brokered Dayton peace accords — Longtime U.S. diplomat Richard C. Holbrooke, whose relentless prodding and deft maneuvering yielded the 1995 Dayton peace accords that ended the war in Bosnia - a success he hoped to repeat as President Obama's chief envoy …
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The Huffington Post, The Atlantic Online, TPMDC, The American Independent, US Department of State, Agence France Presse, Weasel Zippers, Nicholas D. Kristof, Politics Daily, The Daily Beast, Online NewsHour, ThinkProgress, AOL News, Hot Air, FrumForum, PostPartisan, Gothamist, BlogPost, Firedoglake, Raw Story, Political Punch, Salon, Talking Points Memo, Taylor Marsh, The Washington Note, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, Wonkette and AMERICAblog News

WITNESS STATEMENT OF MICHAEL MOORE — WITNESS STATEMENT — (CJ Act 1967, s.9 MC Act 1980, ss.5A(3)(a) and 5B; — Criminal Procedure Rules 2010, Rule 27) — This statement (consisting of 2 pages each signed by me) is true to the best of my knowledge and belief and I make it knowing that …
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Vanity Fair, newsfeed.time.com, Foreign Policy, AOL News, Weasel Zippers, The American Independent, The Gateway Pundit and FrumForum


Release on Bail of WikiLeaks Founder Is Delayed by Appeal — LONDON — After a week in detention facing possible extradition, Julian Assange, the founder of the WikiLeaks antisecrecy group, was ordered released on $310,000 bail by a court on Tuesday as he challenges a Swedish prosecutor's demand …
Discussion:
Hot Air, Firedoglake, Washington Post, The Lede, Wonkette, FrumForum and Salon

STEELE STUNS, RUNS: ‘The job is fun’ — ROMNEY SPLITS WITH HOUSE GOP, BLASTS TAX DEAL — Michael Moore offers servers to WikiLeaks — Remembering Richard Holbrooke — Grace Gallo b'day — Good Tuesday morning. EXCLUSIVE: This morning, Rep. Eric Cantor will announce the senior staff …
Discussion:
The Daily Caller


Why the tax deal might fail — I listed some of the conservative critics of the tax deal in Wonkbook today (Rush Limbaugh, Sarah Palin, the Tea Party Patriots, Charles Krauthammer), but Playbook shows their ranks are growing: Mitt Romney has an op-ed in USA Today saying the tax deal gives “President Obama ... reason to celebrate.
Discussion:
TalkLeft, The New Republic, The Daily Dish, A plain blog about politics, Hot Air, TPMDC and ourfuture.org/blogs_chrono/*

Assange stays in custody as Sweden fights bail decision
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Politics Daily, PC Magazine, Online NewsHour, CNN, Pat Dollard and Threat Level, more at Techmeme »

Strong American Voice in Diplomacy and Crisis
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ABCNEWS, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, New Atlanticist, RIA Novosti, AOL News, Tablet Magazine, Outside the Beltway, The Atlantic Online, Guardian, National Review, Washington Monthly, Ben Smith's Blog, The Politico, Clusterstock, CNN, Booman Tribune, The Impolitic, SWJ Blog, The Caucus and Balloon Juice


Amateur Hour: VA Judge Makes Elementary Error In Health Care Ruling — The Virginia federal district court judge who ruled yesterday that the individual mandate in the health care bill is unconstitutional is catching a lot of flack — and not just for having a financial interest in an anti-health care reform consulting firm.
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Health reform will survive its legal fight — In March, New Hampshire preschool teacher Gail O'Brien, who was unable to obtain health insurance through her employer, was diagnosed with an aggressive form of lymphoma. Her subsequent applications for health insurance were rejected because of her condition.

Hudson And Scalia, Ctd. — Like me, Jason Mazzone believes that Justice Antonin Scalia was Judge Henry E. Hudson's intended audience in his ruling striking down the individual mandate in the Affordable Care Act: … My personal belief is that Republicans hate the law and want to see it gone …
Discussion:
A plain blog about politics, Right Turn, Hullabaloo, Balkinization and Washington Monthly

Further Thoughts on the Virginia Health Care Ruling and the Necessary …
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Balkinization, The Incidental Economist, The New Republic, New York Times, Law Blog and Liberty Pundits Blog

The Significant Error in Judge Hudson's Opinion
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Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, New York Times, Balkinization, Lawyers, Guns & Money, The Plum Line, Daily Kos and TalkLeft

Huge Senate majority votes to advance $858B tax package — President Obama's $858 billion tax package won a huge bipartisan majority in the Senate Monday evening, setting it up for a contentious debate in the House. — In a 83-15 vote, the Senate quashed a filibuster by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Va.).
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Reid, Senate Dems plan to move START arms treaty as soon as Wednesday
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FrumForum

Senate Looks at After-Christmas Votes
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Michelle Malkin

‘Temporary’ Tax Code Puts Nation in a Lasting Bind
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Washington Wire, The Atlantic Online, Ezra Klein and The Incidental Economist

House Dems introduce stand-alone measure to repeal 'Don't ask'
Discussion:
Washington Monthly, The Plum Line, Wonk Room and FrumForum

Tax-cut package clears procedural hurdle in Senate
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Federal Eye, The Fix, Online NewsHour, Sweet Home Potomac, msnbc.com, The Caucus, Blue Virginia and Outside the Beltway

Hoyer expected to file 'don't ask, don't tell' repeal bill Tuesday
Discussion:
TPMDC, AMERICAblog Gay, Weigel, Washington Monthly and National Review


The “radical centrists” of No Labels — Mark McKinnon and Kiki McLean were on PBS Newshour describing their No Labels group as part of a contingent of disaffected democrats and republicans who are against “hyperpartisanship.” McKinnon even labeled members of the group as a bunch of “radical centrists.”
Discussion:
The Right Scoop and Liberty Pundits Blog
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As Electoral Ground Shifts, Bloomberg Could Skip the Party
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No More Mister Nice Blog, Salon, The Confluence, A plain blog about politics and The Monkey Cage

‘No Labels’ short on Republicans
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Michelle Malkin, Wonkette, Erick's blog, The Gateway Pundit, Weigel and Salon

New nonpartisan “No Labels” group has its own “anthem” by Akon for some reason
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The Other McCain, National Review, Salon, Nice Deb, Washington Times and Weasel Zippers

‘No Labels’ rally: Bipartisan with Democratic tinge
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Althouse, Biased BBC and Ben Smith's Blog


Atheist Ads on Buses Rattle Fort Worth — FORT WORTH — Stand on a corner in this city and you might get a case of theological whiplash. — A public bus rolls by with an atheist message on its side: “Millions of people are good without God.” Seconds later, a van follows bearing a riposte: “I still love you.
Discussion:
Vox Popoli, Joe. My. God., Balloon Juice and American Power

Key questions surrounding the Rahm Emanuel residency case — As Rahm Emanuel prepares to testify in the residency case challenging his eligibility to run for mayor of Chicago, here are some questions and answers. — Q. Isn't this just a big joke? — A. No, this is serious business.
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Reuters, Politics Daily and Taegan Goddard's …
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Scarborough blasts MSNBC's bias: They always will say ‘a George W. Bush-appointee,’ ‘a Reagan appointee’ — “Morning Joe” host Joe Scarborough doesn't let much slip by him - well not today, at least. — On his December 14 program, Scarborough pointed out the bias at his network, MSNBC, and even offered a particular example.
Discussion:
Hot Air, Mediaite, Weasel Zippers and The Right Scoop

Corker assembling bloc to demand reforms ahead of debt ceiling vote — Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) said Tuesday he's hoping to assemble a bloc of senators who will demand tax and spending reforms before agreeing to vote to raise the U.S. debt ceiling next year.
Discussion:
Yglesias, ourfuture.org/blogs_chrono/* and FrumForum


No Labels and Other Ripped Off Designs — Brooklyn-based artist Thomas Porostocky's friends and fans have been tipping off NY media that his art has been used without permission by the bi-partisan political group No Labels. — Porostocky designed star-spangled giraffes …
Discussion:
City Room, bjkeefe, TPMDC, Gothamist and The Daily Caller