DeMint will force readings of START Treaty and omnibus bill  —  Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) will force readings of both a nuclear arms treaty and $1.1 trillion spending bill that could eat up hours of the remaining lame-duck Congress.  —  DeMint will invoke a senatorial privilege to ask …

FOXLEAKS: Fox boss ordered staff to cast doubt on climate science  —  In the midst of global climate change talks last December, a top Fox News official sent an email questioning the “veracity of climate change data” and ordering the network's journalists to “refrain from asserting that the planet has warmed …

Obama tells lawmakers not passing tax deal could end presidency, Dem says  —  In urging lawmakers to vote for his tax deal, President Obama is using one of his go-to lines from the healthcare debate, according to a Democratic lawmaker.  —  Obama is telling members of Congress that failure …

Attention GOP Porkers: Hatch Had His Earmark Requests Stripped From Spending Bill  —  Republican Senators whose earmark requests pepper the much-maligned omnibus spending bill are having a really hard time explaining how they went from requesting earmarks earlier this year to decrying the legislation... because of all the earmarks.

House approves 'Don't ask' repeal, 250-175  —  The House on Wednesday overwhelmingly passed legislation to repeal the ban on openly gay people serving in the military.  —  Lawmakers approved a standalone repeal bill by a vote of 250-175.  Openly gay Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) gaveled the vote closed.

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.

The inhumane conditions of Bradley Manning's detention  —  (updated below)  —  Bradley Manning, the 22-year-old U.S. Army Private accused of leaking classified documents to WikiLeaks, has never been convicted of that crime, nor of any other crime.  Despite that, he has been detained …

Poll: Obama down but not out  —  NBC/WSJ survey shows president leading in 2012 match-ups  —  Below:  —  Deputy Political Director  —  After his party's midterm losses and with the unemployment rate still hovering around 10 percent, President Barack Obama might be down.

America's Most Walkable Cities  —  The great economic reset we are in the midst of extends even to Americans' choices of places to live.  The popularity of sprawling auto-dependent suburbs is waning.  A majority of Americans—six in 10—say they would prefer to live in walkable neighborhoods, in both cities and suburbs, if they could.

MooreandMe: On Progressives, Rape Apologism, and the Little Guy  —  So, here are some cheerful statistics for you: According to RAINN, about 60% of rapes aren't reported.  In those cases, there's about a 51% chance that the 40% of reported rapes will have an arrest made.  There's an 80% chance of prosecution.

Napolitano to Arizona in wake of Border Patrol agent's killing  —  Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano is headed to Arizona on Thursday following a gun battle that killed a Border Patrol agent near the U.S.-Mexico border.  —  Agent Brian Terry was shot late Tuesday night on the U.S. side …

Exclusive: Twitter Raises $200 Million at $3.7 Billion Valuation; Adds McCue and Rosenblatt to Board  —  Twitter has completed its latest round of funding-$200 million at a $3.7 billion valuation-with Kleiner Perkins as the lead investor, according to sources familiar with the situation.

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 …

FL SCHOOL BOARD SHOOTER POSTED SUICIDE NOTE RAILING AGAINST THE RICH, LINKING TO MEDIA MATTERS  —  Clay Duke, the man who opened fire on a Florida school board Tuesday, posted a “last testament” on Facebook decrying the wealthy and linking to a slew of progressive sites including theprogressivemind.info and MediaMatters.org.

The 40 Best Conservative Blogs For 2010 (Version 4.0)  —  It's time for me to rank my favorite blogs for the 4th quarter of 2010.  —  Do keep in mind that as the quarter has progressed, some blogs have, of course, moved up and others have dropped, based on how often I visit them …

Get America Working: We Need a Movement to Solve a Crisis  —  What's Your Reaction:  —  It's time, America.  Americans need work.  Americans need jobs.  And right now, our government's main job must be to help create these jobs.  The unemployment rate has lingered 9 percent for 19 straight months …

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.

Iraq: Al Qaeda Planning Holiday Attacks in West  —  Iraqi Authorities Say Two Captured Insurgents Admit to Planned Suicide Attacks in U.S., Europe during Christmas Season  —  (AP) Iraqi authorities have obtained confessions from captured insurgents who claim al Qaeda is planning suicide attacks …

SPLC Responds to Attack by FRC, Conservative Republicans  —  This morning, 22 members of Congress and a large number of other conservatives signed on to a public statement attacking the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) for listing several anti-gay religious right organizations as hate groups.

Tea Party leader slams John Boehner for Michele Bachmann snub  —  A leader of the Tea Party Patriots questioned the judgment of House GOP leadership Wednesday for passing over Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) for a spot on the Ways and Means Committee.  —  The conflict is evidence …

Julian Assange bail decision made by UK authorities, not Sweden  —  Swedish prosecutor's office says it has ‘not got a view at all on bail’ and that Britain made decision to oppose it  —  The decision to have Julian Assange sent to a London jail and kept there was taken by the British authorities …