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 …

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.

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.

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.

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 …

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.

The Pentagon Gives Itself an E for Effort on the Failing Afghanistan War  —  What's Your Reaction: … Released on the eve of the December strategy review, the Pentagon's latest “Report on Progress Toward Security and Stability in Afghanistan (.pdf)” shows that the insurgents' momentum has not been broken …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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.

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.

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 …

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 …

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.

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 …

Redistribution on steroids  —  Rep. Cleaver has proposed a $48 billion earmark  —  When absurdity gives way to hilarity, you must be talking about politics.  —  In the midst of a colossal global concern for the economic stability of our great nation, Emanuel Cleaver …