Top Items:
The Note:
Big Boost for Don't Ask, Don't Tell Repeal: Brown Backs Senate Bill — ABC News' Matthew Jaffe reports: — Massachusetts Republican Scott Brown today voiced his support for a stand-alone repeal of the military's Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy, bringing the bill one vote over the 60-vote threshold …
RELATED:
Alexander Bolton / The Hill:
GOP will paralyze Senate floor with reading of 1,924-page spending bill — Republicans will paralyze the Senate floor for 50 hours by forcing clerks to read every single paragraph of the 1,924-page, $1.1 trillion omnibus spending bill. — Senate clerks are expected to read the massive bill …
David Kurtz / Talking Points Memo:
Do The Math — In a minor miracle considering last week's defeat, DADT repeal now appears to have the 60 votes needed for Senate passage. Scott Brown, Lisa Murkowski and Olympia Snowe have all pledged their unconditional support, meaning three no votes have flipped from last week's tally.
Discussion:
TPMDC, Ben Smith's Blog and Lawyers, Guns & Money
Steve Benen / Washington Monthly:
COUNTING VOTES (AND IGNORING GOHMERT).... [Update: Revised head count here.] — The floor of the U.S. House offered quite a debate yesterday on repealing the “Don't Ask, Don't Tell” policy, including some beautiful speeches from Democrats on the importance of respect and equality.
Discussion:
Political Correction RSS, Washington Post and AMERICAblog Gay
Steve Benen / Washington Monthly:
BROWN BACKS DADT REPEAL.... There's no longer any question …
BROWN BACKS DADT REPEAL.... There's no longer any question …
Discussion:
TPMDC, Indecision Forever and AMERICAblog Gay
Michael O'Brien / The Hill:
Sen. DeMint: 'We're trying to run out the clock' on omnibus
Sen. DeMint: 'We're trying to run out the clock' on omnibus
Discussion:
The Reaction, Foreign Policy, FrumForum and The Politico
Evan McMorris-Santoro / TPMDC:
Scott Brown And Lisa Murkowski Back Standalone DADT Repeal Bill
Scott Brown And Lisa Murkowski Back Standalone DADT Repeal Bill
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo, Gawker, Booman Tribune, The Note and The Hill
Michael O'Brien / The Hill:
Biden scolds GOP on treaty: ‘Get out of the way’
Biden scolds GOP on treaty: ‘Get out of the way’
Discussion:
Pat Dollard, The Hill and Washington Monthly
The Huffington Post:
Hoyer: Senate Has Votes Needed To Repeal DADT [UPDATED]
Hoyer: Senate Has Votes Needed To Repeal DADT [UPDATED]
Discussion:
Firedoglake and Advocate
Jordan Fabian / The Hill:
Lieberman: Repeal 'Don't ask' before ratifying arms treaty
Lieberman: Repeal 'Don't ask' before ratifying arms treaty
Discussion:
CNN
Charlie Savage / New York Times:
U.S. Tries to Build Case for Conspiracy by WikiLeaks — WASHINGTON — Federal prosecutors, seeking to build a case against the WikiLeaks leader Julian Assange for his role in a huge dissemination of classified government documents, are looking for evidence of any collusion in his early contacts …
Discussion:
American Prospect, Firedoglake, The Politico, Ben Smith's Blog, Guardian, National Review, zunguzungu, hrw.org, AOL News, Balkinization, Politics Daily, Threat Level, Online NewsHour, Lawfare, newsfeed.time.com, American Power, Gawker, Boing Boing, Wonkette, Liberty Pundits Blog, Suburban Guerrilla, Raw Story, The Page, The Huffington Post and Salon, more at Techmeme »
RELATED:
Mark Tran / Guardian:
Julian Assange granted bail at high court
Julian Assange granted bail at high court
Discussion:
BBC, Crooks and Liars, Bloomberg, Raw Story, The Lede, AOL News, Threat Level, AMERICAblog News, Parker Spitzer, Balloon Juice and TalkLeft, more at Techmeme »
Glenn Greenwald / Salon:
Getting to Assange through Manning
Getting to Assange through Manning
Discussion:
news.firedoglake.com, Guardian, The Confluence and The Other McCain, more at Mediagazer »
Henry Chu / Los Angeles Times:
WikiLeaks' Julian Assange is granted bail, will leave jail for country mansion
WikiLeaks' Julian Assange is granted bail, will leave jail for country mansion
Discussion:
Mediaite
Russell Berman / The Hill:
House tax vote could be delayed — A final House vote on President Obama's tax proposal could be delayed after Democratic leaders were forced to pull a procedural measure off the House floor Thursday. — The House was set to vote on the rule governing debate on the broad tax bill …
Discussion:
CNN, Michelle Malkin, Weasel Zippers, The Page, Hot Air, Shopfloor and Nice Deb
RELATED:
Patrick O'Connor / Washington Wire:
House Democrats Must Delay Tax Bill — House Democrats were forced to delay consideration of the president's tax bill on Thursday as party leaders figure out a way to mollify the bill's opponents. — The delay isn't expected to scuttle the tax package. “The bill is gonna pass,” …
Discussion:
Say Anything and Pajamas Media
ABCNEWS:
Poll: Assessment of Afghanistan War Sours — ABC News/Washington Post Poll: Record Six in 10 Say it's ‘Not Worth Fighting’ — A record 60 percent of Americans say the war in Afghanistan has not been worth fighting, a grim assessment — and a politically hazardous one …
Discussion:
The Atlantic Online, Hot Air, AOL News and Outside the Beltway
RELATED:
George F. Will / Washington Post:
Could there be a Tet Offensive in Afghanistan?
Could there be a Tet Offensive in Afghanistan?
Discussion:
Guardian, The Nation and Vox Popoli
Helene Cooper / New York Times:
Afghan Report Sees July Troop Pullouts Despite Perils
Afghan Report Sees July Troop Pullouts Despite Perils
Discussion:
Politics Daily, FP Passport, Wonk Room and Wonkette
Glenn Reynolds / Instapundit:
AND YET APOLOGISTS IN AMERICA WERE COMPARING HIM TO THE EARLY CHRISTIANS: Mao's Great Leap To Famine: “The worst catastrophe in China's history, and one of the worst anywhere, was the Great Famine of 1958 to 1962, and to this day the ruling Communist Party has not fully acknowledged the degree …
Discussion:
Moe Lane
RELATED:
Frank Dikötter / New York Times:
Mao's Great Leap to Famine — HONG KONG — The worst catastrophe in China's history, and one of the worst anywhere, was the Great Famine of 1958 to 1962, and to this day the ruling Communist Party has not fully acknowledged the degree to which it was a direct result of the forcible herding …
Discussion:
Fausta's Blog and Althouse
Matt Lewis / Politics Daily:
John Boehner's Crying: Is He Drinking Too Much? … Incoming House Speaker John Boehner's recent interview on “60 Minutes” with Lesley Stahl, where he once again cried publicly, has created a minor controversy among pundits, with observers trying to figure out the cause of his unusual behavior.
RELATED:
Gail Collins / New York Times:
The Crying Game — We've had to adjust to so many strange developments lately.
The Crying Game — We've had to adjust to so many strange developments lately.
Discussion:
Opinionator, Brilliant at Breakfast, Daily Kos and Shakesville
John Cook / Gawker:
The Daily Beast Has Stopped Editing Meghan McCain — Meghan McCain is the illiterate daughter of a ruined man, which makes her “column” for the Daily Beast something of a challenge for her editors. But by the looks of today's offering, they've given up. — Were you wondering what McCain thinks …
Discussion:
The Daily Beast and Mock, Paper, Scissors
Victor Davis Hanson / National Review:
Two Californias — The last three weeks I have traveled about, taking the pulse of the more forgotten areas of central California. I wanted to witness, even if superficially, what is happening to a state that has the highest sales and income taxes, the most lavish entitlements …
Discussion:
Left Coast Rebel, protein wisdom, Sense of Events, Pajamas Media, Right Wing News and Cold Fury
Ezra Klein:
Orszag and Citigroup — James Fallows gently chides me and my paper for not writing more on Peter Orszag's decision to take an executive position with Citigroup. He's probably right to do so, though my silence was in part motivated by terror at having to try and add anything to this brilliant post …
Discussion:
Yglesias, The Atlantic Online, Grasping Reality …, Ben Smith's Blog and Clusterstock
Kenneth P. Vogel / The Politico:
Sarah Palin goes ‘lamestream’ — After making attacks on what she memorably labeled “the lamestream media” one of her signature issues, Sarah Palin has begun to experiment with a new strategy toward the press - engaging it. — The former Alaska governor has started cautiously cooperating …
Discussion:
Mediaite, Ben Smith's Blog, The Page, Conservatives4Palin.com and Ballot Box, more at Mediagazer »
William J. Broad / New York Times:
U.S. Rethinks Strategy for the Unthinkable — Suppose the unthinkable happened, and terrorists struck New York or another big city with an atom bomb. What should people there do? The government has a surprising new message: Do not flee. Get inside any stable building and don't come out till officials say it's safe.
Discussion:
Instapundit, Gothamist, AOL News, Gizmodo, Pajamas Media and Unfogged
Michael O'Brien / The Hill:
GOP looks to box in Obama on $1.1 trillion government spending bill — Republicans are trying to box President Obama in on congressional Democrats' $1.1 trillion spending bill by dredging up the president's past statements. — The GOP is pointing to the president's previous remarks …
Discussion:
The Powers That Be, Hugh Hewitt's TownHall Blog and Washington Monthly
David Weigel / Weigel:
Freshman Democrats Want Filibuster Reform in January — Before heading into a caucus meeting, Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) and Sen. Tom Udall (D-N.M.) briefed reporters today on ideas for introducing a “constitutional option” to reform the Senate in the next session of Congress.
Discussion:
Washington Monthly, The Plum Line and The Agonist
David Dayen / Firedoglake:
Servicers Downgraded Credit Score of Man Who Asked for His Note — (Graphic via SEIU's WheresTheNote.com site) — Many homeowners have taken advantage of SEIU's Where's the Note website. It helps you generate letters to your bank to ask for evidence that they hold the mortgage note, or the IOU on the property.
Discussion:
CNBC and The Big Picture
Jordan Fabian / The Hill:
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 …
William M. Welch / USA Today:
TSA choir has holiday spirit down pat at LAX — LOS ANGELES — Travelers passing through Los Angeles International Airport are finding that security officers have more than a scan or pat-down for them this holiday season. They're offering musical entertainment, too.
Discussion:
LewRockwell.com Blog and Federal Eye