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 …

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 …

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 …

Could there be a Tet Offensive in Afghanistan?  —  Once when the French statesman Duc de Richelieu (1766-1822) was planning a military campaign, an officer placed a finger on a map, saying: “We shall cross the river at this point.”  Richelieu replied: “Excellent, sir, but your finger is not a bridge.”

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 …

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 …

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 …

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.

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 …

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.

Sarah Palin's mainstream media détente  —  After making attacks on what she memorably labeled “the lamestream media” one of her signature issues, Sarah Palin has started to experiment with a new strategy toward the press — engaging it.  —  The former Alaska governor …

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 …

The Strange Case for Mitt Romney  —  David Frum, puzzling over the inconsistencies in Mitt Romney's recent op-ed attacking the tax deal: … I hear similar things from Romney supporters (or people trying to convince themselves to be Romney supporters) with remarkable frequency.

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.

Liberals cut down to size  —  Enough!  —  You can have your own politics, my liberal friends, you aren't entitled to your own facts.  And your claims about the Obama/GOP tax deal are pure, fact-free fantasy.  —  Yesterday morning I endured watching a fertilizer-filled conversation on Fox 25 …

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.

Art imitating life: Funky new ad puts a spin on personal hygiene and politics  —  Advertisements for sanitary pads are known for a lot of things — including elaborate phrases about wings, comfort and wearing white clothes without looking over your shoulder — but rarely for a sense of humour.