Top Items:
David Rogers / The Politico:
Democrats concede budget fight to Republicans — Senate Democrats abruptly abandoned an omnibus budget bill for the coming year, pushing major spending decisions into the next Congress and giving Republicans immense new leverage to confront President Barack Obama priorities.
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Alexander Bolton / The Hill:
$1.1 trillion spending bill collapses as GOP senators yank support — Senate Democrats have given up on their plan to pass a $1.1 trillion omnibus spending bill in the face of unified Republican opposition. — The bill's collapse will take with it more than 6,000 earmarks …
Discussion:
Right Wing News and JOSHUAPUNDIT
Igor Volsky / Wonk Room:
Reid Files Cloture On Don't Ask, Don't Tell And DREAM, Schedules Cloture Votes For Saturday — Moments ago, citing a shortage of votes, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) unexpectedly pulled the omnibus bill off the floor and instead filed cloture on the stand-alone Don't Ask …
Discussion:
Poliglot, Good As You and Towleroad News #gay
The Politico:
Democrats keep 'don't ask' on wish list — Senate Democrats on Thursday moved one step closer to repealing the Pentagon's “don't ask, don't tell” policy, with Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) scheduling a key vote Saturday on a bill to end the ban on openly gay service members.
Discussion:
AMERICAblog Gay, The Hill and FrumForum
Manu Raju / The Politico:
Senators might make it home for holidays — Senators might make it home for Christmas after all. — Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid announced Thursday night that he would scrap a $1.1 trillion omnibus spending bill that would fund the entire government, in favor of a short-term resolution whose length has not been determined.
The Hill:
Sen. Wyden to have surgery for prostate cancer, will miss votes — Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) will undergo surgery next week to treat early-stage prostate cancer, forcing him to miss Friday's Senate session and parts of next week. — Wyden's impending absence threatens to significantly …
Discussion:
The Note, AMERICAblog Gay and FrumForum
Andrew Stiles / National Review:
BREAKING: Reid Caves on Omnibus — Speaking now on the Senate floor, Majority Leader Harry Reid (D., Nev.) says he is “sorry and disappointed” to announce that he does not have the votes for the omnibus spending package. Instead, he will work with Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R., Ky.) …
Discussion:
Left Coast Rebel and Transterrestrial Musings
Evan McMorris-Santoro / TPMDC:
DADT Moves In The Senate: Reid To File Cloture Tonight, Vote On Saturday
DADT Moves In The Senate: Reid To File Cloture Tonight, Vote On Saturday
Discussion:
The Politico, Gawker, Washington Wire and FrumForum
Alexander Bolton / The Hill:
GOP will paralyze Senate floor with reading of 1,924-page spending bill
GOP will paralyze Senate floor with reading of 1,924-page spending bill
Vicki Needham / The Hill:
Reid pulls back from yearlong omnibus, aims for short-term funding resolution
Reid pulls back from yearlong omnibus, aims for short-term funding resolution
Discussion:
The Foundry, Right Turn and Doug Ross
John Aravosis / AMERICAblog Gay:
Reid files for cloture on DADT tonight (wonky but important)
Reid files for cloture on DADT tonight (wonky but important)
Discussion:
Good As You and Pam's House Blend
Jennifer Steinhauer / New York Times:
Bid to Repeal 'Don't Ask' Law Draws Support in Senate
Bid to Repeal 'Don't Ask' Law Draws Support in Senate
Discussion:
Oliver Willis
Tanya Somanader / ThinkProgress:
Durbin: The $1.1 Trillion Omnibus Spending Bill Is 'Exactly …
Durbin: The $1.1 Trillion Omnibus Spending Bill Is 'Exactly …
Discussion:
The Hill, The Huffington Post and Daily Kos
The Note:
Big Boost for Don't Ask, Don't Tell Repeal: Brown Backs Senate Bill
Big Boost for Don't Ask, Don't Tell Repeal: Brown Backs Senate Bill
Discussion:
The Politico, Hot Air, TPMDC, Taegan Goddard's …, Towleroad News #gay, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, Wall Street Journal, Box Turtle Bulletin, AMERICAblog Gay, Firedoglake, The Hill, Talking Points Memo, Wonk Room, CNN, The Plum Line, DownWithTyranny!, Eunomia, Daily Kos, Balloon Juice, Washington Monthly, Salon, No More Mister Nice Blog, USA Today, Weasel Zippers, iOwnTheWorld.com, Advocate, FrumForum, Booman Tribune, Gawker, Indecision Forever, Poliglot and Outside the Beltway
David M. Herszenhorn / New York Times:
Congress Sends $801 Billion Tax Cut Bill to Obama — WASHINGTON — Congress at midnight Thursday approved an $801 billion package of tax cuts and $57 billion for extended unemployment insurance. The vote sealed the first major deal between President Obama and Congressional Republicans …
Discussion:
Wall Street Journal, Taegan Goddard's … and Prairie Weather
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Jake Sherman / The Politico:
Tax cut plan clears House, goes to Barack Obama — A tax-cut compromise between President Barack Obama and congressional Republicans - a harbinger of a new era of divided government in Washington - cleared the House around midnight Thursday, sending the $858 billion bill to the president's desk.
Discussion:
FrumForum
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:
Washington Post, The Politico, Hot Air, Swampland, Michelle Malkin, Firedoglake, Sky Dancing, Daily Kos, Open Congress, CNN, The Other McCain, Nice Deb, Taylor Marsh and Weasel Zippers
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Jordan Fabian / The Hill:
Rep. Weiner compares Senate to the ‘1970s Politburo’
Rep. Weiner compares Senate to the ‘1970s Politburo’
Discussion:
Weasel Zippers
Aljean Harmetz / New York Times:
Blake Edwards, Prolific Comedy Director, Dies at 88 — Blake Edwards, a writer and director who became a Hollywood master of screwball farces and rude comedies like “Victor/Victoria” and the “Pink Panther” movies, died Wednesday night in Santa Monica, Calif. He was 88. — Enlarge This Image
Discussion:
Scared Monkeys, Gothamist, AOL News, First Draft and Gawker
RELATED:
Megan McArdle / The Atlantic Online:
Government Arguing That Health Insurance Premiums Are Really Taxes? — The arguments on the health care mandate in Florida went forward today, with the government trying to clarify how the mandate is a tax, (though not in a way that would mean Barack Obama lied about raising taxes on people …
Discussion:
Hit & Run, Bloomberg and Online NewsHour
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Jennifer Haberkorn / The Politico:
Health judge fears ‘broccoli’ mandate
Health judge fears ‘broccoli’ mandate
Discussion:
Swampland and NewsBusters.org blogs
Bloomberg:
Visa, MasterCard Plunge as Fed Issues Rules to Cut Debit Fees — Visa Inc. and MasterCard Inc. plunged more than 10 percent in New York trading after the Federal Reserve Board proposed rules that could slash debit-card interchange fees by 90 percent. — The new rules, posted today by the Fed …
Discussion:
Board of Governors …, Sky Dancing, Firedoglake, The Atlantic Online and Clusterstock
John / Power Line:
100,000,000 — Some time tonight, this site will receive its 100 millionth visit since October 2008. It seems like an opportune moment for reflection. — We have told this story many times, but here it goes again: by 2002, Scott and I had been writing newspaper op-eds, magazine articles and research papers together for a decade.
William A. Jacobson / Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion:
It Also Was Called The Soviet Union — I traveled extensively throughout the Soviet Union during the early 1980s, both with groups and on my own approved itineraries. I also lived in Moscow, and had a chance to slip out of the ring road with Soviet friends into the countryside …
Discussion:
JOSHUAPUNDIT, Left Coast Rebel and Pajamas Media
Tommy Christopher / Mediaite:
Olbermann Refuses To Correct Treatment Of Assange Rape Allegations On Twitter - Update — Update: Keith Olbermann has announced that he is suspending his Twitter account “until this frenzy is stopped.” — Update 2: This is serious. He has even taken down his profile picture.
Discussion:
Kate Harding, The Huffington Post, NewsBusters.org blogs, Salon, BlogPost, Hot Air, American Power, Tiger Beatdown, Shakesville, Gawker and AOL News
Bob Egelko / San Francisco Chronicle:
NOW goes after Hooters for catering to kids — (12-16) 17:51 PST SAN FRANCISCO — The National Organization for Women filed complaints against local Hooters restaurants Thursday, but not for exploiting its scantily clad waitresses by subjecting them to leering and groping customers.
Discussion:
The Confluence, Weasel Zippers and Doug Ross
Fran Spielman / Chicago Sun Times:
Meeks says minority contracts should only go to blacks — Mayoral challenger James Meeks scrambled Thursday to put out a political fire touched off by his suggestion that only African-Americans should be eligible for city contracts set aside for minorities and women.
Discussion:
Weasel Zippers and JammieWearingFool
Megan McArdle / The Atlantic Online:
Where Freedom Goes to Die: The Center for Science in the Public Interest — I find it deeply disturbing that such a lawsuit was even contemplated in my country, even if it is likely to be thrown out on appeal: … One shudders to consider that when Patrick Henry stood up in St. John's Church and declared …
Discussion:
Hot Air, Cold Fury, Cato @ Liberty, Modeled Behavior, Outside the Beltway, NY Daily News and The Daily Caller
Kimberly Schwandt / Fox News:
Hollywood's Growing Chorus of Obama Criticism — Hollywood's adoration for President Obama has never really been all that shocking, but what may be surprising is how famous singers and actors are increasingly saying they aren't so happy with the commander-in-chief.