Top Items:
Alexander Bolton / The Hill:
In Sunday-evening surprise, Senate passes food safety legislation — The Senate unexpectedly approved food safety legislation by voice vote Sunday evening, rescuing a bill that floated in limbo for weeks because of a clerical error. — The Senate passed the Food Safety and Modernization Act on Nov. 30 by a vote of 73-25.
Discussion:
The Note, Booman Tribune, Betsy's Page, Hot Air, Weasel Zippers, Firedoglake and Wake up America
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Lyndsey Layton / Washington Post:
Food-safety measure passes Senate in Sunday surprise — A bill that would overhaul the nation's food-safety laws for the first time since the Great Depression came roaring back to life Sunday as Senate Democrats struck a deal with Republicans that helped overcome a technical mistake …
Discussion:
The Atlantic Online, Shopfloor, Pat Dollard, The Politico and Shakesville
Jordan Fabian / The Hill:
Democrats cautiously optimistic on START ratification
Steve Benen / Washington Monthly:
A PLEASANT SURPRISE FOR AMERICANS WHO EAT FOOD.... By all appearances …
Wall Street Journal:
Senate Nears Deal on Funding Bill
Senate Nears Deal on Funding Bill
Discussion:
The Politico, Ezra Klein, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion and The Page
Scott Wong / The Politico:
Dems getting closer on START
Dems getting closer on START
Discussion:
The Note, The Hill, New York Magazine, Weasel Zippers, FrumForum, CNN and Reuters
Alexander Bolton / The Hill:
Dems cautiously optimistic on START ahead of ‘secret session’
Brent Baker / NewsBusters.org blogs:
Nina Totenberg: ‘I Was At - Forgive the Expression - a Christmas Party...’ — “I was at - forgive the expression - a Christmas party,” NPR reporter Nina Totenberg interjected on Inside Washington in the weekend's oddest cautionary separation from a common description for a common event …
Discussion:
protein wisdom, Don Surber, Althouse, Creative Minority Report, Pat Dollard, The Right Scoop and The Gateway Pundit
Kate Zernike / New York Times:
Proposed Amendment Would Enable States to Repeal Federal Law — The same people driving the lawsuits that seek to dismantle the Obama administration's health care overhaul have set their sights on an even bigger target: a constitutional amendment that would allow a vote of the states to overturn any act of Congress.
Discussion:
Chicago Boyz and The Future of Capitalism
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Myglesias / Yglesias:
The “Repeal Amendment” — Kate Zernicke reports on a quixotic movement that's apparently gaining support inside the conservative establishment, including Eric Cantor: … For whatever reason, the conservative movement isn't really given to self-criticism.
Discussion:
The New Republic
Alexander Mooney / CNN:
TRENDING: Palin disses Michelle Obama over ‘dessert’ — (CNN) - Sarah Palin is again taking aim at Michelle Obama over her anti-obesity campaign, taking the opportunity in Sunday's “Sarah Palin's Alaska” to land a diss against the first lady's efforts to improve nutrition.
Discussion:
Outside the Beltway
Al Franken / The Huffington Post:
The Most Important Free Speech Issue of Our Time — What's Your Reaction: — This Tuesday is an important day in the fight to save the Internet. — As a source of innovation, an engine of our economy, and a forum for our political discourse, the Internet can only work if it's a truly level playing field.
Discussion:
Raw Story
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Robert M. McDowell / Wall Street Journal:
The FCC's Threat to Internet Freedom
The FCC's Threat to Internet Freedom
Discussion:
The Daily Caller and Post Tech, more at Mediagazer »
David Hatch / Tech Daily Dose:
EXCLUSIVE: FCC Dems Narrowing Net Neutrality Gaps
EXCLUSIVE: FCC Dems Narrowing Net Neutrality Gaps
Discussion:
protein wisdom
Paul Krugman / New York Times:
When Zombies Win — When historians look back at 2008-10, what will puzzle them most, I believe, is the strange triumph of failed ideas. Free-market fundamentalists have been wrong about everything — yet they now dominate the political scene more thoroughly than ever. — How did that happen?
Discussion:
Sky Dancing, Paul Krugman, LewRockwell.com Blog, The Future of Capitalism and Daily Kos
Washington Post:
Nine years after the terrorist attacks of 2001, the United States is assembling a vast domestic intelligence apparatus to collect information about Americans, using the FBI, local police, state homeland security offices and military criminal investigators. — The system, by far the largest …
Discussion:
Alan Colmes' Liberaland, Danger Room, BlogPost and Raw Story
Steve Benen / Washington Monthly:
QUOTE OF THE DAY.... The NYT's John Harwood ran a good piece last night, providing some context to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's successes of the last two years, and the low-key Nevadan's ability to survive, preserve, and secure a place in history. — Towards the end of the piece, Reid looked ahead.
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John Harwood / The Caucus:
With Major Bills Passed, Reid Takes a Victory Lap
CBS News:
State Budgets: The Day of Reckoning — Steve Kroft Reports On The Growing Financial Woes States Are Facing — (CBS) By now, just about everyone in the country is aware of the federal deficit problem, but you should know that there is another financial crisis looming involving state and local governments.
Discussion:
Eduwonk
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Peter Wallsten / Washington Post:
Obama reaches out to liberal groups to shore up Democratic base after tax deal — In the wake of President Obama's tax-cut deal with Republicans, the White House is moving quickly to mend its strained relationship with the Democratic base, reassuring liberal groups, black leaders …
Discussion:
Firedoglake, DownWithTyranny!, National Review, Suburban Guerrilla, NewsBusters.org blogs, Federal Eye and The Page
John / Power Line:
A Scientific Theory Is Judged By Its Predictive Power — “Snowfalls are now just a thing of the past.” That is what global warming alarmists in Great Britain were telling us just ten years ago: … The Climate Research Unit at the University of East Anglia was, as you probably remember …
Discussion:
Fausta's Blog and Barcepundit
Sheryl Gay Stolberg / New York Times:
One Battle Won, Activists Shift Sights — WASHINGTON — As gay people around the country reveled on Sunday in the historic Senate vote to repeal “Don't Ask, Don't Tell,” a liberal media watchdog group said it planned to announce on Monday that it was setting up a “communications war room for gay equality” …
Discussion:
Equality Matters, Althouse, Open Left, Pam's House Blend, Advocate, Towleroad News #gay, American Power and AMERICAblog Gay
Huma Khan / ABCNEWS:
Tea Party Discontent Bubbles to the Surface — Discontent Boiling Over Tax Cuts Bill and House GOP Committee Leadership Positions — The new Congress hasn't been seated yet but signs of a rift are already beginning to emerge between Republican leaders and Tea Party groups …
Discussion:
The Agonist
Michael Barbaro / New York Times:
Paterson's Exit Presents Worry With Each Step — He worries about how he will make a living. He wonders whether people will value him once he is out of office. — But when he thinks about the future, David A. Paterson, the legally blind governor of New York, is most unsettled by something more elementary: how to cross the street.
Discussion:
CNN, The Politico, AOL News, USA Today and New York Magazine
Wall Street Journal:
Auditors Face Fraud Charge — New York Set to Allege Ernst & Young Stood By as Lehman Cooked Its Books — New York prosecutors are poised to file civil fraud charges against Ernst & Young for its alleged role in the collapse of Lehman Brothers, saying the Big Four accounting firm stood …
Discussion:
DealBook, naked capitalism, Felix Salmon, Parker Spitzer and Clusterstock
Ross Douthat / New York Times:
A Tough Season for Believers — Christmas is hard for everyone. But it's particularly hard for people who actually believe in it. — In a sense, of course, there's no better time to be a Christian than the first 25 days of December. But this is also the season when American Christians can feel most embattled.
Discussion:
Balloon Juice and The New Republic
Rachel Slajda / TPMMuckraker:
House GOP Crushes Bill That Would Protect Against Child Marriage — On Thursday night, hours before passing the tax cut compromise, House Republicans thwarted a bill that aimed to protect girls around the world from being coerced into child marriage. They opposed it because, they claimed, it might fund abortions.
Discussion:
Balloon Juice, The Moderate Voice, Talking Points Memo and Eschaton
Lee Stranahan / Big Government:
Pigford Video Blockbuster: Key ‘Black Farmers’ Lawyer Admits Clients ‘Got Away With Murder’ — The mainstream media has treated accusations of large-scale fraud in the Pigford settlement with overt skepticism and a distinct lack of journalistic curiosity. The press has blindly repeated …
Discussion:
Da Techguy's Blog, The Right Scoop, Patterico's Pontifications and Nice Deb
Peter King / Newsday:
What's radicalizing Muslim Americans? — Peter King (R-Seaford) represents New York's 3rd Congressional District. — Earlier this month, I was elected by the House Republican Conference to be chairman of the Homeland Security Committee. I've made it clear that I'll focus the committee …
Discussion:
ThinkProgress, The Politico, Libertarian Republican and Colorlines