memeorandum: Senate Ratifies START Treaty 71 to 26; A Win for Obama, a Loss for Jon Kyl (Patricia Murphy/Politics Daily)

5:15 PM ET, December 22, 2010

Top Items:

EXCLUSIVE: Senate Strikes Deal on 9/11 First Responders Bill — Oklahoma Senator Will Allow a Vote on Bill to Care for 9/11 First Responders; Bill Cut to $4.2B — Senate Democrats and Republicans have struck a deal to secure passage of a bill to provide health benefits and compensation …

Discussion: Washington Post, Blue Wave News, National Review and ThinkProgress

The Huffington Post:

9/11 First Responders Storm Tom Coburn's Office To Protest Block On Their Health Care Bill (VIDEO) — WHAT'S YOUR REACTION? … UPDATE: The Senate has reached a deal that is expected to allow for the passage of a scaled-down health care package. — Senator Coburn responded in a statement:

Discussion: Salon, On The Hill, New York Magazine, The Reaction, National Review and DownWithTyranny!

Raymond Hernandez / The Caucus:
Senate Passes 9/11 Health Bill

Discussion: Washington Wire, Taylor Marsh, Swampland, Indecision Forever, The Page and New York Times

The Washington / NY Daily News:
Mouth of the Potomac

Discussion: ThinkProgress and No More Mister Nice Blog

Michael D. Shear / The Caucus:
How Did Republicans End Up Against 9/11 Responders Bill?

Discussion: Wonkette and The Maddow Blog

The Politico:
Senate passes Sept. 11 health bill

Discussion: Hot Air, The Hill, Raw Story and The Daily Caller

Michael O'Brien / The Hill:
Senate to hold make or break vote on 9/11 first responders health bill

Discussion: Ben Smith's Blog, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, ThinkProgress and Daily Kos

Greg Sargent / The Plum Line:
Deal reached on 9/11 bill, clearing way for passage

Discussion: Washington Monthly, Crooks and Liars, NY Daily News, msnbc.com and Daily Kos

Ezra Klein:

Why has the lame-duck session been so productive? — So far, the lame-duck session has managed to pass an $850 billion tax-cuts-and-stimulus deal, the repeal of DADT, the Defense Authorization bill, a continuing resolution to keep funding the federal government, the START treaty …

Discussion: Hot Air, neo-neocon, Right Turn, A plain blog about politics, TalkLeft and Mother Jones

Jeffrey M. Jones / Gallup:

Americans See U.S. as Exceptional; 37% Doubt Obama Does — Majority believe U.S. at risk of losing status as greatest country in the world — PRINCETON, NJ — Americans widely agree that the United States has a unique character because of its history and Constitution that sets it apart …

Discussion: The Daily Dish, Firedoglake, CNN, Newshoggers.com, The Foundry, Weasel Zippers, Scared Monkeys and Politics Daily

Alexander Mooney / CNN:

CNN Poll: 56 percent give Obama's lame duck a thumbs up — Washington (CNN) - When it comes to public opinion, who's the biggest winner of one of the most productive congressional lame duck sessions in years? — Full results (pdf) — According to a new national poll …

Discussion: Slate, The Politico, The Moderate Voice, The Reaction, Daniel W. Drezner, RedState, Hot Air and Indecision Forever

Michael O'Brien / The Hill:
Democrats take victory lap, claiming a ‘do-something Congress’

Discussion: The Politico, Reuters and Questions and Observations

Dana Milbank / Washington Post:

The rise of the Petulant Party — The lame-duck session of Congress has introduced Americans to the three-party system of government: the Democratic Party, the Republican Party and the Petulant Party. — Eight founding fathers of the Petulants took the stage Tuesday morning in the Senate TV studio …

Discussion: ThinkProgress, The Moderate Voice and Prairie Weather

Patricia Murphy / Politics Daily: Senate Ratifies START Treaty 71 to 26; A Win for Obama, a Loss for Jon Kyl

Peter Baker / New York Times:
Senate Passes Arms Control Treaty With Russia, 71-26

Discussion: Gawker and Truthdig

Alexander Bolton / The Hill: Senate ratifies START; third major lame-duck victory for Obama

Michael D. Shear / The Caucus:

Last-Ditch Move to Block Repeal of 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' Fails — 12:18 a.m. | Updated Just hours before President Obama planned to sign on Wednesday the repeal of the military's 17-year ban on gays serving openly in the armed forces, Republicans tried one last legislative maneuver to block the change.

Discussion: The Politico, ThinkProgress, Pam's House Blend, Washington Monthly, Wonk Room, Wonkette, CNN, Towleroad News #gay, Open Congress, Outside the Beltway, Gawker, Balloon Juice and Daily Kos

Sheryl Gay Stolberg / New York Times:

With Obama's Signature, 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' Is Repealed — WASHINGTON — The military's longstanding ban on service by gays and lesbians came to a historic and symbolic end on Wednesday, as President Obama signed legislation repealing “don't ask, don't tell,” the contentious 17-year old Clinton-era law …

Discussion: Gawker, CNSNews, Mediaite, Marbury, Indecision Forever, New York Magazine, nancynall.com, Towleroad News #gay, Balloon Juice and Colorlines

Emptywheel:
Today's Lesson from the White House: Take Hostages

Discussion: Balloon Juice

USA Today:
Obama's day: From gay rights to arms control

Discussion: Truthdig and ThinkProgress

Jennifer Epstein / The Politico:

Huck: Palin wrong, FLOTUS right — Potential GOP presidential candidate Mike Huckabee says Sarah Palin's wrong and Michelle Obama's right, at least when it comes to the first lady's push to combat childhood obesity. — “With all due respect to my colleague and friend Sarah Palin …

Discussion: Althouse, Weasel Zippers, The Note, Outside the Beltway, FrumForum and USA Today

John Fund / Wall Street Journal:

The Net Neutrality Coup — The campaign to regulate the Internet was funded by a who's who of left-liberal foundations. — The Federal Communications Commission's new “net neutrality” rules, passed on a partisan 3-2 vote yesterday, represent a huge win for a slick lobbying campaign run by liberal activist groups and foundations.

David Harsanyi / Denver Post: Save the 'Net; abolish the FCC

David Neiwert / Crooks and Liars:

Barney Frank completely pwns hapless CNS reporter attempting ‘gotcha’ DADT question — You can tell that all these reporters for right-wing propaganda organs like the Media Research Center spend waaaay too much time watching Fox News and their army of would-be ambush journalists.

Terry Krepel / Media Matters for America:
Gotcha Fail: Rep. Frank Turns Tables on CNS

Discussion: Advocate

Washington Post:

Obama signs DADT repeal before big, emotional crowd — President Obama signed the landmark repeal of the military's “don't ask, don't tell” policy Wednesday morning, handing a major victory to advocates of gay rights and fulfilling a campaign promise to do away with a practice that he has called discriminatory.

Discussion: Outside the Beltway, Towleroad News #gay, Sky Dancing, The Atlantic Online and The BLT

Kerry Eleveld / Advocate:

Obama: “Prepared to Implement” — ADVOCATE EXCLUSIVE OBAMA INTERVIEW: President Obama tells The Advocate the Pentagon is “prepared to implement” repeal of “don't ask, don't tell” and it will take months not years. He also says he's “wrestling” with the issue of marriage equality.

Discussion: TPMDC, The Hill, Guardian, AOL News, Washington Post, New York Magazine, Ben Smith's Blog, AMERICAblog Gay, Towleroad News #gay and The Maddow Blog

Jon Bershad / Mediaite:

Oops! Fox & Friends Accidentally Identifies Elie Wiesel As “Holocaust Winner” — Wow. We all make mistakes and typos. There will probably be at least one in this post alone. However, some typos are worse than others. This is one of those typos. Last week, Fox & Friends …

Discussion: PopEater

Doug Mataconis / Outside the Beltway:
Fox News Chyron Identifies Elie Wiesel As “Holocaust Winner”

Discussion: Wonkette and Gawker

Andrew Martin / New York Times:

In a Sign of Foreclosure Flaws, Suits Claim Break-Ins by Banks — TRUCKEE, Calif. — When Mimi Ash arrived at her mountain chalet here for a weekend ski trip, she discovered that someone had broken into the home and changed the locks. — When she finally got into the house, it was empty.

Discussion: The Huffington Post, Felix Salmon, ourfuture.org/blogs_chrono/*, New York Magazine, Pat Dollard, naked capitalism, The Big Picture, Newshoggers.com and Calculated Risk

David Dayen / Firedoglake:
Banks Breaking into Occupied Homes, Stealing Items (Really)

Discussion: The Huffington Post, Rortybomb, Daily Kos and Hullabaloo

Jackie Kucinich / Roll Call:

GOP Wants Constitution Read on House Floor — The GOP-led Congress would impose strict new transparency requirements for committees and legislation, expand term limits for committee chairmen and allow for a reading of the Constitution on the House floor on the second day of the 112th Congress …

Discussion: Ezra Klein, A plain blog about politics, TPMDC and Gawker

The Politico:
GOP unveils strict new House rules

Discussion: Sunlight Foundation Blog, USA Today, CNN, Outside the Beltway, Wake up America and The Hill

Matt Lewis / Politics Daily:

When 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' Repeal Meets Religious Liberty … I've recently authored several posts discussing how social conservatives seem to have lost the gay issue but have won on the life issue. There are many reasons for this, but one, I think, has to do with who the perceived “victim” is.

Discussion: The Moderate Voice and Outside the Beltway

The Huffington Post:

At Kaplan University, ‘Guerilla Registration’ Leaves Students Deep In Debt — WHAT'S YOUR REACTION? … Arlen Castillo had just begun an online associate's degree program at Kaplan University when a family emergency forced a change of plans. Her mother in Florida learned she needed extensive surgery …

Greg Miller / Washington Post:

CIA launches task force to assess impact of U.S. cables' exposure by WikiLeaks — The CIA has launched a task force to assess the impact of the exposure of thousands of U.S. diplomatic cables and military files by WikiLeaks. — Officially, the panel is called the WikiLeaks Task Force.