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Senate's Returning Democrats Unanimously Favor Filibuster Reform — All except Dodd sign a letter urging Majority Leader Harry Reid to change the rules. — All Democratic senators returning next year have signed a letter to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., urging him to consider action …
Discussion:
Ezra Klein, Firedoglake and Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion
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ABCNEWS:
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:
The Note, CNN, Washington Post, Blue Wave News and National Review
Raymond Hernandez / The Caucus:
Senate Passes 9/11 Health Bill — Michael Reynolds/European Pressphoto Agency — Senator Charles E. Schumer outside the Senate chamber on Wednesday. — 5:42 p.m. | Updated The Senate on Wednesday approved a bill to cover the cost of medical care for rescue workers and others …
Discussion:
Firedoglake, Indecision Forever, Washington Wire, Swampland, Taylor Marsh, The Page and New York Times
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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:
Hot Air, Salon, On The Hill, The Daily Caller, New York Magazine and National Review
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How Did Republicans End Up Against 9/11 Responders Bill?
Discussion:
Wonkette and The Maddow Blog
Alex Seitz-Wald / ThinkProgress:
Coburn: 'We Don't Have' The ‘Extra’ Money Needed For 9/11 First Responders (Updated)
Coburn: 'We Don't Have' The ‘Extra’ Money Needed For 9/11 First Responders (Updated)
Discussion:
Ezra Klein
Michael O'Brien / The Hill:
Senate to hold make or break vote on 9/11 first responders health bill
Senate to hold make or break vote on 9/11 first responders health bill
Discussion:
The Note, Ben Smith's Blog, ThinkProgress, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, Raw Story and Daily Kos
The Washington / NY Daily News:
Mouth of the Potomac
Mouth of the Potomac
Discussion:
Washington Monthly, The Plum Line, No More Mister Nice Blog, Crooks and Liars, 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:
The Moderate Voice, Hot Air, A plain blog about politics, neo-neocon, TalkLeft and Mother Jones
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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, CNN, The Foundry, Weasel Zippers, Scared Monkeys, Newshoggers.com, Politics Daily and Firedoglake
Alexander Mooney / CNN:
CNN Poll: 56 percent give Obama's lame duck a thumbs up
CNN Poll: 56 percent give Obama's lame duck a thumbs up
Discussion:
The Politico, Slate, Outside the Beltway, Hot Air, The Reaction, The Moderate Voice, Daniel W. Drezner and Indecision Forever
Michael O'Brien / The Hill:
Democrats take victory lap, claiming a ‘do-something Congress’
Democrats take victory lap, claiming a ‘do-something Congress’
Discussion:
The Politico, Reuters and Questions and Observations
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Barney Frank Makes a Fool Out of Conservative Reporter Over 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' — A conservative reporter from right-leaning CNS News thought he would play gotcha journalist and ask gay Congressman Barney Frank about gay and straight soldiers showering together. Big mistake. Huge.
Discussion:
CNSNews, Mediaite, Towleroad News #gay and FishbowlDC
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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
Gotcha Fail: Rep. Frank Turns Tables on CNS
Discussion:
Advocate
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Supreme Court rules against Miller — The Alaska Supreme Court today ruled against Joe Miller on all counts, a decision that leaves his challenge of Sen. Lisa Murkowski's victory on life support. — “There are no remaining issues raised by Miller that prevent this election from being certified …
Discussion:
Daily Kos, Conservatives4Palin and TPMDC
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Shane D'Aprile / Ballot Box:
Alaska Supreme Court rules against Miller — Alaska's highest court ruled against Republican Joe Miller's legal challenge to the results of his Senate contest against Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) late Wednesday. — The court rejected Miller's claim that state elections officials improperly counted …
Discussion:
The Note
Rick Hasen / Election Law:
BREAKING NEWS: ALASKA SUPREME COURT REJECTS MILLER APPEAL …
BREAKING NEWS: ALASKA SUPREME COURT REJECTS MILLER APPEAL …
Discussion:
The Volokh Conspiracy
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Senate Passes Arms Control Treaty With Russia, 71-26 — WASHINGTON — The Senate gave final approval on Wednesday to a new arms control treaty with Russia, scaling back leftover cold war nuclear arsenals and capping a surprisingly successful lame-duck session for President Obama just weeks after his party's electoral debacle.
Discussion:
Commentary, FrumForum, Gawker and Truthdig
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Michael D. Shear / The Caucus:
‘We Are Not Doomed to Endless Gridlock’
‘We Are Not Doomed to Endless Gridlock’
Discussion:
Washington Post, Taegan Goddard's … and Colorlines
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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:
No More Mister Nice Blog, Sky Dancing, Outside the Beltway, Towleroad News #gay, The Atlantic Online, Althouse and The BLT
RELATED:
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With Obama's Signature, 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' Is Repealed
Discussion:
White House.gov Blog Feed, The Caucus, Wonkette, Indecision Forever, Marbury, nancynall.com, New York Magazine, Colorlines and Balloon Juice
Kerry Eleveld / Advocate:
Obama: “Prepared to Implement”
Obama: “Prepared to Implement”
Discussion:
TPMDC, The Hill, Guardian, Washington Post, Ben Smith's Blog, AMERICAblog Gay, AOL News, New York Magazine, Towleroad News #gay and The Maddow Blog
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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 …
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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, The Note, Weasel Zippers, Outside the Beltway, FrumForum and USA Today
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Byron Tau / Ben Smith's Blog:
On fat, Huckabee vs. Palin vs. Palin
On fat, Huckabee vs. Palin vs. Palin
Discussion:
Cubachi, The Right Scoop, theblogprof, JustOneMinute, NY Daily News, Israpundit and The Radio Equalizer
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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.
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Banks Breaking into Occupied Homes, Stealing Items (Really) — Over the past few months, we've been following perhaps the worst abuse by the banks in the foreclosure crisis - breaking and entering homes where they are foreclosing, changing the locks, and terrorizing the owners.
Discussion:
The Huffington Post, Rortybomb, Daily Kos and Hullabaloo
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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
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No Congress Since 1960s Makes Most Laws for Americans as 111th — However history judges the 535 men and women in the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate the past two years, one thing is certain: The 111th Congress made more law affecting more Americans since the “Great Society” legislation of the 1960s.
Discussion:
NewsBusters.org blogs, Weasel Zippers, ThinkProgress and msnbc.com
Rachel Weiner / The Fix:
Steven Spielberg advising Nancy Pelosi on rebranding Democrats … THE FIX NEWSLETTERS … THE LIVE FIX … POLITICS & PINTS
Discussion:
Weasel Zippers and FrumForum