Top Items:
Dan Friedman / NationalJournal.com:
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:
Firedoglake, Raw Story and Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion
RELATED:
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 …
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:
CNN, Washington Post, The Note, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, ThinkProgress, Blue Wave News and National Review
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:
The Moderate Voice, Hot Air, Salon, Raw Story, The Daily Caller and New York Magazine
Fox News:
Congress Passes Revised 9/11 Responders Health Bill
Congress Passes Revised 9/11 Responders Health Bill
Discussion:
Fox News Insider and The Gateway Pundit
Raymond Hernandez / The Caucus:
Senate Passes 9/11 Health Bill
Senate Passes 9/11 Health Bill
Discussion:
Washington Wire, Firedoglake, Indecision Forever, Swampland, Taylor Marsh, No More Mister Nice Blog, The Reaction, The Page and New York Times
Michael D. Shear / The Caucus:
How Did Republicans End Up Against 9/11 Responders Bill?
How Did Republicans End Up Against 9/11 Responders Bill?
Discussion:
Sister Toldjah, The Hill, 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:
NY Daily News, The Plum Line, Ezra Klein and Daily Kos
Brian Moylan / Gawker:
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, FishbowlDC and Hullabaloo
RELATED:
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
Gotcha Fail: Rep. Frank Turns Tables on CNS
Discussion:
Advocate
Sheryl Gay Stolberg / New York Times:
With Obama's Signature, 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' Is Repealed
With Obama's Signature, 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' Is Repealed
Discussion:
White House.gov Blog Feed, New York Magazine, nancynall.com, Colorlines, Wonkette, Indecision Forever, Marbury, Balloon Juice and The Caucus
Sean Cockerham / Anchorage Daily News:
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:
Election Law, Daily Kos, Conservatives4Palin and TPMDC
RELATED:
Peter Baker / New York Times:
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
RELATED:
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:
No More Mister Nice Blog, Sky Dancing, Outside the Beltway, Towleroad News #gay, The Atlantic Online, Althouse and The BLT
RELATED:
Kerry Eleveld / Advocate:
Obama: “Prepared to Implement”
Obama: “Prepared to Implement”
Discussion:
Poliglot, Washington Post, AMERICAblog Gay, AOL News, Ben Smith's Blog, TPMDC, Towleroad News #gay, The Hill and The Maddow Blog
Rachel Slajda / TPMDC:
Obama: DOMA Should Be Repealed, Lawyers Looking At ‘Range Of Options’
Obama: DOMA Should Be Repealed, Lawyers Looking At ‘Range Of Options’
Discussion:
The Hill, Guardian, Daily Kos, New York Magazine and Booman Tribune
Alexander Bolton / The Hill:
111th Congress comes to a close; new session begins on Jan. 5 — The House on Wednesday evening passed a motion to adjourn the 111th Congress “Sine Die”, bringing to a close Democrats four-year reign in the lower chamber. — It also ended what has been the most productive lame-duck session in recent memory.
Discussion:
CNN
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Perry Bacon Jr / Washington Post:
A lame-duck session with unexpected victories
A lame-duck session with unexpected victories
Discussion:
Alan Colmes' Liberaland and Pat Dollard
Michael D. Shear / The Caucus:
‘We Are Not Doomed to Endless Gridlock’
‘We Are Not Doomed to Endless Gridlock’
Discussion:
Taegan Goddard's … and Colorlines
Rachel Weiner / The Fix:
Steven Spielberg advising Nancy Pelosi on rebranding Democrats … THE FIX NEWSLETTERS … THE LIVE FIX … POLITICS & PINTS
Discussion:
Michelle Malkin, Hot Air, American Glob, Pat Dollard, Weasel Zippers, Washington Post, Deadline.com, Inside Movies and FrumForum
Stephen C. Webster / Raw Story:
Shock: Christian Coalition founder Pat Robertson favors marijuana legalization — Robertson a welcome addition to drug reform circles, former narc tells Raw Story — Count this among the 10 things nobody ever expected to see in their lifetimes: 700 Club founder Pat Robertson …
Discussion:
Mediaite, The Dangerous Servant and Hot Air
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.
RELATED:
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:
Outside the Beltway, Wonkette, The Wire, PopEater and Gawker
David Dayen / Firedoglake:
Republican House Rules Makes It Harder to Increase Debt Limit, Raise Taxes — The new Republican House rules proposal is out, and people are rightly guffawing about the vow to read the Constitution on the House floor at the beginning of the session. But if silliness like this is the worst …
Discussion:
The Hill, Hullabaloo and Washington Post
RELATED:
Jackie Kucinich / Roll Call:
GOP Wants Constitution Read on House Floor
GOP Wants Constitution Read on House Floor
Discussion:
A plain blog about politics, TPMDC and Gawker
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, CNN, Ben Smith's Blog, theblogprof, JustOneMinute, The Note, Israpundit, Weasel Zippers, Outside the Beltway, FrumForum and USA Today
Webstock words:
The Blast Shack — We asked Bruce Sterling (who spoke at Webstock '09) for his take on Wikileaks. — The Wikileaks Cablegate scandal is the most exciting and interesting hacker scandal ever. I rather commonly write about such things, and I'm surrounded by online acquaintances …
Discussion:
The Atlantic Online
Robin Bravender / The Politico:
W.H.: Polar bears not ‘endangered’ — The Obama administration is sticking with a George W. Bush-era decision to deny polar bears endangered species status. — In a court filing Wednesday, the Fish and Wildlife Service defended the previous administration's decision to give the polar bear …
Discussion:
Weasel Zippers
Carol E. Lee / The Politico:
Obama on vacation: same old, same old — HONOLULU - For Ronald Reagan it was riding horses on his California ranch. For George W. Bush it was clearing brush and biking around his Crawford, Texas, estate. For Barack Obama, the signature image of his presidential vacationing, so far …
Palestinian Media Watch:
“Palestine is big” — PA says it includes all of Israel — “Palestine is big” — PA says it includes all of Israel — 3 PA TV shows present Israeli places — Tiberias, Rosh Hanikra and all of Israel as “Palestine” — by Itamar Marcus and Nan Jacques Zilberdik
Discussion:
Left Coast Rebel, Israel Matzav and Jihad Watch
ProPublica:
The ‘Subsidy’: How Merrill Lynch Traders Helped Blow Up Their Own Firm — Two years before the financial crisis hit, Merrill Lynch confronted a serious problem. No one, not even the bank's own traders, wanted to buy the supposedly safe portions of the mortgage-backed securities Merrill was creating.
Discussion:
Felix Salmon