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 …

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 …

Congress Bars Gitmo Transfers  —  Congress on Wednesday passed legislation that would effectively bar the transfer of Guantanamo detainees to the U.S. for trial, rejecting pleas from Obama administration officials who called the move unwise.  —  A defense authorization bill passed by the House …

Senate Passes 9/11 Health Bill as Republicans Back Down  —  WASHINGTON — After years of fierce lobbying and debate, Congress approved a bill on Wednesday to cover the cost of medical care for rescue workers and others who became sick from toxic fumes, dust and smoke after the 2001 attack on the World Trade Center.

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.

For Obama vacation, comfort is key  —  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 …

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 …

The women accusing Julian Assange of sexual assault deserve to be taken seriously. … Like This Story … - The Most Productive Lame-Duck Session Since World War II- Why Do People Kiss Under Mistletoe?  - How Architects Can Use Video Screens Without Making Their Buildings Look …

Steven Spielberg advising Nancy Pelosi on rebranding Democrats … THE FIX NEWSLETTERS … THE LIVE FIX … POLITICS & PINTS

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.

GOP unveils strict House rules  —  Some of the committee rules — and at least one for the full House — address concerns that legislators don't spend enough time reading bills and members of the public have trouble accessing them.  —  “[I]t shall not be in order to consider a bill …

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.

Nice.  Muslim Group Launches “Christmas Is Evil” Poster Campaign  —  A Muslim group launched a “Christmas Is Evil” poster campaign in Great Britain.  —  How very leftist of them...  A radical Muslim group launched a “Christmas is evil” poster campaign hoping that their efforts would help destroy Christmas.

Alabama Town's Failed Pension Is a Warning  —  PRICHARD, Ala. — This struggling small city on the outskirts of Mobile was warned for years that if it did nothing, its pension fund would run out of money by 2009.  Right on schedule, its fund ran dry.  —  Then Prichard did something …

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 …

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 …

For the record, Nina Totenberg loves Christmas; Blogs portray NPR commentator as combatant in War on Christmas  —  Nina Totenberg, 2005.  (Alex Wong/Getty Images for Meet the Press)/ Kris Kringle in ‘Miracle on 34th Street.’ (20th Century Fox)  —  Breaking news: Nina Totenberg does not hate Christmas!

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.

Hawaii-bound, Obama signals his opposition to gay marriage ‘evolving’  —  President Obama's news conference, as provided by the White House  —  THE PRESIDENT: Hello, everybody.  Good afternoon.  I know everybody is itching to get out of here and spend some time with their families.  I am, too.

Toil and Trouble  —  When economists and policy types and members of Congress talk about older Americans working past normal retirement age, an increasing theme of late, we tend to think they mean a few years beyond age 65, right?  Working until ages 68 or 69, that is — maybe even 70, though that might be pushing it.