Obama Administration to Delay New 15-Cent Christmas Tree ‘Fee’  —  The U.S. Department of Agriculture is going to delay implementation and revisit a proposed new 15 cent fee on fresh-cut Christmas trees, sources tell ABC News.  The fee, requested by the National Christmas Tree Association in 2009 …

Herman Cain Accuser Karen Kraushaar works for Obama and she's ugly  —  Ew, gross!  Who the hell does this ugly b1tch think she's fooling?  —  Just to be clear, Karen Kraushaar is the one on the left.  —  Via The Daily...

This Is The Way The Euro Ends  —  This is the way the euro ends.  —  This is the way the euro ends.  —  Not with a bang but with bunga-bunga.  —  Seriously, with Italian 10-years now well above 7 percent, we're now in territory where all the vicious circles get into gear …

Obama up big in Ohio  —  One person who should be feeling particularly good about last night's election results in Ohio is Barack Obama.  On our weekend poll, which got the final result of Issue 2 correct to within a point, Obama led all of his Republican opponents in the state by margins ranging from 9-17 points.

How Mississippi beat Personhood  —  Will this derail a movement aiming for Roe v. Wade?  —  If Mississippi can't pass a Personhood amendment, can any state?  Those who put major political and financial muscle behind Initiative 26 — rejected last night by an astonishing 58 percent of the state's voters …

NLRB lawyer: “We screwed up the U.S. economy”  —  New documents obtained by Judicial Watch show acting National Labor Relations Board General Counsel Lafe Solomon joking that the NLRB's suit against Boeing would kill jobs in South Carolina.  Commenting on a Planet Labor article whose headline …

The Fundamental Injustice of Old Allegations  —  Barring a stunning admission or equally stunning retractions, it's safe to say that we'll never know with certainty what happened — if anything — between Herman Cain and his accusers.  We'll be able to make educated guesses …

Russell Pearce on verge of historic loss in recall  —  Russell Pearce, one of the most influential state politicians in the nation and a powerful voice on illegal immigration, was on the verge of losing his Senate seat in Tuesday's unprecedented recall election.

Rep. Joe Walsh Explains His 'Don't Blame Banks' Rant: I ‘Was Working On An Empty Stomach’  —  Rep. Joe Walsh (R-IL) screams at a constituent  —  Yesterday, ThinkProgress reported on a testy exchange between Rep. Joe Walsh (R-IL) and a group of his constituents during a meeting.

BREAKING NEWS: DEMS WALK AWAY FROM SUPER COMMITTEE  —  Latest update on the lack of progress for Dems and Republicans to reach a tax deal.  Yesterday Democrats of the Super Committee rejected Republicans' offer to “raise federal tax collections by nearly $300 billion over the next decade.”

Penn State President Graham Spanier will quit or be fired today in wake of Sandusky charges, source says  —  Penn State University President Graham Spanier will either resign or be voted out by the end of today, a source close to the board of trustees told The Express-Times.

David Gregory: No “Grand Wizard” In GOP To Force Cain Out  —  On Wednesday's “Today” show, host of NBC's “Meet the Press” David Gregory says there is no “Grand Wizard” right now in the GOP to “force” Cain out of the primary.  Transcript below: Ann Curry, NBC News: “He's not stepping down …

GOP lawmakers want out of tax pledge  —  Grover Norquist's grip on the House Republican Conference is loosening.  —  A growing number of GOP lawmakers have disavowed Norquist's pledge against supporting tax increases in recent days, telling The Hill they no longer feel bound to uphold …

Dem lawmaker would be fine with supercommittee failure, automatic cuts  —  A Democratic legislator said it would be fine with him if the supercommittee failed to reach agreement and steep, automatic cuts to domestic and defense spending happened.  —  “I hope that they cannot reach an agreement …

Occupy Oakland makes $20K deposit at Wells Fargo  —  Last week, one or more Occupy Oakland protesters smashed the windows of a Wells Fargo branch.  —  This week, the group's general assembly agreed — in a near-unanimous vote Monday — to temporarily place $20,000 of the group's money …

Durbin, breaking with Dems, applauds GOP offer on taxes as a breakthrough  —  Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (Ill.) diverged from Democratic colleagues Wednesday and applauded the Republican offer to raise $300 billion in new taxes as part of a deficit-reduction deal.

Exclusive: French, Germans explore idea of core euro zone  —  (Reuters) - German and French officials have discussed plans for a radical overhaul of the European Union that would involve establishing a more integrated and potentially smaller euro zone, EU sources say.

Shrinking the presidency back down to size  —  (Andrew Harrer - Bloomberg) In his response to my recent New York Review of Books essay, Conor Friedersdorf laments what he sees as a defense of President Obama's record that ignores his intervention in Libya, or his record on civil liberties.

Koch Brother Front Group Americans For Prosperity Pushes Smear Campaign Against Me  —  Levi Russell, Americans for Prosperity Director of Public Affairs, contributed to a blog post calling Lee a “liar.”  Russell, however, erroneously quoted the conversation and has refused to issue a correction.

World headed for irreversible climate change in five years, IEA warns  —  If fossil fuel infrastructure is not rapidly changed, the world will ‘lose for ever’ the chance to avoid dangerous climate change  —  The world is likely to build so many new fossil-fuelled power stations …

Generation Jobless: Students Pick Easier Majors Despite Less Pay  —  Biyan Zhou wanted to major in engineering.  Her mother and her academic adviser also wanted her to major in it, given the apparent career opportunities for engineers in a tough job market.