GOP kingmakers unhappy with presidential primary frontrunner choices  —  The Republican presidential primary is shaping up as a two-man race, but influential conservatives are clearly expressing their dissatisfaction with choices A and B.  —  In recent weeks, key GOP lawmakers …

Bachmann voices concerns, still undecided on attending Trump-moderated debate  —  Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) said her campaign is “still in the process of looking at” an upcoming debate moderated by businessman Donald Trump.  —  Bachmann said on CBS's “The Early Show” that it is a …

Scrapitalism  —  San Francisco (Three days @ 90,000+ viewers per day)  —  Berkeley (Five days @ 110,000+ viewers per day)  —  Statistic courtesy of Communist Agitprop Forbes Magazine  —  These signs are made quickly, easily and cheaply using scrap cardboard, paint and an overhead projector.

Montana Chamber: Tester up 5  —  A poll commissioned by the Montana Chamber of Commerce shows Sen. Jon Tester with a 5 percentage point lead over Rep. Denny Rehberg in the Senate race, 42 percent to 37 percent.  —  The data, obtained by POLITICO, was collected in mid-November …

Supreme Court Agrees to Hear Reichle v. Howards  —  WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Monday agreed to decide whether Secret Service agents protecting Vice President Dick Cheney may be sued for violating the free speech rights of a member of the public who made critical remarks about the Bush administration's war policies.

Recent Charges of Sexual Abuse of Children in Hollywood Just Tip of Iceberg, Experts Say  —  Allison Arngrim (left) starred on 'Little House on the Prairie.  " She said stories about Corey Feldman and Corey Haim (right) being abused as child stars were common in the 1980s and 90s.

An absurd choice for a health care award  —  Politico will host an awards dinner tonight, honoring “Policymakers of the Year” in a variety of categories and fields.  That wouldn't be especially interesting, were it not for the news organization's choice for “Health Care Policymaker of the Year.”

Iran's Revolutionary Guards prepare for war  —  Iran's Revolutionary Guards have been put on a war footing amid increasing signs that the West is taking direct action to cripple Iran's nuclear programme.  —  An order from Gen Mohammed Ali Jaafari, the commander of the guards …

Who Killed the Postal Service?  —  USPS is slashing first-class delivery, cutting billions of dollars, and looking to cut thousands of workers.  How did it get this bad?  —  Wikipedia  —  Neither snow, nor rain, nor heat, nor gloom of night will keep your postman from delivering that Mad Men DVD you've been waiting for.

Kepler 22-b: Earth-like planet confirmed  —  The planet, shown here in an artist's conception, lies about 15% closer to its star than the Earth is to the Sun  —  Astronomers have confirmed the existence of an Earth-like planet in the “habitable zone” around a star not unlike our own.

Rep. King's fourth Muslim-American radicalization hearing to focus on military  —  The chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee is hoping his panel's hearing on the radicalization of Muslim-Americans within the U.S. military will reveal how the armed services can better protect itself against homegrown attacks.

The Wonky Liberal  —  Republicans have many strong arguments to make against the Obama administration, but one major criticism doesn't square with the evidence.  This is the charge that President Obama is running a virulently antibusiness administration that spews out a steady flow of job- and economy-crushing regulations.

The euro zone's terrible mistake  —  The FT is reporting today that the new fiscal rules for the EU “include a commitment not to force private sector bondholders to take losses on any future eurozone bail-outs”.  If this principle really does get enshrined into some new treaty …

Final government shutdown fight rings out the old year  —  House and Senate appropriators are laboring to produce a $900 billion omnibus bill by the beginning of next week.  —  Failure to reach a deal would result in a government shutdown when current funding runs out Dec. 16.

Society: Governments must tackle record gap between rich and poor, says OECD  —  The gap between rich and poor in OECD countries has reached its highest level for over over 30 years, and governments must act quickly to tackle inequality, according to a new OECD report.

Issa expands Fast and Furious probe to include alleged money laundering  —  Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) has requested a briefing with the Justice Department over a news report that U.S. law enforcement officials helped Mexican drug cartels launder millions of dollars into the country.