Former Florida GOP leaders say voter suppression was reason they pushed new election law  —  Former GOP chair, governor - both on outs with party - say voter fraud wasn't a concern, but reducing Democratic votes was.  —  VOTE ()  —  A new Florida law that contributed to long voter lines …

Guest on Fox News to Discuss Benghazi Attack Is Given a Quick Exit  —  Thomas E. Ricks, the veteran defense reporter and author, said he expected his Monday morning appearance on Fox News to last about three minutes.  It ended, in fact, after 90 seconds — his last sentence was a description …

Court Rejects Plea to Block Taping of Police  —  The Supreme Court has rejected an Illinois prosecutor's plea to allow enforcement of a law aimed at stopping people from recording police officers on the job.  —  The justices on Monday left in place a lower court ruling that found …

How Not to Appeal to Asian Americans  —  House Committee on Education and the Workforce Dem / Flickr  —  Of the various post-election stories, the GOP's “Latino problem” is one of the most prominent.  At some point over the last three weeks, every prominent Republican leader has had something …

Santorum: 'I'm Open' to 2016 Run  —  Former Pennsylvania senator Rick Santorum says he is “open” to another run for president in 2016.  Santorum was asked about a possible presidential campaign Monday at THE WEEKLY STANDARD.  —  “I'm open to it, yeah,” Santorum replied.

Revenge of the Reality-Based Community  —  My life on the Republican right—and how I saw it all go wrong.  —  I know that it's unattractive and bad form to say “I told you so” when one's advice was ignored yet ultimately proved correct.  But in the wake of the Republican election debacle …

A Master of Tax Avoidance  —  Warren Buffett has an op-ed in today's NY Times on one of his most popular themes: The rich should pay more in taxes.  At first blush, his position seems noble: A rich guy says that people like him should pay more to support the commonweal.

ATTENTION U.S. CUSTOMERS  —  We are sorry to announce that due to legal and regulatory pressures, Intrade can no longer allow US residents to participate in our real-money prediction markets.  —  Unfortunately this means that all US residents must begin the process of closing down their Intrade accounts.

A plan to dodge the ‘fiscal cliff’  —  In business I found that a challenging environment often produced our best opportunities.  Perhaps that's why I see the so-called “ fiscal cliff ” of year-end spending cuts and tax increases not as an impassable precipice but as our best opportunity to finally enact meaningful fiscal reform.

Filibuster fight seizes Senate  —  Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) on Monday blasted Democratic-led efforts to reform the filibuster, warning that the changes would “poison” relations in the already-gridlocked Senate.  —  The Kentucky Republican said changing the filibuster …

TIME HONORS SANDRA FLUKE AS ‘PERSON OF THE YEAR’ FINALIST  —  Just when you think Time magazine can't make any more of a mockery of itself, they nominate Sandra Fluke, contraception advocate extraordinaire, as a candidate in their Person of the Year 2012 poll:

AP nixes ‘homophobia’, ‘ethnic cleansing’  —  The Associated Press has nixed “homophobia,” “ethnic cleansing,” and a number of other terms from its Style Book in recent months.  —  The online Style Book now says that “-phobia,” “an irrational, uncontrollable fear, often a form of mental illness” …

Donald Trump: Mean-Spirited GOP Won't Win Elections  —  More ways to share...  Mixx  —  Stumbled  —  LinkedIn  —  Vine  —  Buzzflash  —  Newstrust  —  Technocrati  —  Forward Article  —  Ronald Kessler reporting from Washington, D.C. — The Republican Party will continue …

Top Obama Aide On Fiscal Cliff: “This Is Going To Get Hairy”  —  Senior White House advisor David Plouffe warns Republicans and Democrats alike must take political hits in order for deal to be had.  —  Source: youtube.com  —  WASHINGTON — Obama senior adviser David Plouffe predicted …

Photos Show Walmart Apparel at Site of Deadly Factory Fire in Bangladesh  —  NGOs slammed Walmart over a fire that killed at least 112 workers at a Bangladesh factory supplying apparel to the retail giant.  While Walmart says it has not confirmed that it has any relationship to the factory …

The Myth of the Obama Cave-In  —  With the “fiscal cliff” looming, the conventional wisdom is that the president capitulated during the last tax cut fight.  Here's what really happened.  —  At President Barack Obama's first press conference after winning reelection, CNN's Jessica Yellin posed …

Israeli Spokesman in Black Face ‘Obama Style’  —  CAIRO - One of the Israeli military's most visible spokesmen is under fire for a photo he posted on his Facebook page captioned “Obama style” in which his face is smeared with mud.  —  Sacha Dratwa posted the photo in late September …

From Man Who Insulted Muhammad, No Regret  —  LOS ANGELES — Fuming for two months in a jail cell here, Nakoula Basseley Nakoula has had plenty of time to reconsider the wisdom of making “Innocence of Muslims,” his crude YouTube movie trailer depicting the Prophet Muhammad as a bloodthirsty, philandering thug.

The Truce On Drugs  —  What happens now that the war has failed?  —  Cannabis is a highly persuadable plant.  It thrives in Afghanistan; it grows beautifully in Mexico.  It can prosper indoors or outdoors, in contained environments or expansive ones.  Even on the essentials, like soil, light, and water, accommodations can be made.