Administration Weighs Legal Action Against States That Legalized Marijuana Use  —  WASHINGTON — Senior White House and Justice Department officials are considering plans for legal action against Colorado and Washington that could undermine voter-approved initiatives to legalize the recreational use …

New photo shows Obama taking Romney's concession call  —  (CNN) - A never-before-seen official White House photo, posted online Friday, shows President Barack Obama on Election Night speaking with his freshly defeated rival Mitt Romney.  —  The photo was taken in the presidential suite …

The Republican Glasnost  —  Senator Marco Rubio won the Jack Kemp Foundation's Leadership Award earlier this week.  In his speech accepting the award, he sketched out his Republican vision.  Some of the policies he mentioned were pretty conventional for someone of his party: limiting regulations, approving the Keystone XL Pipeline.

Deposed GOP lawmaker suggests he could vote against Boehner as Speaker  —  Rep. Justin Amash (R-Mich.) urged House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) to release a scorecard Amash said was used to push him off of a coveted House committee.  —  Besides Amash, Reps. Tim Huelskamp (R-Kan.) …

‘Gangnam Style’ Singer PSY's Vitriolic Anti-American Past Revealed, Outrage Ensues  —  He has the most-watched YouTube video of all-time, an international phenomenon of a mega-hit in “Gangnam Style,” has made appearances on nearly every American morning talk show under the sun from Today to Ellen …

November Employment Report: 146,000 Jobs, 7.7% Unemployment Rate  —  From the BLS: … Click on graph for larger image.  —  There was uncertainty about this report because of Hurricane Sandy.  —  The headline number was above expectations of 80,000, but both September and October payroll growth was revised down.

Racing To the Bottom In Michigan  —  It won't be formal until next Tuesday (thanks to a five-day delay requirement for bills passed by both Houses), but the Michigan legislature has indeed approved “right-to-work” legislation in a lame-duck session blitzkrieg of enormous audacity.

The Republican crisis  —  Party of ‘eat your veggies’  —  If you want to know why Republicans and conservatives are in a political crisis, you need only consider the fact that the Right's deeply held view now boils down to this: Taxes should not go up on the wealthy, and your health benefits should be cut.

Sorry, Democrats: 4 Ways Progressives Are About to Have Their Hopes Dashed  —  Liberals are fired up about Obama's second term and Elizabeth Warren's election.  They're about to be disappointed.  —  Reuters/The Atlantic  —  Ever since Election Day, the left has been riding high.

Whites Stayed Home And Re-Elected Obama  —  Now that all the data is in, the fundamental reason for Romney's defeat is apparent, if largely unreported.  It is not just that blacks, Latinos, and single women showed up in record numbers at the polls.  It's that whites didn't.

A Newly Preposterous Low for McConnell (and the Filibuster)  —  My admiration for the Senate's minority leader, the Hon. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, is limited.  But his latest move took even me by surprise.  —  In a tactic he thought would put the Obama Administration in an uncomfortable position …

Axelrod slashes his mustache  —  Obama campaign adviser David Axelrod shaved his mustache on national television Friday to settle a bet.  —  Axelrod fulfilled the bet with MSNBC “Morning Joe” co-cost Joe Scarborough to raise over $1 million toward epilepsy research.

Supreme Court to hear 2 historic cases on same-sex marriage  —  The Supreme Court announced Friday that it will hear a challenge to the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) — the federal law that defines marriage as a union between a man and a woman.  The court also agreed to hear …

Why People Are Confused About the Fiscal Cliff  —  Dean Baker catches the Washington Post running a Q&A under this banner:  —  OK, if there's one thing the fiscal cliff confrontation isn't, it's a “debt crisis”.  The problem — a political standoff that may lead to damaging austerity …

Joe Manchin objects to MTV's ‘Buckwild’ reality show  —  Sen. Joe Manchin III (D-W. Va.).  ( AP)  —  Sen. Joe Manchin III (D-W.Va.) isn't too wild about MTV's new reality show, “Buckwild.”  —  The show is scheduled to debut next month and follows a group of nine twenty-somethings living …

The Fantasy of a 91% Top Income Tax Rate  —  A liberal article of faith that confiscatory taxes fed the postwar boom turns out to be an Edsel of an economic idea.  —  Democratic Party leaders, President Obama in particular, are forever telling the country that wealthy Americans are taxed at too low a rate and pay too little in taxes.

Could the ‘platinum coin option’ solve the U.S. debt crisis?  —  Associated Press - This is a U.S. Mint handout of the one-ounce $100 platinum coin.  Under current law, the Treasury is technically allowed to mint as many coins made of platinum as it wants and can assign them whatever value it pleases.

The Forgotten Millions  —  Let's get one thing straight: America is not facing a fiscal crisis.  It is, however, still very much experiencing a job crisis.  —  It's easy to get confused about the fiscal thing, since everyone's talking about the “fiscal cliff.”

Adelson: No Second Bite for Chamber of Commerce  —  Readers who saw that casino mogul Sheldon Adelson gave some $33 million for the Republican blitz during the last weeks of the presidential campaign may think he's a soft touch.  After all, Mr. Adelson spent more than $100 million on GOP …