Top Items:
Justin Sink / The Hill:
Justice Scalia defends comparing laws against homosexuality, murder — U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia equated homosexuality and murder on Monday as he argued at a Princeton seminar that elected bodies should be allowed to regulate actions they see as immoral.
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Sam Baker / The Hill:
White House drops support for major Medicaid cut — The Obama administration backed away Monday from roughly $100 billion in Medicaid savings it had proposed during deficit-reduction talks earlier this year. — The move comes as liberals have pressed the White House to take Medicaid off …
Discussion:
Washington Monthly and Taylor Marsh
Josh Gerstein / Politico:
GOP mute as Supreme Court tackles gay marriage — House Republican leaders had a uniform response to the Supreme Court's decision to take up gay marriage: Silence. — The high court's decision last week to hear two cases relating to same-sex marriage puts that issue at the center of the national debate.
Discussion:
Prop 8 Trial Tracker, msnbc.com and Towleroad News #gay
Geoff Mulvihill / Associated Press:
Antonin Scalia Defends Legal Writings Some View As Offensive, Anti-Gay
Antonin Scalia Defends Legal Writings Some View As Offensive, Anti-Gay
Discussion:
Alan Colmes'Alan Colmes', The Raw Story, AMERICAblog and Juanita Jean's
Julia Preston / The Caucus:
Gay and Immigrant Rights Groups Join Forces on Marriage Issue
Gay and Immigrant Rights Groups Join Forces on Marriage Issue
Discussion:
Freedom to Marry Blog and Towleroad News #gay
Tom Cohen / CNN:
Angry with Obama, GOP threatens political war next year — Washington (CNN) — They are losing the battle over higher taxes on the wealthy, so now Republicans are threatening a political war next year when it comes time to raise the nation's debt ceiling. — With cracks appearing …
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Josh Marshall / Talking Points Memo:
Government Shutdown Watch — I wanted to quickly follow up on that Mother of All Government Shutdowns on deck for February(ish). As noted earlier, the President says he will not allow another round of debt limit hostage taking. It's been ambiguous to me just what the President means by this.
Discussion:
Balloon Juice
Russell Berman / The Hill:
Boehner calls on Obama to ‘get serious’ about spending cuts
Boehner calls on Obama to ‘get serious’ about spending cuts
Discussion:
ABCNEWS
Greg Miller / Washington Post:
In ‘Zero Dark Thirty,’ she's the hero; in real life, CIA agent's career is more complicated — She was a real-life heroine of the CIA hunt for Osama bin Laden, a headstrong young operative whose work tracking the al-Qaeda leader serves as the dramatic core of a Hollywood film set to premiere next week.
Discussion:
Lawfare
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Spencer Ackerman / Wired:
Two Cheers for Zero Dark Thirty's Torture Scenes — One scene features a bloodied, disoriented and humiliated man is strapped to a wall with his pants around his ankles. A second scene depicts the same man having liquid forcibly poured down his throat; later, he's shoved into a box that could barely hold your stereo.
Discussion:
Politico, Hit & Run, The Daily Beast, The Daily Dish, CNN, Lawyers, Guns & Money, TBogg, A plain blog about politics, Mother Jones, msnbc.com and Althouse
Igor Volsky / ThinkProgress:
Fox News Says Workers Who Don't Like Michigan's Anti-Union Bill ‘Can Get A Job Elsewhere’ — On Tuesday, Fox News threw its weight behind Michigan's effort to allow union members to opt out of paying union dues, while benefiting from union contracts though so-called “right-to-work” legislation.
Discussion:
The Raw Story
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Jarrett Skorup / Michigan Capitol Confidential:
The Union ‘Free-Rider Problem’ Myth in Right-to-Work Debate
The Union ‘Free-Rider Problem’ Myth in Right-to-Work Debate
Discussion:
Michelle Malkin, Washington Examiner and Red Alert Politics
Peter Hamby / CNN:
First on CNN: Haley finalizes short list for DeMint seat — Washington (CNN) - South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley has whittled down the list of people she is considering for Jim DeMint's soon-to-be-vacant Senate seat to five people, a Republican close to the governor told CNN on Tuesday.
Discussion:
The Fix, Politico, Public Policy Polling, Ballot Box, GOP 12, FITSNews, The Daily Caller and Taegan Goddard's …
Terence P. Jeffrey / CNSNews:
Only 7% of Detroit Public-School 8th Graders Proficient in Reading — (CNSNews.com) - In the public schools in Detroit, Mich., according to the U.S. Department of Education, only 7 percent of the eighth graders are grade-level proficient or better in reading.
Discussion:
protein wisdom and Twitchy
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Kerry Picket / BREITBART.COM:
NO SHOTS FIRED: STATE DEPT BENGHAZI SECURITY FORCE UNARMED — A source with personal knowledge of the security situation in Benghazi told Breitbart News that Senators who listened to closed door testimony about the Benghazi attack were shocked to learn State Department security personnel agents were not immediately armed.
Discussion:
Hot Air, The Gateway Pundit, Liberty Unyielding, The Daily Caller and The PJ Tatler
Adam Peck / ThinkProgress:
INFOGRAPHIC: We Could End Homelessness With The Money Americans Spend On Christmas Decorations — The latest annual report from the Department of Housing and Urban Development shows that the national homeless population held steady from 2011 to 2012, hardly good news but perhaps better …
Discussion:
The Other McCain, Prairie Weather and New York Times
Politico:
Crafting a boom economy — Behind the Curtain: About this weekly feature — Behind the Curtain is a reported column, Web show and online conversation about the behind-the-scenes intrigue that shapes politics and policy. It will unfold every Tuesday (and beyond, when news dictates).
Discussion:
New York Magazine, Business Insider, No More Mister Nice Blog and The National Memo
Jonathan Weisman / New York Times:
In Talks, House Majority Weighs Loyalty to Voters — WASHINGTON — As their leaders inch toward agreeing to higher tax rates, dozens of House Republicans find themselves caught between the will of a larger American public that favors higher taxes on the rich and the wishes of constituents …
Discussion:
Washington Post, Reuters, Politico, ABCNEWS, The Fix, Hot Air, msnbc.com and Balloon Juice
DealBook:
Treasury Earns $7.6 Billion From Sale of Last Shares in A.I.G. — The Treasury Department said on Tuesday that it has sold off its remaining stake in the American International Group, reaping about $7.6 billion from the sale. — The government sold the 234.2 million shares at $32.50 each …
Discussion:
Alan Colmes'Alan Colmes', The Week and The Baseline Scenario
Bloomberg:
Tribune Said to Seek Bankers for Newspaper Sale — Tribune Co., the bankrupt owner of the Chicago Tribune, Los Angeles Times and six other daily newspapers, is interviewing bankers about selling its papers, according to two people with knowledge of the matter.
Discussion:
Politico, more at Mediagazer »
Grace-Marie Turner / Forbes:
A Resistance Movement Rises Against ObamaCare — This article appears in the December 24, 2012 issue of Forbes. — (Photo credit: Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com) — ObamaCare may be the law, but a major resistance movement has already sprouted across the U.S. Though approval …
Discussion:
Right Wing News
Maine Public Broadcasting Network / mpbn.net:
Panel Recommends that Maine Prosecutor be Suspended … Assistant Hancock County District Attorney Mary Kellett is being recommended for suspension by a panel of the Maine Board of Bar Overseers. Created by the Maine Supreme Judicial Court, the board governs the conduct of lawyers.
Discussion:
A Voice for Men and Riehl World News
Daniel Miller / Daily Mail:
University of Texas professor claims black students are failing because they are raised by poor single women — Law professor Lino Graglia has previously accused black culture of ‘setting children up for failure’ — A professor at the University of Texas has sparked outrage by claiming black …
Discussion:
The Raw Story
Aaron Carroll / Washington Monthly:
Raising the Medicare Eligibility Age Isn't Harmless — Facebook Twitter Digg Reddit StumbleUpon Delicious — I just can't believe we're still talking about raising the eligibility age for Medicare from 65 to 67. — I've written so much about what's wrong with this policy, that I hesitate to do so again.
Discussion:
The Incidental Economist, Hullabaloo, Daily Kos and The Huffington Post
Patrick Goodenough / CNSNews:
U.S. Intelligence Report Says Islamist Terrorism ‘Could End by 2030’ — (CNSNews.com) - The wave of Islamist terrorism is receding and “could end by 2030,” according to a new long-term assessment by the U.S. intelligence community. — In support of that projection, the study released …
Discussion:
Weasel Zippers and Jihad Watch
Scott Wong / Politico:
‘Dr. No’ of Senate says ‘yes’ to taxes — The Oklahoma senator and obstetrician known as “Dr. No” has taken on the most unlikely of roles: getting Republicans to say “yes” to tax hikes. — Tom Coburn, who has blocked dozens of bills, infuriated Democratic leaders and been on the lopsided end …
Discussion:
News Desk, Associated Press, Outside the Beltway, First Read and Post Politics
BBC:
Cayman Islands premier McKeeva Bush arrested — The premier of the Cayman Islands has been arrested as part of a corruption investigation, local police say. — The charges against McKeeva Bush, 57, include misuse of a government credit card and importing explosive materials.
Discussion:
The Tell