Corker introduces bill trading nearly $1T in entitlement cuts for debt-ceiling hike  —  Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) introduced a bill Wednesday to trade nearly $1 trillion in entitlement savings for an equal hike in the debt ceiling.  —  Corker said the Dollar For Dollar Act would include $937 billion …

NBC/WSJ poll: Public wants compromise to avoid fiscal cliff  —  Fiscal cliff talks have stalled as ‘serious differences’ remain between both parties - and according to the latest NBC/WSJ poll the public wants an agreement, soon.  Although both sides are still discussing ways to avoid the fiscal cliff …

Insight: How Republicans engineered a blow to Michigan's powerful unions  —  (Reuters) - As a trained aerospace engineer, Patrick Colbeck applied his penchant for data analysis and “systematic approach” to his new job in early 2011: a Michigan state senator, recently elected and keen to create jobs in the faded industrial powerhouse.

Standing and Delivering  —  Is it heretical of me, or merely quirky, to find myself nearly as fascinated by the procedural game the Supreme Court is playing in the same-sex marriage cases as I am by the underlying merits of the two appeals the court has agreed to decide?

Committee Assignments For 113th Congress Approved By Democratic Steering Committee … Reid: Assignments “Will Allow All Members Of Our Caucus To Bring Their Unique Talents And Expertise To Bear As We Work Together To Advance The Interests Of The Middle Class.”

GOP Pollster: Republicans Have ‘Run Out Of’ White Voters  —  Republicans need to dramatically improve their standing with Latino voters or risk becoming a “regional party” of disaffected whites, according to a study released Wednesday by a GOP pollster.  —  “Republicans have run …

A new play, an old problem of media bias  —  Roger L. Simon, former Hollywood screenwriter and now CEO of the conservative PJ Media, and his wife, Sheryl Longin, have written a new play with an unlikely subject, the journalist fraud perpetrated by Walter Duranty of the New York Times …

U.S. Census Bureau Projections Show a Slower Growing, Older, More Diverse Nation a Half Century from Now  —  The U.S. population will be considerably older and more racially and ethnically diverse by 2060, according to projections released today by the U.S. Census Bureau.

Loud-Ass TV Ads Are About to Be Outlawed  —  Listen up, TV advertisers: Big Brother is muting you!  Well, not entirely.  But beginning at midnight tonight, new Federal Communications Commission rules will bar television networks from blasting viewers with those excessively loud, screamy commercial breaks.

Joe Lieberman's sad send-off  —  It was a lonely farewell for Joe Lieberman.  —  When the senior senator from Connecticut stood to give his parting address Wednesday afternoon, just one of his colleagues, Delaware Democrat Tom Carper, was with him on the Senate floor.

For immediate release  —  Information received since the Federal Open Market Committee met in October suggests that economic activity and employment have continued to expand at a moderate pace in recent months, apart from weather-related disruptions.  Although the unemployment rate …

GOV'T ARRESTS ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT SENATE INTERN  —  WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez employed as an unpaid intern in his Senate office an illegal immigrant who was a registered sex offender, now under arrest by immigration authorities, The Associated Press has learned.

Rep. Jim Moran's Son Guilty of Beating Up His Girlfriend in Columbia Heights  —  Update, 4:30 p.m.: Rep. Moran says his son's incident was an accident, and Patrick Moran's girlfriend blames her injuries on a broken high heel.  —  Patrick Moran, the son of Democratic Virginia Rep. Jim Moran, is having a bad year.

Do We Really Have to Condemn the Union Protestor Who Punched Fox News Comedian Steven Crowder?  —  Good, serious progressives are supposed to condemn violence as a political tactic, because it's wrong and in many cases counterproductive.  But do we really need to condemn the union protestor …