Top Items:


A third option changes the negotiation — The conventional wisdom on the fiscal cliff is that there are two options: (1) an Obama-Boehner deal; or (2) no deal, in which case there is no legislation before the end of the year and we “go off the fiscal cliff.”
Discussion:
Greg Mankiw's Blog
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Questions on Whether Boehner Could Sell a Deal to G.O.P. — WASHINGTON — With negotiations quickening on Tuesday to prevent a year-end fiscal crisis, White House officials once again are confronting a vexing question: Can Speaker John A. Boehner deliver enough Republican votes …
Discussion:
JustOneMinute, The Hill, Booman Tribune, ABCNEWS, The Caucus, The Hill, Politico, msnbc.com, The Reaction and The Plum Line


The GOP's dangerous debt-ceiling gamble — The fiscal cliff negotiations have picked up again. Last week, President Obama and House Speaker John Boehner were hardly talking, and neither were their staffs. This week, Obama and Boehner are speaking often, and, perhaps more importantly, their staffs are speaking constantly.
Discussion:
Lawyers, Guns & Money, The Reaction, Firedoglake, Booman Tribune, The Hill, ABCNEWS, The Plum Line, Post Politics and Los Angeles Times


Democratic Budget Chief Accuses Boehner Of Stalling Fiscal Cliff Deal To Protect Speakership — “I'm becoming increasingly worried that that's exactly what's going on,” Van Hollen says. — Image by Harry E. Walker/MCT — WASHINGTON — House Democratic budget chief Chris Van Hollen …
Discussion:
Daily Kos


Obama Expects GOP Tax Cave — As the clock ticks toward a tax hike on all Americans in 20 days, President Obama predicted Republicans would join Democrats to extend current rates for 98 percent of earners before the end of the year. — “I'm pretty confident that Republicans …


McConnell: Obama Wins The Tax Fight — Now On To The Debt Limit
Discussion:
American Prospect, The Reality-Based Community, AMERICAblog, Politico and The Plum Line

Obama Tops Boehner on Budget Talks, With Much Broader Core Support
Discussion:
Alan Colmes'Alan Colmes' and Taegan Goddard's …


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 …
Discussion:
The Daily Caller, Mediaite, Vodkapundit, The Raw Story and Post Politics
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Breitbart Folks Appear to Fake Violence in Lansing
Discussion:
Patterico's Pontifications, Nice Deb, The PJ Tatler, The Other McCain, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, This Just In, Teamster Nation, NewsHounds blog, msnbc.com, TBogg, Weasel Zippers, Daily Kos, Politico, Right Wing News, Talking Points Memo, Wonkette, BREITBART.COM, No More Mister Nice Blog, Instapundit, Firedoglake, nation.foxnews.com, RedState, Twitchy and detroitnews.com

UNION THUG Who Sucker Punched Steven Crowder ID'ed - He's a Grand Rapids IBEW Member ...Update: Second Goon Identified

Lie of the Year: the Romney campaign's ad on Jeeps made in China — It was a lie told in the critical state of Ohio in the final days of a close campaign — that Jeep was moving its U.S. production to China. It originated with a conservative blogger, who twisted an accurate news story into a falsehood.
Discussion:
The Hill, Mediaite, Politico, The Week, Dependable Renegade and Business Insider


You have the right to not pay union dues — Labor groups should have to convince members that their goods and services are worth the price demanded — and not just take the money and run … The battle between unions and state governments continued this week — just as it has for the last two years …
Discussion:
Hot Air, Power Line, Taylor Marsh, New York Times, National Review, CNN, UrbanGrounds and Michigan Capitol Confidential
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We Have a Right to Fight Back Against Right-to-Work Laws
Discussion:
NewsBusters.org, Weasel Zippers, americanthinker.com and msnbc.com

In Michigan, the Republican Will to Power
Discussion:
Washington Monthly, Ramona's Voices and Talking Points Memo


Union Thugs Demolish Clint Tarver's Iconic Lansing,Michigan Hot Dog Cart [Photo-Donation Link] Update: Thugs Yelled “N*gger Uncle Tom” — I support Clint: … Beyond the Cart: The Story of Clint Tarver: … DONATE HERE — Update: Racist, violent, destructive monsters.
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I Support Clint — LANSING, MI Accidents & Personal Crisis — About This Page — *UPDATE* Thank you all for your amazing display of support! Because our goal of $2000 was reached by 10am today, and has now (10:48am) been nearly doubled, I have decided to raise it to $5000.
Discussion:
Michelle Malkin, Weasel Zippers and The Daily Caller

NORAD acknowledges missile launch — PETERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Colo. - North American Aerospace Defense Command officials acknowledged today that U.S. missile warning systems detected and tracked the launch of a North Korean missile at 7:49 p.m. EST. The missile was tracked on a southerly azimuth.
Discussion:
The Atlantic Online, WorldViews, BBC, Nature, The Heritage Foundation and Wired
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Scientists May Have Finally Unlocked Puzzle of Why People Are Gay — Lesbians get it from fathers, gay men from mothers? — Scientists may have finally solved the puzzle of what makes a person gay, and how it is passed from parents to their children. — A group of scientists suggested Tuesday …
Discussion:
Mediaite and Hullabaloo

Obama Sunday swearing-in to get press coverage — There will be press coverage when President Obama takes the oath office on Sunday, Jan. 20th, the head of the inauguration planning committee said on Tuesday. — “There will be coverage of the Sunday event.
Discussion:
Mediaite
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Obama Wins Almost 50% Republicans on Tax Mandate in Poll — President Barack Obama won the public argument over taxes so decisively that almost half of Republicans now say he has an election mandate to raise rates on the rich. — Majorities of about 2-to-1 also read the election results …
Discussion:
CNN, Business Insider, The Hill, Taegan Goddard's … and Gallup


Ravi Shankar obituary — Indian virtuoso who took the sitar to the world — Ravi Shankar, who has died aged 92 in San Diego, was the Indian maestro who put the sitar on the musical map. George Harrison called him “the godfather of world music” and it was Shankar's vision that brought …
Discussion:
The Agonist
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Jimmy Hoffa's Personal and Hypocritical Class War — Yesterday Teamsters Union President Jimmy Hoffa called for a civil war in Michigan over new right-to-work legislation that allows workers to decide whether or not they want to join a labor union. The Teamsters' official Twitter account …
Discussion:
Washington Post
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Jimmy Hoffa: ‘Civil war’ looms in Michigan
Discussion:
Hot Air, CNNMoney.com and The Week


Time and Punishment: Mandatory Sentences Face Growing Skepticism — TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Stephanie George and Judge Roger Vinson had quite different opinions about the lockbox seized by the police from her home in Pensacola. She insisted she had no idea that a former boyfriend had hidden it in her attic.
Discussion:
Washington Monthly, Hit & Run and Ricochet Conversations Feed


Eric Holder: Time To Consider National Voting Standards — Attorney General Eric Holder said during a speech on Tuesday night at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library that it's time to consider setting national standards for how elections should be handled.
Discussion:
Washington Monthly, msnbc.com and The Impolitic


Obama Suggests Raising Medicare Eligibility Age Is On The Table In Fiscal Cliff Talks — President Obama didn't rule out raising the Medicare eligibility age from 65 to 67 as part of a comprehensive package to avert the so-called “fiscal cliff,” during an interview with ABC News on Tuesday.
Discussion:
Firedoglake, Forbes and Prairie Weather
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New Army Manual Orders Soldiers Not To Criticize Taliban … Here is a strong indicator that the Obama Administration's crusade to appease Islam has gone too far; a new U.S. military handbook for troops deployed to the Middle East orders soldiers not to make derogatory comments about the Taliban …
Discussion:
The PJ Tatler, Weasel Zippers, Atlas Shrugs and National Review
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Draft Army Handbook Wades Into Divisive Afghan Issue
Discussion:
Mother Jones

The RNC's Fix-It Committee — Reince Priebus, the chairman of the Republican National Committee, spoke to NRO yesterday morning about the committee's new Growth and Opportunity Project, which is led by a five-member panel that will review the operations and strategies of the RNC and Republican party as a whole.
Discussion:
Washington Monthly, Ballot Box and Politico