Top Items:
Matthew Yglesias / Slate:
The Case For Going Over The Cliff Remains Strong — WASHINGTON, DC - DECEMBER 20: U.S. President Barack Obama walks to the White House December 20, 2012 in Washington, DC. — I wrote earlier today that I think the failure of Plan B makes a deal more likely than it would have been had the bill passed.
Discussion:
Wonkblog, Firedoglake, Off the Charts Blog and Washington Post
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Karen Tumulty / Washington Post:
Tax fight sends GOP into chaos — Video: Speaker of the House John Boehner says a tax bill did not advance to a vote in the House because it lacked votes. But he says Republicans still want to negotiate a deal avoiding a big tax hike in 2013 and wants President Obama to get serious.
Discussion:
Prairie Weather, Hullabaloo and The Fix
Joe Picard / The Hill:
Despite defeat, Boehner's grip on Speaker's gavel appears secure — The House Republican conference didn't deliver the votes to pass Boehner's “Plan B,” sapping his leverage in fiscal cliff negotiations. — John Boehner's grip on the Speaker's gavel appears to be secure …
Discussion:
The PJ Tatler and The Gateway Pundit
Politico:
Hill GOP cool to Obama overtures
Hill GOP cool to Obama overtures
Discussion:
Power Line, Hugh Hewitt's TownHall Blog, Hot Air and Daily Kos
John Parkinson / ABCNEWS:
‘God Only Knows’ Fiscal Cliff Solution, Boehner Says
‘God Only Knows’ Fiscal Cliff Solution, Boehner Says
Discussion:
Taegan Goddard's …, The Monkey Cage and ABCNEWS
Billy House / NationalJournal.com:
Trouble for Boehner's Speakership?
Trouble for Boehner's Speakership?
Discussion:
Hot Air, Politico, The Maddow Blog, New York Post, Outside the Beltway, The Hill, National Review, Mother Jones, The Plum Line and The National Memo
Steve Kornacki / Salon:
The humiliation of John Boehner
The humiliation of John Boehner
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo, First Read and Washington Post
Lee Enterprises / St. Louis Post-Dispatch:
Talk radio host Dana Loesch files suit in St. Louis against Breitbart.com — • By Robert Patrick rpatrick@post-dispatch.com 314-621-5154 — ST. LOUIS • Conservative talk radio host and commentator Dana Loesch sued the owner of the conservative website Breitbart.com Friday …
Discussion:
The Hinterland Gazette, Politico, American Power and Little Green Footballs
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BuzzFeed:
Breitbart.com Star Dana Loesch Sues Site — Internal tensions erupt. Loesch seeks $75,000 and her walking papers in a federal lawsuit, below. — Source: danaloesch.com — The internal disputes roiling the website founded by the late conservative provocateur Andrew Breitbart broke …
Discussion:
The Other McCain and The Lonely Conservative
David M. Martosko / The Daily Caller:
Former ‘BigJournalism’ star sues Breitbart empire for $75k, demands release from contract — In a lawsuit signifying a schism in the house that Andrew Breitbart built, former BigJournalism.com editor Dana Loesch has sued Breitbart.com LLC, claiming the company refused to release her from a contract …
Discussion:
Patterico's Pontifications
Neetzan Zimmerman / Gawker:
While the NRA Was on TV Talking About the Need for More Guns Some Guy Was Walking Up and Down a Road in Pennsylvania Shooting People — The National Rifle Association today held its first press conference since last week's deadly shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary, and the takeaway was clear: We need more guns.
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Wall Street Journal:
NRA Calls for Arms in School — Mum on Gun Controls, Powerful Lobby Focuses on Violent Movies and Videogames — WASHINGTON—The nation's biggest gun-rights lobby called Friday for placing an armed security guard at every school, as it for the first time entered the re-energized public debate …
Discussion:
American Power, TalkLeft and Washington Wire
Alex Pappas / The Daily Caller:
Journalists slam NRA throughout press conference
Journalists slam NRA throughout press conference
Discussion:
The Lonely Conservative, The Gateway Pundit, Examiner, The PJ Tatler and Hot Air, more at Mediagazer »
Igor Volsky / ThinkProgress:
NRA Blames Everything Except Guns: Outdated Video Games, Hurricanes, And Corporate Media Led To Newtown
NRA Blames Everything Except Guns: Outdated Video Games, Hurricanes, And Corporate Media Led To Newtown
Discussion:
The BRAD BLOG and Gawker
The Altoona Mirror:
DA: 4 dead, 3 troopers hurt in shootings
DA: 4 dead, 3 troopers hurt in shootings
Discussion:
CBS Pittsburgh, Mediaite, Slate, The Hinterland Gazette and The Raw Story
Jonathan Chait / New York Magazine:
Obama Waking Up From Dream of Grand Bargain — “Call me a hopeless optimist,” said President Obama at his press conference tonight, in which he pleaded for Republicans to join him in averting the “fiscal cliff,” “but I still think we can get this done.” — Okay. You're a hopeless optimist, President Obama.
Discussion:
Bloomberg and Alan Colmes'Alan Colmes'
ABCNEWS:
Iowa Court: Bosses Can Fire ‘Irresistible’ Workers — The Iowa Supreme Court says a dentist did not commit gender discrimination when he fired an attractive female assistant he viewed as a threat to his marriage. — The court ruled Friday that a boss can fire an employee he considers an …
Discussion:
Mother Jones, The Raw Story, Outside the Beltway and Alan Colmes'Alan Colmes'
Julie Pace / Associated Press:
OBAMA NOMINATES KERRY FOR SECRETARY OF STATE — WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama on Friday nominated Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry, one of Washington's most respected voices on foreign policy, as his next secretary of state. — The move is the first in an expected overhaul …
Discussion:
The New Republic, Rush Limbaugh, Firedoglake and nation.foxnews.com
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Jonathan Easley / Ballot Box:
Scramble is on for Kerry's Senate seat
Scramble is on for Kerry's Senate seat
Discussion:
Politico, msnbc.com, FiveThirtyEight and New York Times
Greg Sargent / The Plum Line:
James Hormel: I question the sincerity of Chuck Hagel's ‘so-called apology’ — Chuck Hagel's nomination for secretary of defense ran into trouble the other day when it emerged that he'd described a nominee to be U.S. ambassador to Luxembourg as “openly aggressively gay,” and called that an “inhibiting factor” to “do an effective job.”
Discussion:
Towleroad News #gay, BuzzFeed and National Review
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Jennifer Rubin / Right Turn:
EXCLUSIVE: Top Republican Senator will oppose Hagel nomination
EXCLUSIVE: Top Republican Senator will oppose Hagel nomination
Discussion:
Outside the Beltway, Washington Free Beacon and Post Politics
Charlotte Allen / National Review:
Newtown & My Critics — Well, at least no one is calling for my “head on a stick” — but that's probably because Prof. Erik Loomis of the University of Rhode Island is about the only person or entity that hasn't denounced me for pointing out in NRO's Sandy Hook symposium that the school …
Discussion:
The Moderate Voice, American Power, Crooked Timber, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Crooks and Liars and Shakesville
Chris Heath / GQ:
GQ Exclusive! Ben Affleck on Politics: “Ugly.” “Toxic.” “Horrendous.” “Complete Bullsh-t.” “I Don't Want To Run For Office.” — All this feverish speculation that Ben Affleck is ready to put himself forward as a candidate if John Kerry vacates his senate seat, does it really come from somewhere?
Discussion:
ABCNEWS and New York Magazine
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Kylie Atwood / CBS News:
Affleck leaves door open for Senate run
Affleck leaves door open for Senate run
Discussion:
Addicting Info, Roll Call, The Daily Caller, Gawker and Politico
Slate:
How Many People Have Been Killed by Guns Since Newtown? — Slate partners with @GunDeaths for an interactive, crowdsourced tally of the toll firearms have taken since Dec. 14. — Since the shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, Conn., on Dec. 14, we at Slate have been wondering …
Discussion:
The Daily Caller, Althouse, Daily Kos, The Daily Dish, Feministe and New York Times
Agoldberg / The Smoking Gun:
Formal Reprimand Issued To Flatulent Federal Worker — Man's gas blamed for creating “intolerable” workplace — A federal employee was formally reprimanded this month for excessive workplace flatulence, a sanction that was delivered to him in a five-page letter that actually included a log …
Discussion:
Alan Colmes'Alan Colmes' and NO QUARTER USA NET
Alexandra Alper / Reuters:
World survives as Maya ‘end of days’ marked in Mexico — Mayan calendar believers prep for end of the world — Tourists arrive in Sirince in western Turkey, believed to be one of the few places on earth not affected ... CHICHEN ITZA, Mexico (Reuters) - Thousands of mystics …
Discussion:
The PJ Tatler