memeorandum: Mayan skulls say to forget apocalypse (Toledo Blade)

2:40 AM ET, December 23, 2012

Top Items:

Michael D. Shear / New York Times:

News Analysis: Still Bitter About Election, Republican Opposition Unwilling to Compromise with President — WASHINGTON — If Friday's memorial service for one of this country's long-serving senators was a somber recollection of a bipartisan era that once was, the rest of the day was a frenetic reminder …

Discussion: Angry Bear, No More Mister Nice Blog, The PJ Tatler, Balkinization, The Moderate Voice, Balloon Juice and Washington Post

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: The Moderate Voice, American Power, First Read, Hullabaloo, The Daily Dish and Right Wing News

Matthew Boyle / BREITBART.COM:

HOUSE REPUBLICANS CIRCULATE PLAN TO OUST BOEHNER FROM SPEAKERSHIP — Several conservative House Republican members are contemplating a plan to unseat Speaker John Boehner from his position on January 3, Breitbart News has exclusively learned. Staffers have compiled a detailed action plan that, if executed, could make this a reality.

Discussion: BuzzFeed, Slate, NationalJournal.com, Pat Dollard, The Hill, Hot Air, protein wisdom, Conservatives4Palin and The Gateway Pundit

Andrew Sullivan / The Daily Dish:
Enough! — Between the humiliating and chaotic collapse …

Discussion: Mario Piperni dot Com, CANNONFIRE and Liberal Values

Suzy Khimm / Wonkblog:
The incredible shrinking stimulus

Discussion: Hullabaloo, Politico and Slate

Emily Yoffe / Slate:

Today We Are Gathered ... To Hear More About Me — President Obama was supposed to eulogize the memory of Sen. Daniel Inouye. Instead he told us about his favorite summer vacation. — Someone needs to tell Barack Obama—it must get particularly confusing this time of year …

Discussion: Hot Air, The Atlantic Online, americanthinker.com, White House.gov Blog, ABCNEWS and ABCNEWS

Daniel Halper / Weekly Standard:

Obama Uses Funeral Service to Talk About Himself — President Barack Obama used the funeral for Hawaii senator Daniel Inouye to talk about himself. In the short 1,600 word speech, Obama used the word “my” 21 times, “me” 12 times, and “I” 30 times. — Obama's speech discussed how Inouye had gotten him interested in politics.

Discussion: Weasel Zippers and protein wisdom

Alicia M. Cohn / The Hill:
Obama to attend Inouye funeral in Hawaii

Discussion: ABCNEWS and CNN

Wall Street Journal:

How ‘Cliff’ Talks Hit the Wall — Behind Scenes, Boehner Failed to Sell Republicans on Taxes, While Obama's Spending Plans Rankled — WASHINGTON—Congressional leaders and President Barack Obama called Friday for a return to negotiations to avert the so-called fiscal cliff …

Discussion: PoliticusUSA, The Hill, Paul Krugman, americanthinker.com, Addicting Info, Business Insider, Weasel Zippers, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Wonkblog, Taegan Goddard's …, Washington Examiner, Power Line, Hugh Hewitt's TownHall Blog and The Hill

Laura Donnelly / Telegraph:

Hospital apologises to 38 families for appalling care that saw a patient starve to death — An NHS hospital has apologised to 38 families after a patient starved to death and it left other dying people screaming in pain. — From left: Patricia Bridle, Laurence Hodges, Lois Smith and Chris Grande

Discussion: BBC, Power Line and ParaPundit

Alex Isenstadt / Politico:

Jerry Brown's California revival — He's no kid at age 74, but California Gov. Jerry Brown has staged a comeback this year that Bill Clinton could appreciate. — It looked as though Brown's second go-round in the governor's job might well end after a single term.

Discussion: Taegan Goddard's …

New York Times:

The N.R.A. Crawls From Its Hidey Hole — Wayne LaPierre, the executive vice president of the National Rifle Association, would have been better advised to remain wherever he had been hiding after the Newtown, Conn., massacre, rather than appear at a news conference on Friday.

Discussion: ThinkProgress, JustOneMinute, The Hinterland Gazette, Guardian, Washington Monthly, The Agonist, The Moderate Voice, Daily Kos, The BRAD BLOG, IHT Rendezvous, The Plum Line and Mashable!

Tom Kludt / Talking Points Memo:

Michael Steele: NRA Press Conference ‘Very Haunting And Very Disturbing’ (VIDEO) — Former Republican National Committee chairman and MSNBC commentator Michael Steele on Friday said he found the press conference led by National Rifle Association executive vice president Wayne LaPierre “very haunting and very disturbing.”

Toledo Blade:

Mayan skulls say to forget apocalypse — Ritual predicts new era, not end of times — Facebook Twitter Reddit Digg E-mail Print Rss — MERIDA, Mexico — The crystal skulls have spoken: The world is not going to end. — American seer Star Johnsen-Moser led a whooping, dancing …

Discussion: Firedoglake

Alicia M. Cohn / The Hill:

Postal workers continue hunger strike against proposed delivery cuts — Despite most of Congress leaving town for the holidays, postal workers are continuing a hunger strike protesting legislation to save the United States Postal Service (USPS) through budget cuts.

Discussion: Riehl World News and The Gateway Pundit