Top Items:
Reuters:
Fiscal cliff deal increasingly unlikely — Nearly all the major players in the fiscal cliff negotiations are starting to agree on one thing: A deal is virtually impossible before the New Year. — Unlike the bank bailout in 2008, the tax deal in 2010 and the debt ceiling in 2011 …
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Ramsey Cox / The Hill:
Reid: ‘Fiscal cliff’ deal unlikely — Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) on Thursday said it is likely too late for Congress to pull the nation back from the “fiscal cliff.” — Speaking on the Senate floor, Reid castigated Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) for sending members of the House …
Discussion:
Alan Colmes'Alan Colmes'
Matthew Yglesias / Slate:
Why John Boehner Wants Action to Move to the Senate — The new line from John Boehner is that the onus is now on the Senate to pass a fiscal cliff solution, and then the House will take up and consider whatever the Senate passes. — On the face of it, this is nonsensical. Democrats have a majority in the Senate.
Discussion:
Post Politics, Outside the Beltway, Mother Jones, The Plum Line, Wonkblog and Daily Kos
Jose Pagliery / CNNMoney.com:
Fiscal cliff fears jolt consumer confidence — Consumer confidence took a dive in December, dragged down by fears that the country will indeed fall over the fiscal cliff. — The closely watched Consumer Confidence Index, which measures the American public's sentiments every month, sank six points to 65.1.
Discussion:
CNN, Weasel Zippers, Weekly Standard, This Just In and Gallup
CBS News:
The “fiscal cliff”: What to expect if there's no deal
The “fiscal cliff”: What to expect if there's no deal
Discussion:
Lynn Sweet and Daily Kos
Brett LoGiurato / Business Insider:
HARRY REID: ‘It Looks Like’ We'll Go Over The Cliff Because Of Boehner's ‘Dictatorship’
HARRY REID: ‘It Looks Like’ We'll Go Over The Cliff Because Of Boehner's ‘Dictatorship’
Discussion:
Crooks and Liars and Washington Post
Wall Street Journal:
Free David Gregory — Moving right along in America's gun control, er, “conversation,” we now have the illuminating debate over the alleged criminality of “Meet the Press” host David Gregory. Somehow this seems appropriate to the quality of the rest of the gun debate.
Discussion:
Politico, Mediaite and Business Insider, more at Mediagazer »
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Dylan Byers / Politico:
WSJ ed board: ‘Free David Gregory’ — The Wall Street Journal editorial board is dismissing right-wing calls for David Gregory's indictment as “entirely nonsensical,” reflecting the widely-held belief that the investigation involving the “Meet The Press” is not a legitimate use of law enforcement's time.
Discussion:
Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, The Agonist, Mediaite and Daily Download, more at Mediagazer »
Sam Baker / The Hill:
Supreme Court won't block Obama health law's contraception mandate — The Supreme Court on Wednesday refused to block the Obama administration's contraception mandate from taking effect. — Justice Sonia Sotomayor rejected a request for an emergency injunction that would have shielded employers from the mandate.
Discussion:
Althouse, Hot Air, americanthinker.com and The Raw Story
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Fox News:
Supreme Court denies Hobby Lobby request for reprieve from health care mandate
Supreme Court denies Hobby Lobby request for reprieve from health care mandate
Discussion:
SCOTUSblog, The Gateway Pundit and msnbc.com
Orin Kerr / The Volokh Conspiracy:
The Role of Advocacy Groups in the Judicial Confirmation Process
The Role of Advocacy Groups in the Judicial Confirmation Process
Discussion:
SCOTUSblog
Pete Williams / First Read:
Supreme Court declines to block provision covering contraceptives in health care law
Supreme Court declines to block provision covering contraceptives in health care law
Discussion:
TBogg
John M. Broder / New York Times:
E.P.A. Chief to Step Down, With Climate Still Low Priority — Lisa P. Jackson is stepping down as administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency after a four-year tenure that began with high hopes of sweeping action to address climate change and other environmental ills but ended …
Discussion:
The Hill, protein wisdom, New Jersey Online, Washington Examiner, First Read, The Raw Story and Weekly Standard
RELATED:
Ruby Cramer / BuzzFeed:
Departing Environmental Chief Suggests Obama Has Failed On Climate
Departing Environmental Chief Suggests Obama Has Failed On Climate
Discussion:
yosemite.epa.gov
Ed Kilgore / Washington Monthly:
Pollsters' Regrets — If you spent a tenth the time I did staring at and trying to understand polls during the 2012 election cycle, then you owe it to yourself to read Steven Shepard's National Journal piece on the post-election debate over polls and poll aggregation.
Discussion:
Booman Tribune and NationalJournal.com
Lydia Saad / Gallup:
Americans Want Stricter Gun Laws, Still Oppose Bans — Support for strengthening gun sale laws has surged 15 percentage points since 2011 — PRINCETON, NJ — In the aftermath of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in Newtown, Conn., Gallup finds 58% of Americans in favor of strengthening …
Discussion:
ABCNEWS, Hot Air, Weasel Zippers, USA Today and The Fix
Garrett Epps / The Atlantic Online:
Federal Court Won't Rescue the Senate From Its Own Incapacity — Senators must tame the filibuster or it will destroy them — and the Congress they serve in. — Joshua Roberts/Reuters — Federal Judges rarely play Santa Claus, and U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan declined to brighten the holiday for Senate Democrats.
Discussion:
Outside the Beltway
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antarctica.ac.uk:
Press Release - Antarctic lake mission called off — Home » Media Room » Press Releases » Press Release - Antarctic lake mission called off » — Number: — In the early hours of Christmas Day (Tuesday 25 December 2012) Professor Martin Siegert …
New York Times:
Signs of Changes Taking Hold in Electronics Factories in China — CHENGDU, China — One day last summer, Pu Xiaolan was halfway through a shift inspecting iPad cases when she received a beige wooden chair with white stripes and a high, sturdy back. — At first, Ms. Pu wondered if someone had made a mistake.
Discussion:
Marginal Revolution and The Verge
Drew Hansen / Del Ray, VA Patch:
Sen. Crapo Consumed Vodka Prior to Arrest in Del Ray — U.S. Sen. Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) is scheduled to appear in Alexandria court on Jan. 4. — U.S. Sen. Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) admitted to consuming several shots of vodka hours before being arrested and charged with driving under …
Discussion:
Politico, Mediaite and The Raw Story
Edward Glaeser / Bloomberg:
2013 Is the Year to Go to Work, Not Go on Disability — The National Bureau of Economic Research declared that the U.S. recession ended in June 2009, yet 2012 didn't look like much of a resurgence. — To me, the number that sums up the year's doldrums is the 1.27 million increase in the number …
Discussion:
Weekly Standard
Kevin Robillard / Politico:
White House petitions hit Westboro church — More than 260,000 people have signed a petition to the White House asking for it to label the notorious Westboro Baptist Church a hate group. — The petition aimed at the church best known for picketing military funerals and other events with signs declaring …
Discussion:
msnbc.com, The Week, Gawker and Boing Boing