memeorandum: Fiscal Cliff Deal Not Reached, Leaders Agree To Continue Talks (Sam Stein/The Huffington Post)

12:20 PM ET, December 29, 2012

Top Items:

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Discussion: Addicting Info, The New Republic and The Daily Caller

Alexander Bolton / The Hill:

Leading proponent of filibuster reform claims he has 51 votes — Sen. Tom Udall (D-N.M.), a leading proponent of filibuster reform, said Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (Nev.) has the 51 votes he needs to change Senate rules with the “nuclear option.” — The maneuver would be controversial …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Booman Tribune, Post Politics and Wonkblog

Talking Points Memo:
Obama To Congress: Come To A Deal - Or Else

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, PERRspectives, Balloon Juice and CANNONFIRE

Brett Taylor / Twitchy:
Dude, where's Nancy Pelosi's car? Minority leader appears lost in parking lot

Discussion: Associated Press and Right Wing News

Ezra Klein / Wonkblog:
‘Come together’ breaks Washington apart

Discussion: The National Memo and Hullabaloo

Bloomberg:

French Court Says 75% Tax Rate on Rich Is Unconstitutional — President Francois Hollande's 75 percent millionaire-tax is unconstitutional because it fails to guarantee taxpayer equality, France's top court ruled today. — The tax, one of Hollande's campaign promises …

Reuters:

French court rejects 75 percent millionaires' tax — (Reuters) - France's Constitutional Council on Saturday rejected a 75 percent upper income tax rate to be introduced in 2013 in a setback to Socialist President Francois Hollande's push to make the rich contribute more to cutting the public deficit.

Discussion: Sister Toldjah and Althouse

BBC:

French 75% income tax struck down by constitutional council — Francois Hollande has favoured tax rises over spending cuts to tackle France's deficit — France's constitutional council has overturned a top income tax rate of 75% introduced by Socialist President Francois Hollande.

Discussion: National Review and Outside the Beltway

Noreen O'Donnell / Reuters:

New York newspaper to list more gun permit holders after uproar — Reuters/Reuters - A small portion of guns that were turned in by their owners are stacked inside a truck at a gun buyback held by the Los Angeles Police Department in Los Angeles, California, December 26, 2012 ...more

Discussion: Weasel Zippers, Jammie Wearing Fools and The Gateway Pundit, more at Mediagazer »

Michael Medved / The Daily Beast:

The Liberal God Delusion — Our government has been hijacked by a party obsessed with a higher power. But I'm not talking about the GOP. I'm talking about the left and their worship of government. — As Washington staggers into a new year, one side of the political spectrum polarizes …

Discussion: Washington Monthly

Joe Weisenthal / Business Insider:

There's Only One Way To Fix The Deficit — And Actually It's Totally Painless — People who insist that the US has a gigantic “spending problem” are ignorant of what really drives the deficit and the national debt, as Henry Blodget easily demonstrated in a series of charts.

Discussion: Washington Monthly and Paul Krugman

Marc A. Thiessen / Washington Post:

Why not let taxes rise on the middle class? — Barring a last-minute breakthrough, taxes will go up for every American taxpayer on Jan. 1 — and that's a development conservatives should welcome. — Don't get me wrong, it would be better not to raise taxes on anyone …

Discussion: Unqualified Offerings, National Review, The Lonely Conservative and Hot Air

PR Newswire:

ASPCA Pays $9.3 Million in Landmark Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus Settlement — Feld Entertainment RICO Lawsuit Will Continue against the Humane Society of the United States, the lawyers, and other remaining defendants — Feld Entertainment, Inc., the producer of Ringling Bros …

Discussion: American Spectator and Overlawyered

New York Times:

Woman Dies After a Gang Rape That Galvanized India — NEW DELHI — A young woman who had been in critical condition since she was raped two weeks ago by a group of men who lured her onto a bus here died early Saturday, an official at the hospital in Singapore that was caring for her said.

Discussion: Washington Monthly

Megan McArdle / Asymmetrical Information:

Should People Be Forced to Buy Liability Insurance for their Guns? — The latest gun-control idea is forcing owners to buy liability insurance. That may help a few victims, but it won't stop crime, writes Megan McArdle. — Novel gun control ideas continue to percolate through the commentariat.

Discussion: Hot Air, Wonkblog, The Reality-Based Community, National Review, Prairie Weather and Instapundit