Top Items:
Politico:
The fiscal cliff deal that almost wasn't — House Speaker John Boehner couldn't hold back when he spotted Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid in the White House lobby last Friday. — It was only a few days before the nation would go over the fiscal cliff, no bipartisan agreement was in sight …
Discussion:
The Huffington Post, CNN, New York Magazine, Washington Post, ABCNEWS, Crooks and Liars, neo-neocon, NBC Politics, American Prospect, Mediaite, Angry Bear, Washington Examiner, The National Memo, First Read, Washington Wire, Daniel W. Drezner, Alan Colmes'Alan Colmes', The Week, The Moderate Voice, Bloomberg, Daily Kos, The Maddow Blog, Business Insider, Weekly Standard, Wall Street Journal, Wonkette, No More Mister Nice Blog, Taegan Goddard's … and Gawker
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Russell Berman / The Hill:
Boehner tells GOP he's through with one-on-one Obama talks — Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) is signaling that at least one thing will change about his leadership during the 113th Congress: He's telling Republicans he is done with private, one-on-one negotiations with President Obama.
Discussion:
Alan Colmes'Alan Colmes', Right Turn and The Plum Line
John Boehner / CNN:
TRENDING: Boehner's White House F-bomb — (CNN) - For all the stalemate in the fiscal cliff negotiations, there were some heated moments, too. — A Democratic source familiar with one particular exchange told CNN that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell …
Discussion:
The Maddow Blog, Associated Press, Politico, The Hill, Taylor Marsh, The Week, RedState and John Lott's Website
Steve Benen / msnbc.com:
House GOP blocks Violence Against Women Act — Congress had a lengthy to-do list as the end of the year approached, with a series of measures that needed action before 2013 began. Some of the items passed (a fiscal agreement, a temporary farm bill), while others didn't (relief funding for victims of Hurricane Sandy).
Discussion:
Daily Kos, The Raw Story, Balloon Juice and Shakesville
Matthew Boyle / BREITBART.COM:
SOURCES: ENOUGH REPUBLICANS WILLING TO UNSEAT SPEAKER BOEHNER — American Majority Action spokesman Ron Meyer told Breitbart News late Tuesday that enough House Republicans have banded together in an effort to unseat House Speaker John Boehner from his position—they just need a leader to take up the mantle.
Manu Raju / Politico:
Reid delays call on filibuster overhaul — He has a chance to go “nuclear” Thursday, but instead Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid plans to punt a decision on the filibuster until later this month. — With a new Congress being sworn in Thursday, Reid had threatened to invoke what critics call the …
Discussion:
Daily Kos, Power Line and CNN
Alicia M. Cohn / The Hill:
Sen. Toomey: GOP should risk shutdown to force spending cuts in debt-limit fight
Sen. Toomey: GOP should risk shutdown to force spending cuts in debt-limit fight
Pete Kasperowicz / The Hill:
Boehner under growing pressure to allow vote on Sandy relief bill
Boehner under growing pressure to allow vote on Sandy relief bill
Discussion:
BREITBART.COM, BuzzFeed, Hot Air, The Hill, Politico, The Impolitic and The Hinterland Gazette
Jeff G. / protein wisdom:
Jim Geraghty, et al: Obama won!
Jim Geraghty, et al: Obama won!
Discussion:
Sister Toldjah and Washington Examiner
Erik Wasson / The Hill:
Boehner committed to move Hurricane Sandy relief bill in January
Boehner committed to move Hurricane Sandy relief bill in January
Discussion:
CBS Philly, Firedoglake and The Gateway Pundit
Kevin Robillard / Politico:
Peter King: Halt donations to House GOP — New York Republican Rep. Peter King went to war with his Republican colleagues on Wednesday after leaders spiked a Hurricane Sandy relief bill, calling on New Yorkers to stop all donations to GOP House members. — “These Republicans have no problem finding …
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Russell Goldman / ABCNEWS:
Christie Finds Boehner's Actions ‘Disgusting’
Christie Finds Boehner's Actions ‘Disgusting’
Discussion:
BREITBART.COM, The American Conservative, Mashable! and National Review
Igor Volsky / ThinkProgress:
Chris Christie Rips House GOP For Blocking Sandy Relief: ‘Shame On You’
Politico:
GOP anti-tax policy goes over the cliff
GOP anti-tax policy goes over the cliff
Discussion:
CNN, RedState, New York Times, National Review, The Atlantic Online, Wonkblog, Washington Wire and The Hill
David Rogers / Reuters:
House pulls plug on Sandy aid bill
House pulls plug on Sandy aid bill
Discussion:
The Atlantic Online, CNN, The Atlantic Wire, Wonkblog, BuzzFeed, Daily Kos, Guardian, CBS News, New York Times, The Daily Beast, Sister Toldjah, Gawker, Wonkette, Business Insider, The Maddow Blog, The Raw Story, UrbanGrounds, ABCNEWS, The Agonist, The Week, The Daily Caller, The Hinterland Gazette, The Hill, The Mahablog, Taegan Goddard's … and The Hill
NBC Politics:
Bipartisan outrage after House skips vote on $60 billion Sandy aid bill
Bipartisan outrage after House skips vote on $60 billion Sandy aid bill
Discussion:
American Prospect, BBC, Guardian, Washington Monthly, Taylor Marsh and msnbc.com
Dorsey Shaw / BuzzFeed:
Outraged Congressman Suggests He'll Abandon Republican Party Over Sandy Relief
Wall Street Journal:
Republicans Blast Delayed Sandy-Aid Vote
Republicans Blast Delayed Sandy-Aid Vote
Discussion:
Sun-Times Politics and Metropolis
Pete Kasperowicz / The Hill:
House members to Boehner: ‘Shame on you’ for not holding Sandy vote
House members to Boehner: ‘Shame on you’ for not holding Sandy vote
Discussion:
Politico, Crooks and Liars, New Jersey Online, msnbc.com, Wall Street Journal, Hot Air and Politicker
Andrew Sullivan / The Daily Dish:
New Year, New Dish, New Media — When I first stumbled into blogging over 12 years ago, it was for two reasons: curiosity and freedom. I was curious about the potential for writing in this new medium; and for the first time, I felt total freedom as a writer. On my little blog, I was beholden to no one but my readers.
Discussion:
Washington Monthly, The Moderate Voice, Talking Points Memo, Advocate, Media Decoder, GigaOM, Weasel Zippers, The Other McCain, The Verge, Mediaite, Outside the Beltway, Politico, Business Insider, Towleroad News #gay, The Daily Caller, Poynter, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Joe. My. God., Balloon Juice, FishbowlDC, The Daily Banter, Brad DeLong, Taylor Marsh, Mother Jones and Daily Pundit, more at Mediagazer »
Brian Stelter / Media Decoder:
Al Jazeera Acquires Current TV — Updated Al Jazeera on Wednesday completed a deal to take over Current TV, the low-rated cable channel that was founded by Al Gore and his business partners seven years ago. — Current will provide the pan-Arab news giant with something it has sought for years: a pathway into American living rooms.
Discussion:
Politico, Mashable!, Hot Air, The Verge, NewsBusters.org, Weasel Zippers, Mediaite, TechCrunch and The PJ Tatler, more at Mediagazer »
Pat Brady / Daily Herald:
GOP chair urges support for same-sex marriage — Both sides are ramping up their gay marriage arguments in Springfield. — View other photograph collections — SPRINGFIELD — Illinois Republican Party Chairman Pat Brady of St. Charles is calling GOP lawmakers asking them to support …
Discussion:
News Desk, AMERICAblog, Joe. My. God., Towleroad News #gay and The Raw Story
RELATED:
Natasha Korecki / Sun-Times Politics:
Republican Party chair in Illinois throws “full support” behind same-sex marriage in Illinois
Republican Party chair in Illinois throws “full support” behind same-sex marriage in Illinois
Discussion:
Towleroad News #gay
Blake Zeff / BuzzFeed:
The Democrats' Coming Civil War — The party is poised for a showdown over Social Security and Medicare. Obama vs. the liberals. — Obama and Elizabeth Warren. — Image by Mark Wilson / Getty Images — For Democrats, there may be few things more entertaining than watching …
Discussion:
NewsMax.com, msnbc.com and The Maddow Blog
RELATED:
Paul Krugman:
That Bad Ceiling Feeling — More thoughts about the fiscal deal: — One good thing is that the deficit scolds are furious: they had their hearts set on exploiting this crisis to push through benefit cuts, and it didn't happen — part of the larger good news that Obama didn't gut Social Security or Medicare this time around.
Josh Gerstein / Politico:
Court OKs secret drone opinions — The U.S. Government has no legal duty to disclose legal opinions justifying the use of drones to kill suspected terrorist operatives abroad, although doing so would contribute to “intelligent” public debate over the legality of that practice, a federal judge wrote in a ruling issued Wednesday.
Discussion:
Reuters and Taylor Marsh, more at Mediagazer »
Scott Keyes / ThinkProgress:
Leading Conservative Religious Organization Warns That Christians Will Soon Be Treated Like Blacks In Jim Crow Era — The American Family Association, a top conservative Christian organization, emailed members today with a dire warning that, within 50 years, Christians will be treated like African Americans during the Jim Crow era.
Discussion:
Shakesville, Mediaite and The Raw Story
Igor Volsky / ThinkProgress:
Democratic Congressman Laughs At Fox News' Fiscal Cliff Misinformation — Rep. Adam Smith (D-WA) schooled the hosts of Fox & Friends on the details of the deal to avert the so-called “fiscal cliff” during an appearance to explain his opposition to the Senate-passed compromise on Wednesday morning.
Discussion:
Crooks and Liars, The Raw Story and The PJ Tatler
The Technium:
The Post-Productive Economy — Take a look at these farm houses which I saw under construction in remote areas of Yunnan province China. They were not unusual; farmsteads this size were everywhere in rural China. Note the scale of these massive buildings. Each support post is cut from a single huge tree.
Discussion:
Free exchange
Keith Koffler / White House Dossier:
Obama Returns to Hawaii at an Added Cost of Over $3 Million — In a move that is rich in irony, President Obama agreed Tuesday night to sign an emergency deficit reduction bill that does almost nothing to rein in spending and then jetted out to Hawaii to resume his vacation at an extra cost of more than $3 million to taxpayers.
Discussion:
The PJ Tatler, Michelle Malkin, Weekly Standard, Weasel Zippers, NewsMax.com, Pundit & Pundette, The Gateway Pundit, USA Today, Twitchy, ABCNEWS and Fausta's Blog
Craig Whitlock / Washington Post:
Renditions continue under Obama, despite due-process concerns — The three European men with Somali roots were arrested on a murky pretext in August as they passed through the small African country of Djibouti. But the reason soon became clear when they were visited in their jail cells by a succession of American interrogators.
Discussion:
Lawfare, Firedoglake, Washington Examiner, Truthdig, The Volokh Conspiracy and National Review