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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 …
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CNN, The Huffington Post, ABCNEWS, New York Magazine, Crooks and Liars, NBC Politics, Washington Post, Angry Bear, neo-neocon, The National Memo, Washington Examiner, Daniel W. Drezner, American Prospect, Mediaite, First Read, The Week, Washington Wire, Alan Colmes'Alan Colmes', The Moderate Voice, Daily Kos, The Maddow Blog, Business Insider, Weekly Standard, Wall Street Journal, No More Mister Nice Blog, Wonkette, Taegan Goddard's … and Gawker
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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 …
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Associated Press, Politico, The Hill, Taylor Marsh, RedState, John Lott's Website, The Gateway Pundit and The Hill


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.
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ABCNEWS, Washington Monthly, The Huffington Post, First Read, The American Conservative, BuzzFeed, The Week, Hot Air, Mashable!, USA Today, Slate, The Hill, msnbc.com, Guardian, American Prospect, Los Angeles Times, Firedoglake, Politico, Gestetner Updates, Daily Pundit and Joe. My. God.

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.
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Wonkblog, Talking Points Memo, Globe and Mail, Crooks and Liars, Mediaite, Suburban Guerrilla, Real Time Economics and Brad DeLong

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, CNN and Power Line

Sen. Toomey: GOP should risk shutdown to force spending cuts in debt-limit fight
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ThinkProgress, PERRspectives, Politico, Little Green Footballs and The Raw Story

Jim Geraghty, et al: Obama won!
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Sister Toldjah and Washington Examiner


The House Republicans' Primal Scream
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The Maddow Blog, Hot Air, The Week, Political Insider, Post Politics and Washington Post

House members meet to review Senate-passed cliff deal
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The Fix, AMERICAblog, The Moderate Voice, Hot Air, Hugh Hewitt's TownHall Blog, The Maddow Blog, The Plum Line, The Week, DownWithTyranny!, Washington Monthly, Roll Call, msnbc.com, Bloomberg, Wonkblog, The Reaction, Post Politics, The Huffington Post, Associated Press, Althouse, Power Line, Taylor Marsh, Daily Kos, The Raw Story, Calculated Risk, Mother Jones, Weekly Standard, Talking Points Memo and BuzzFeed


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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Boehner under growing pressure to allow vote on Sandy relief bill — Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) came under intense pressure Wednesday from Republicans in New York and New Jersey to allow a vote on legislation providing relief to the states hit by Hurricane Sandy in October.
Discussion:
Politico, BREITBART.COM, BuzzFeed, The Hill, The Impolitic, Hot Air and The Hinterland Gazette


House pulls plug on Sandy aid bill — House Republicans abruptly pulled the plug Tuesday night on their promise to take up this week an emergency supplemental disaster aid bill for Northeast states damaged by Hurricane Sandy. — The decision is a stunning reversal since just hours …
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New Jersey Online, The Atlantic Wire, BuzzFeed, Guardian, Sister Toldjah, CNN, The Daily Beast, New York Times, Gawker, Wonkette, Washington Wire, UrbanGrounds, The Raw Story, ABCNEWS, Business Insider, The Maddow Blog, Daily Kos, The Agonist, The Week, The Daily Caller, The Hinterland Gazette, The Hill, The Mahablog, Taegan Goddard's … and The Hill


Bipartisan outrage after House skips vote on $60 billion Sandy aid bill
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Guardian, American Prospect, BBC, Washington Monthly, Taylor Marsh and msnbc.com


Republicans Blast Delayed Sandy-Aid Vote
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Sun-Times Politics and Metropolis

House GOP blocks Violence Against Women Act
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Daily Kos, The Raw Story, Balloon Juice and Shakesville


New York Area Officials Attack House for Ignoring Storm Aid Bill
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Prairie Weather, The New Republic and Lawyers, Guns & Money

Chris Christie Shames Congress, Boehner For Sandy Relief Delay
Discussion:
The Atlantic Online, Speaker.gov and Outside the Beltway

Boehner committed to move Hurricane Sandy relief bill in January
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Firedoglake

Christie, Cuomo bash Sandy failure
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The Hill, Crooks and Liars and Firedoglake

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.
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The Moderate Voice, Talking Points Memo, Advocate, Politico, Media Decoder, Weasel Zippers, The Other McCain, The Verge, Mediaite, Outside the Beltway, Towleroad News #gay, Business Insider, The Daily Caller, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Poynter, Joe. My. God., Balloon Juice, FishbowlDC, The Daily Banter, Brad DeLong, Taylor Marsh and Daily Pundit, more at Mediagazer »


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, The Maddow Blog and New York Times
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Thanks To Gerrymandering, Democrats Would Need To Win The Popular Vote By Over 7 Percent To Take Back The House
Discussion:
Democracy in America and Bourbon. Portland. Beer …

Why the Obama tax hikes have only just begun
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White House Dossier, protein wisdom and Vodkapundit

Obama's Tax Bill Comes Due
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The Hill, First Read, Belmont Club and American Power

Al Jazeera Is Said to Be Acquiring Current TV — Al Jazeera is putting the final touches on 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. — If the deal is completed, Current will provide the pan-Arab news giant …
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The Verge, NewsBusters.org, Weasel Zippers, Mediaite, TechCrunch and The PJ Tatler, more at Mediagazer »

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:
Taylor Marsh


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:
Mediaite, Shakesville and The Raw Story


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 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


‘Armed Teacher Training Program’ Launches In 15 States — An Ohio gun owners' group is launching an “Armed Teacher Training Program” to instruct teachers and school staff on how to shoot off firearms in the classroom. — Perhaps at the outlandish suggestion of the National Rifle Association …
Discussion:
Hullabaloo