The top 9,486 ways Jay Carney won't answer your questions (interactive)  —  Jay Carney doesn't have an answer for that.  He hasn't discussed that subject with the president.  He will refer you to the Department of [insert agency here].  He refuses to speculate on that.  He'll have to get back to you.

Leahy: GOP Border Security Amendment ‘A Christmas Wish List For Haliburton’  —  Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT) said Friday that the new border security amendment added to the immigration reform bill in the Senate is nothing more than a gift to defense contractors, but the Senate Judiciary Committee …

We were wrong  —  On Wednesday morning Kickstarter was sent a blog post quoting disturbing material found on Reddit.  The offensive material was part of a draft for a “seduction guide” that someone was using Kickstarter to publish.  The posts offended a lot of people — us included — and many asked us to cancel the creator's project.

GCHQ taps fibre-optic cables for secret access to world's communications  —  Exclusive: British spy agency collects and stores vast quantities of global email messages, Facebook posts, internet histories and calls, and shares them with NSA, latest documents from Edward Snowden reveal

Rep. Louie Gohmert Has Some Feelings About the Farm Bill, America  —  On Thursday afternoon, Rep. Louie Gohmert gave a long, rambling floor speech.  This isn't the most unusual thing to see happen on the House floor on a Thursday afternoon, but Gohmert really made this 30-minutes count:

Hundreds Of Texans Stand Up Against Sweeping Anti-Abortion Bill, Block It From Coming To A Vote  —  Protesters projected “End the War on Women” onto the building where the hearing on SB 5 was held.  (Credit: @TaneneAllison)  —  Texas lawmakers are currently rushing an omnibus anti-abortion bill through …

President Bullard's Comments on Recent FOMC Actions  —  ST. LOUIS - Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis President James Bullard dissented with the Federal Open Market Committee decision announced on June 19, 2013.  In his view, the Committee should have more strongly signaled its willingness …

Russ Tice, Bush-Era Whistleblower, Claims NSA Ordered Wiretap Of Barack Obama In 2004  —  Russ Tice, a former intelligence analyst who in 2005 blew the whistle on what he alleged was massive unconstitutional domestic spying across multiple agencies, claimed Wednesday that the NSA had ordered wiretaps …

Profits Without Production  —  One lesson from recent economic troubles has been the usefulness of history.  Just as the crisis was unfolding, the Harvard economists Carmen Reinhart and Kenneth Rogoff — who unfortunately became famous for their worst work — published a brilliant book with the sarcastic title “This Time Is Different.”

Preemptive Strike: Conservatives Vow To Defy Supreme Court If It Rules For Marriage Equality  —  George Wallace defied a federal court order to integrate the University of Alabama in 1963  —  Drawing what they called a line “we cannot and will not cross,” more than 200 conservative activists released …

Here Is the Archive of the Famous Liberal Media ‘Journolist’  —  Way back in 2009, the hottest media story was the exposure of the existence of “Journolist,” a private listserv of several hundred mostly liberal journalists, talking to each other about crap.  This was perceived as a big scandal!

Exclusive: U.S. secretly providing training for Syrian rebels  —  Since late last year, CIA and U.S. military operatives have been teaching Syrian rebels how to use anti-tank and anti-aircraft guns at bases in Jordan and Turkey, according to U.S. and rebel sources.

FAA to Relax Rules for Gadgets in Flight  —  Airline passengers irritated at having to turn off their devices could soon see some reprieve, with regulators set to allow wider use of gadgets in flight.  —  The Federal Aviation Administration is expected to relax the ban on using some types …

Source: Arrest Warrant Issued For Aaron Hernandez  —  BOSTON (CBS) - Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez will be charged in connection with the shooting death of a 27-year-old Dorchester man, a law enforcement source told WBZ NewsRadio 1030 on Friday.  —  According to that source …

GOP lawmaker proposes Lerner rule  —  Bill would require federal workers to be fired if they don't answer questions from Congress.  —  Rep. Mo Brooks (R-Ala.) on Thursday proposed legislation that would require federal workers to be fired if they don't answer questions from Congress.

Official: Water complaints could be ‘act of terrorism’  —  Mt. Pleasant residents say state is attempting to silence its critics  —  A Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation deputy director warned a group of Maury County residents that unfounded complaints about water quality could be considered an “act of terrorism.”

Celeb chef Paula Deen asks for forgiveness for using ‘N word’  —  (CNN) — Celebrity chef Paula Deen apologized Friday for “the wrong that I've done,” a move that follows revelations this week that she admitted to using a racial epithet in the past.  —  “I want to apologize to everybody …

The Last Mystery of the Financial Crisis  —  It's long been suspected that ratings agencies like Moody's and Standard & Poor's helped trigger the meltdown.  A new trove of embarrassing documents shows how they did it  —  By  —  W  —  hat about the ratings agencies?