Top Items:
Lesley Goldberg / Hollywood Reporter:
'Duck Dynasty's' Phil Robertson on Indefinite Hiatus Following Anti-Gay Remarks — UPDATED: The news comes after the reality star compared being gay to bestiality, drawing ire from LGBT groups including GLAAD and the Human Rights Campaign. — Phil Robertson
Discussion:
Washington Wire, Trail Blazers Blog, Weekly Standard, ThinkProgress, The Dish, The Week, Los Angeles Times, American Spectator, KTOO, New Jersey Online, NO QUARTER USA NET, NOM Blog, No More Mister Nice Blog, GLAAD, Business Insider, Post Politics, Mediaite, CNN, BizPac Review, americanthinker.com, Vox Popoli, E! Online, The Raw Story, Twitchy, The PJ Tatler, National Review, The Gateway Pundit, Shakesville, Scared Monkeys, Variety, Global Grind, CBS Houston, Taylor Marsh, USA Today, Talking Points Memo, Patterico's Pontifications, The Jawa Report, Freedom Outpost, Towleroad News #gay, Hot Air, Weasel Zippers, American Power, The Huffington Post, GQ Magazine Online, Gothamist and Inside TV
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Erick Erickson / RedState:
Ultimately There Will Be No Option for Silence or the Sidelines. You Will Be Made To Care. — I have told you people again and again. You will be made to care. — Evil preaches tolerance until it is dominant and then it seeks to silence good. Phil Robertson, patriarch of the Duck Dynasty clan …
Discussion:
Washington Monthly, The Daily Caller, Hot Air, Right Wing Watch, NOM Blog and Inside TV
Tal Kopan / Reuters:
Sarah Palin defends ‘Duck Dynasty’ star — Sarah Palin says the suspension of one of the stars of the show “Duck Dynasty” over recent anti-gay comments he made is an attack on free speech. — Palin re-posted a picture of her meeting with the stars of the A&E show on her Facebook page Wednesday night …
Ann Althouse / Althouse:
Was Duck Dynasty's Phil Robertson fired after likening homosexuality to bestiality? — Drudge's main headline is “ROASTED ‘DUCK’ LEADER FIRED AFTER GAY RANT,” links to The Hollywood Reporter story “'Duck Dynasty's' Phil Robertson on Indefinite Hiatus Following Anti-Gay Remarks/The news comes …
Discussion:
Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, americanthinker.com, The Gateway Pundit and Business Insider
Lauren Effron / ABC News:
Hillary Clinton on 2016 Presidential Run: 'I'll Make That Decision Sometime Next Year' … Hillary Clinton is Barbara Walters' Most Fascinating Person of 2013. — Although speculation and rumors have been swirling for months over whether Clinton will make another run for the White House in 2016, she said she hasn't decided yet.
Discussion:
ABC News, CNN, Daily Kos, Politico, Washington Wire, Taylor Marsh and The Reaction
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Peter Hamby / CNN:
Biden ‘dead meat’ in Iowa, governor says — Des Moines, Iowa (CNN) - Vice President Joe Biden, widely assumed to be plotting a third presidential bid in 2016, shouldn't bother booking any flights to Des Moines, Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad said. — “Biden is dead meat out here,” …
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo and Politico
Peter Hamby / CNN:
In Iowa, Schweitzer takes aim at Clinton's Iraq vote
In Iowa, Schweitzer takes aim at Clinton's Iraq vote
Discussion:
Outside the Beltway, Post Politics and Talking Points Memo
Jennifer Jacobs / Des Moines Register:
2016 watch: In Iowa, Democrat Brian Schweitzer cautions against war
2016 watch: In Iowa, Democrat Brian Schweitzer cautions against war
Discussion:
Radio Iowa, Politico and First Read
Catherine Thompson / Talking Points Memo:
Hillary Clinton: I'll Decide On 2016 Next Year
Hillary Clinton: I'll Decide On 2016 Next Year
Discussion:
Mediaite and Shakesville
Target Pressroom:
Target Confirms Unauthorized Access to Payment Card Data in U.S. Stores — Issue has been identified and resolved — Target today confirmed it is aware of unauthorized access to payment card data that may have impacted certain guests making credit and debit card purchases in its U.S. stores.
Discussion:
CBS Boston, KTOO, Lawfare, The Daily Caller, NBCNews, New York Times, BBC and Mashable
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Brian Krebs / Krebs on Security:
Sources: Target Investigating Data Breach — Nationwide retail giant Target is investigating a data breach potentially involving millions of customer credit and debit card records, multiple reliable sources tell KrebsOnSecurity. The sources said the breach appears to have begun …
Discussion:
NYT Bits, TechCrunch, Mashable, Global Grind, NBCNews, Gawker, KFOR-TV, New York Times, Taylor Marsh, Gothamist and The Verge
Rich Lowry / Politico:
Pajama Boy, An Insufferable Man-Child — He is the face of a web ad that is the latest effort by the Obama team to leverage the holidays for conversation about Obamacare. “Wear pajamas,” the ad reads. “Drink hot chocolate. Talk about getting health insurance. #GetTalking.”
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Tal Kopan / Politico:
Chris Christie dresses down Pajama Boy
Chris Christie dresses down Pajama Boy
Discussion:
CBS New York, Althouse, CNN and Post Politics
Josh Levin / Slate:
The Welfare Queen — Ronald Reagan made Linda Taylor a notorious American villain. Her other sins were far worse. — “She Used 80 Names” — Ronald Reagan loved to tell stories. When he ran for president in 1976, many of Reagan's anecdotes converged on a single point: The welfare state is broken, and I'm the man to fix it.
Discussion:
Hit & Run
Toronto Star:
Rob Ford's apology to Daniel Dale — Full text of Mayor Rob Ford's apology to Daniel Dale. … / Scanned image — Rob Ford issued a second apology to Daniel Dale on Dec. 18. … Photos View photos — zoom — Featured Video Close — Video: Toronto Mayor Rob Ford Caught Dancing at Work
Discussion:
Poynter, more at Mediagazer »
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David Cooper / Toronto Star:
Reporter Daniel Dale drops libel suit after Mayor Rob Ford apologizes again
Reporter Daniel Dale drops libel suit after Mayor Rob Ford apologizes again
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo
Julia Marsh / New York Post:
Lesbian boss ‘fired me for being straight’ — A married, heterosexual gym teacher at a tony Upper West Side private school was fired because his lesbian supervisor disapproved of his “traditional family status,” the canned teacher claims in a new Manhattan lawsuit.
Discussion:
Gothamist, BizPac Review, The Daily Caller and Weasel Zippers
CBS News:
Poll: Many uninsured haven't explored Obamacare options — Shares - — Tweets - Stumble — More than two months after the health care exchanges opened, a new CBS News/New York Times poll reveals most uninsured Americans - 58 percent - say they have not looked up information about applying …
Discussion:
Fox News, Hot Air, National Review, Pirate's Cove and VodkaPundit
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Andy Newman / New York Times:
Al Goldstein, Who Made Porn Dirtier, Dies at 77 — Al Goldstein, the scabrous publisher whose Screw magazine pushed hard-core pornography into the cultural mainstream, died on Thursday at a nursing home in Cobble Hill, Brooklyn. He was 77. — The cause was believed to be renal failure, his lawyer, Charles C. DeStefano, said.
Discussion:
The Awl, Gawker, Taylor Marsh, The Raw Story, Althouse and Gothamist
Austin Wright / Politico:
Patty Murray backs off military pension cut — Sen. Patty Murray is distancing herself from a cut in military pensions in the budget deal she brokered with Rep. Paul Ryan. — Her unease about a key element of her own deal, which passed the Senate on Wednesday and is now headed to President Barack Obama …
Discussion:
Firedoglake, Washington Monthly, Taylor Marsh, Power Line and CNN
Alex Pareene / Salon:
Hack list No. 1: Mike Allen — Our annual list is here! This time, we channeled each hack's unique voice — and let them “write” their own entries — PAYOLA-BOOK: No professional blowback for sponsor-fluffing Mike Allen — LEIBO on ALLEN: ‘enabler’ — Business lobby agenda pushed daily …
Josh Gerstein / Politico:
Barack Obama's NSA fine-print problem — An independent panel's call for major changes to the nation's surveillance programs ups the pressure on President Barack Obama to back serious reforms. — But the big changes the committee is calling for may be less vexing for Obama than one painful …
Discussion:
TIME, Taylor Marsh, CANNONFIRE, Close Read, Hot Air, Mediaite, Guardian and CNN
Rosalind S. Helderman / Washington Post:
In probe of Va. Gov. McDonnell, prosecutors agreed to delay decision on charges — View Photo Gallery — McDonnell's time in office comes to a close: Gov. Robert F. McDonnell was supposed to be in the thick of the race to succeed him. Instead, the Republican found himself relegated …
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo, NBCNews, Outside the Beltway, The BLT, The PJ Tatler and Politico
Amie Parnes / The Hill:
Obama campaign manager Messina approached about Baucus seat — Jim Messina, the architect of President Obama's successful reelection campaign, has been asked about replacing Sen. Max Baucus (D) in the U.S. Senate. — Obama's 2012 campaign manager has fielded calls from high-level officials …
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo, Missoulian, Politico, AEIdeas, Daily Kos, CNN and Real Clear Politics
Greg Sargent / The Plum Line:
The GOP Repeal Trap — The Journal Gazette of Fort Wayne, Indiana, reports on a fascinating exchange between GOP Rep. Marlin Stutzman and a local meat market owner, Lee Albright, who likes the Affordable Care Act and quizzed the Congressman about the real world implications of the GOP repeal stance:
Discussion:
msnbc.com, Prairie Weather, Daily Kos and Washington Monthly
Perry Chiaramonte / Fox News:
End of the line for the lead bullet? Regulations, bans force switch to ‘green’ ammo — When the last bullet-producing lead smelter closes its doors on Dec. 31, it will mark a major victory for those who say lead-based ammunition pollutes the environment, but others warn ‘green’ bullets will cost more …
Discussion:
Liberaland
George F. Will / Washington Post:
Obama's extreme use of executive discretion — “To contend that the obligation imposed on the president to see the laws faithfully executed implies a power to forbid their execution is a novel construction of the Constitution, and is entirely inadmissible.” — U.S. Supreme Court, 1838
Discussion:
Power Line