Barack Obama, Ferguson, and the Evidence of Things Unsaid  —  Violence works.  Nonviolence does too.  —  In a recent dispatch from Ferguson, Missouri, Jelani Cobb noted that President Obama's responses to “unpunished racial injustices” constitute “a genre unto themselves.”

Will the GOP scrap Obama's State of the Union address?  —  In early 1999, the political environment in Washington, D.C., bordered on surreal.  President Clinton had just been impeached.  House Speaker Newt Gingrich had just been ousted from his leadership post, forced out by his own members.

Ezra Klein's House of White Privilege Explains the News  —  I finally understand white privilege.  It is a detachment that lets certain people be detached from the real world while pretending to cover it accurately and emote with it.  I get it.  It is the only thing that can explain this post by Ezra Klein.

Why Didn't Republicans See Obama's Immigration Move Coming?  —  Congress foiled by extremely predictable scheme.  —  Shares  —  One of the strangest things about the immigration debate is the fervent belief by conservatives that President Obama is motivated only by devious partisan considerations.

The Pitchforks Are Coming... For Us Plutocrats  —  To: My Fellow Zillionaires  —  You probably don't know me, but like you I am one of those .01%ers, a proud and unapologetic capitalist.  I have founded, co-founded and funded more than 30 companies across a range of industries …

Obama Admits: ‘I Just Took an Action to Change the Law’  —  The White House has argued that President Obama's executive amnesty order last week was made well within the existing law.  But in remarks in Chicago tonight, President Obama went off script and admitted that in fact he unilaterally made changes to the law.

Obama ‘amnesties’ two turkeys  —  President Obama joked Wednesday about his executive actions giving legal status to as many as 5 million immigrants living in the U.S. illegally, saying his Thanksgiving pardon of a turkey would doubtlessly be criticized as “amnesty.”

Ferguson: In Defense of Rioting  —  Darlena Cunha is a Florida-based contributor to The Washington Post and TIME among dozens of other publications.  —  The violent protests in Ferguson, Mo., are part of the American experience.  Peaceful protesting is a luxury only available to those safely in mainstream culture

Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg Has Stent Placed in Her Heart  —  Ginsburg, 81, said in a series of interviews this year that she has no plans to retire.

WATCH |  Tamir Rice shooting video at half-speed:  —  Footage at half speed shows the moment Cleveland Police opened fire and shot 12-year-old Tamir Rice outside the Cudell Recreation Center.  Tamir was ordered to put his hands up, but police say he did not comply.

Why amnesty will force layoffs  —  President Obama's amnesty for illegal immigrants will produce a disaster of unparalleled magnitude when the ObamaCare employer mandate kicks in.  —  Those granted amnesty will not be eligible for ObamaCare.  The amnesty will merely keep them safe from deportation; it won't make them legal.

‘The most expensive regulation ever’  —  Obama ready to roll out major EPA rule  —  The Obama administration will issue a draft air pollution rule on Wednesday that business groups charge would be the costliest regulation of all time — setting up a test of how hard the president will fight …

Schumer: Dems erred with ObamaCare  —  Democrats made a strategic mistake by passing the Affordable Care Act, Sen. Charles Schumer (N.Y.), the third-ranking member of the Senate Democratic leadership, said Tuesday.  —  Schumer says Democrats “blew the opportunity the American people gave them” …

Source: Billy Joel says Obama invited him for a smoke at White House  —  President Obama, who said in 2009 that he had mostly kicked his cigarette habit, invited Billy Joel to have a smoke at the White House during a recent visit.  —  An ITK spy was sitting down at the bar at The Jefferson Hotel …

Veto threat derails Reid tax deal  —  The White House on Tuesday threatened to veto an emerging deal that would restore several lapsed tax breaks, bringing into the open tensions between President Obama and the top Senate Democrat.  —  Jennifer Friedman, a White House spokeswoman …

Jian Ghomeshi faces five charges in sexual assault investigation  —  Former CBC host Jian Ghomeshi is facing five charges in relation to a sexual assault investigation.  —  Mr. Ghomeshi, 47, has been charged with four counts of sexual assault and one count of “overcome resistance - choking,” Toronto police said in a news release.

U.S. judges overturn gay marriage bans in Arkansas, Mississippi  —  (Reuters) - U.S. district judges on Tuesday struck down as unconstitutional same-sex marriage bans in Arkansas and Mississippi, separately overturning measures that voters approved a decade ago in both socially conservative Southern states.