Must Reads

David Von Ebers: Why I Can't Stand Bob Woodward

Paige Lavender: David Axelrod To Bob Woodward: Why Didn't You Say 'Don't Threaten Me?'

The Rude Pundit: Random Observations on Yesterday's Supreme Court Hearing on a Challenge to the Voting Rights Act

Bob Cesca: Secretary Kerry Has Balls of Steel

Chez Pazienza: Down the Outrage Hole (Again)

Must Reads

Matt Taibbi: The Vice Presidential Debate: Joe Biden Was Right to Laugh

Cliff Schecter: The two Romneys

Elon James White: White Privilege, Joe Biden Style

Robert Dreyfuss: Biden and Ryan: The Foreign Policy Gap

John Nichols: Richard Milhous Ryan: No Specifics, Just a 'Secret Plan'

Charles P. Pierce: VP Debate 2012: The Real Paul Ryan Is Bad for America

The Rude Pundit: The Parable of Paul Ryan and the Tanks and Joe Biden Throws Paul Ryan Off His Lawn

NY Times Editorial: The ‘Moderate Mitt’ Myth

Must Reads

Eugene Robinson: Romney tour ’12 — gaffepalooza

Michael J. Graetz: Mitt Romney’s Financial Mysteries

Brian Beutler: Republicans Want Off The Hook For Voting For Defense Sequester

Matt Miller: That’s Mitticulous!

Rick Ungar: Romney Tax Plan Devastated By Non-Partisan Tax Policy Center-But Is The Tax Policy Center Really Non-Partisan?

Christopher Brauchli: With Liberty and Health Care For All

Michael Winship: Gore Vidal and His Reading List for America

John Nichols: Congress Fiddles While the Post Office Burns

Must Reads

Elspeth Reeve: Sarah Palin's Incredible Shrinking Act Is Almost Complete

David Sirota: Why the anti-Obama tax spin?

Andrew Sullivan: Romney's Got Nothing

Matt Negrin & Jonathan Karl: The Bain Ad That Romney Should Fear the Most

Ron Sherer: Mitt Romney taxes show 'very high' charitable giving tied to Mormon church

Jonathan Capehart: Romney’s current Bain woes were planted two months ago

Eclectablog: OMG!!! Obama disses ALL businesses owners everywhere ever!!! EVERYBODY FREAK OUT!!!

Paul Waldman: Why "Knowing How the Economy Works" Is Not Enough

Kathleen Parker: Get Smart, America

Bill Moyers & Michael Winship: The NRA Has America Living Under the Gun

Must Reads

Ben Cohen: Is Glenn Greenwald Aware of How Smug he Sounds?

Jess Zimmerman: Giant dog adopts baby chimpanzee

Bob Cesca: Millions of Old People Are Benefitting from Obamacare, But Are Voting for Romney Anyway and A Reality Check in the Progressive Civil War

Mark Gruenberg: Firefighters formally endorse Obama

Jim Wright: The Only Thing To Fear…

Robert Reich: Why The Economy Can’t Get Out of First Gear

Paul Krugman: We Don’t Need No Education

Andy Kroll: Getting Rolled in Wisconsin:  Why Electoral Politics Sold Out the Popular Uprising in the Badger State -- and Why It’s Not All Over

Must Reads

Frank Schaeffer: President Obama Will Be Vindicated

E.J. Dionne: Clint, Rick and the limits of pessimism

Sahil Kapur: GOP Ripe For Splits In Assault On Birth Control Rule

NY Times Editorial: A Terrible Transportation Bill

Greg Hanscom: Non-starter: Republican transportation bill is dead on arrival

HuffPo: Cal Thomas Apologizes To Rachel Maddow For Contraception Comment

Rachel Maddow: War on Birth Control

Roger Bybee: Obama/Catholic Contraception Controversy Boils Down to Workers’ Rights

Mark Morford: How to be Outraged in America

Steve Benen: Chronicling Mitt's mendacity

Must Reads

Sideline Music Magazine: CD-format to be abandoned by major labels by the end of 2012

Karoli: Deadbeat Dad Rep. Joe Walsh Honored by Family Research Council For Family Values

Chez Pazienza: Assistant Quote of the Day

Eugene Robinson: In GOP debate, Rick Perry wasn’t alone in not making sense

Ruth Marcus: The consistently inconsistent Mitt Romney

The Rude Pundit: Election Lesson: Republicans Learn That Americans Aren't Quite as Crazy as They Are

Must Reads

Timothy Egan: Rick Perry’s Unanswered Prayers

Bob Cesca: The Case for Republican Economic Sabotage

Jason Easley: Iowa Publicity Stunt Fail: Sarah Palin Gets Super Congress Wrong

Ezra Klein: Three Possible Futures for Health-Care Reform

John Nichols: Can We Have Health Reform Without an Individual Mandate? Yes, It's Called 'Medicare for All'

Must Reads

Sarah Jones: Sarah Palin Exposed as a Teleprompter Using Fraud

Larry David: Thanks for the Tax Cut!

Melissa Harris-Perry: Obama in the Age of Accommodation

Joe Gandelman: Yes Virginia, There was a Time When John McCain Was Admirable

JHW22 recommends...

Carol E. Lee & Glenn Thrush: Obama Plans 2011 Staff Makeover

Angry Black Lady: FireDogSycophants: A Smorgasbord of Sheer Idiocy With a Soupçon of Racism

Sarah Posner: A Tea Party Leader Hates Christians

Must Reads

Frank Rich: Gay Bashing at The Smithsonian

Ishmael Reed: What Progressives Don’t Understand About Obama

Matt Osborne: When Commitment to Jane Hamsher Supercedes Critical Thinking

Carlos A. Ball: Right-Wing Hypocrisy on "Judicial Activism"

Bob Cesca: Are Progressives Losing Touch With Reality?

Karoli: Recipe for Broken Government

Gail Collins: The Crying Game

The Rude Pundit: Kyl and DeMint: Baby Jesus Doesn't Want Us to Pass the START Treaty Right Now

Eric W. Dolan: Sen. Durbin blasts GOP horror at $1.1 trillion: ‘That’s exactly the amount they asked for’

Must Reads

Chez Pazienza: Why We (Don't) Suck

Tim Dickinson: The Case for Obama

Jay Rosen: “I’m committed to the destruction of the old media guard.” ABC News and Andrew Breitbart

Nicholas Kristof: Mr. Obama, It's Time For Some Poetry

Gerald E. Scrose: Responding to a Rich American Who Says: "I Can Afford Higher Taxes. But They’ll Make Me Work Less.”

Senator Bernie Sanders: MSNBC's Disgrace

William Saletan: Pelosi's Triumph - Democrats didn't lose the battle of 2010. They won it.

JHW22 recommends...

Mark Morford: Letter to a Whiny Young Democrat

Must Reads

Alissa Torres: 9/11 Widow: The Media Duped Us

BooMan: Why We Need Tax Cuts for the Wealthy

Jason Linkins: Quran Burning Story: This Is How The Media Embarrass Themselves

Ted Koppel: Nine Years After 9/11, Let's Stop Playing Into Bin Laden's Hands

Raina Wallens: My Husband Didn't Stand for Hate

Chris Kelly: The Secret Relevance of Glenn Beck's 9/11 Show REVEALED

Must Reads

Markos Moulitsas: Why I Am Blacklisted by MSNBC

Paul Krugman: Arguments From Authority

Joe Conason: Facing Extinction: The "Responsible Republican"

Katrina vanden Heuvel: Wall Street Not Giving to Dems: Good Riddance

Bob Herbert: Restoring a Hallowed Vision

Armadillo Joe recommends...

Gin and Tacos: It All Makes Sense Now

Doug Draper: Ontario Amputee Has His Artificial Leg Ripped Off By Police And Is Slammed In Makeshift Cell During G20 Summit

Must Reads

Bob Cesca: Progressives vs. The President

David M. Herszenhorn: Fact Check: Obama and House Republicans

Howard Zinn: How I Want to Be Remembered...

Michael Isikoff and Daniel Klaidman: Justice Official Clears Bush Lawyers in Torture Memo Probe

driftglass: Where Yesterday Has Been Exiled

Matt Taibbi: Populism: Just Like Racism!

Eric Boehlert: So who's going to fact-check PolitiFact?

Norman Lear: Dear Rush...

Must Reads - UPDATED

David Weigel: Why I Don’t Write About Sarah Palin’s Facebook Posts

The Rude Pundit: A Few Random Thoughts Regarding the Tone of Debate in the Senate

Maureen Dowd: Is There a Real McCain?

Paul Krugman: Tidings of Comfort

Timothy Egan: Profiles in Cowardice

Adding...

BooMan: The Anti-Corporatist Movement

Chez Pazienza: The Unfriendly Skies

Wendell Potter: Why I'm Not Joining the Call to "Kill the Bill"

Cartoon of the Day

Must Reads

Susie Madrak: Tweety Gets To The Heart of the Abortion Matter With Bishop Tobin

David Leonhardt: Budget Hawks Have a Buffet of Options With Health Bill

Chris Kelly: A Rogue Thanksgiving

Glenn Greenwald: Tough-guy John Bolton, hiding under his bed

Karoli: Bill Bennett: Whitewashing Terrorism

Harry Shearer: "Reality Stars": Sign Us Up Before We Kill Again

Christopher Brauchli: The Passenger and The Airline Ticket

Armadillo Joe recommends...

Matt Taibbi: Yes, Sarah, There is a Media Conspiracy

Rants, GinAndTacos: Going Rogue

Lance Mannion: Pickett's Charge

Pandagon: You’re not fooling anyone with this stunt, Banana Man

DaveJ, Open Left: Concentration of Wealth = An Influence Lock On Our Politics

Advice To Fiscal Conservatives

Republicans found religion when it came down to voting on President Obama's Economic Recovery Bill. After multiple meetings with the President, inclusion of their ideas in the package (if you care to call their rote tax cuts an idea) and removal of what they deemed objectionable programs in the bill, the Republicans in the House of Representatives decided to vote against it anyway. All of them. All 177 Representatives. They thought there was too much stimulus in the stimulus package.

These so-called fiscal conservatives, who helped George W. Bush set a 50 year record for the National Debt are all of a sudden worried about paying too much for a stimulus package while standing on the edge of a cliff, as more and more of us fall into the unemployment chasm week by week.

So I have some advice for these born again fiscal conservatives. When the bill passes (and it will pass despite the obstructionism) take a pass on the money. If you're really worried about the cost of the package when it comes time to dole out the stimulus, don't stand in line. After all, if you are truly representing your constituents I'm sure they will understand, so there's no need to worry about your job come election time as the unemployment in your individual districts reaches double digits.

For the time being I'm going to take them at their word. After all, the Republican Party wouldn't dare play games with something this important for a political ploy, would they?

Must Reads

William Ayers: The Real Bill Ayers

The Rude Pundit: Al Franken's Requiem for Florida 2000

Bob Cesca: No Attacks Since When?

Ben Cohen: 10 Republicans Who Should Go Away; 10 Democrats Who Should Go Away