Boehner Blasts Dems' ‘Chickencrap’ Tax Cut Vote Gambit  —  This afternoon, House Democrats will hold an up or down vote on vote on President Obama's plan to extend tax cuts to income below $250,000, and they've figured out a way to prevent the Republicans from pulling procedural tricks that might sink it …

NASA Finds New Life (Updating live)  —  NASA has discovered a completely new life form that doesn't share the biological building blocks of anything currently living in planet Earth, using arsenic to build its DNA, RNA, proteins, and cell membranes.  This changes everything.  Updating live.

Tea Party Caucus Takes $1 Billion In Earmarks  —  Members of the Congressional Tea Party Caucus may tout their commitment to cutting government spending now, but they used the 111th Congress to request hundreds of earmarks that, taken cumulatively, added more than $1 billion to the federal budget.

Hedge Funds Tapped Rescue Program  —  Hedge funds and investors whose bearish trades on housing helped them profit amid the credit crisis were among those that benefited from a U.S. government emergency rescue program to kick-start lending, according to Federal Reserve data released Wednesday.

RTC  —  Receiving / paying for stolen property IS a crime.  Once the official request to not release classified information was issued the release IS a crime.  In the US the maximum penalty for that crime is death.  —  Mark Anthony  —  Why haven't British police arrested WikiLeaks boss …

The DADT Hearings In Six Minutes: GOP Talking Points Debunked  —  This morning, during a hearing about the impact of repealing Don't Ask, Don't Tell before the Senate Armed Services Committee, Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Mike Mullen, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates …

LETTER FROM DUBLIN  —  It is one thing to know that someone you love is terminally ill; their death still comes as a shock.  —  I certainly don't want to compare the arrival of the EU-IMF team in Dublin last week to a bereavement.  But I was surprised at how upsetting I found it, given that it came as no surprise.

GOP to upend spending process  —  House Republicans seem intent on blowing up the staid appropriations process when they take power in January — potentially upending the old bulls in both parties who have spent decades building their power over the federal budget.

A strange way to honor the founding fathers  —  Republicans gained control of the House last month on a promise to “restore the Constitution.”  So it is no small irony that one of their first orders of business is an attempt to rewrite the Constitution.  —  On Tuesday, Rep. Rob Bishop …

Nigeria to Charge Dick Cheney in Pipeline Bribery Case  —  Dec. 1 (Bloomberg) — Nigeria will file charges against former U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney and officials from five foreign companies including Halliburton Co. over a $180 million bribery scandal, a prosecutor at the anti-graft agency said.

Senate Republicans Threaten Tax Dispute Blockade  —  WASHINGTON — Not even 24 hours after President Obama met with senior Republican Congressional leaders and expressed hopes for a “new dialogue,” renewed partisan fury engulfed the Senate on Wednesday, as Republicans threatened to block …

Gingrich calls for shake-up at the RNC  —  Washington (CNN) - Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich is calling for a shake-up at the Republican National Committee, another setback for Chairman Michael Steele as he decides whether to seek a second term atop the party organization.

Sarah Palin has earned the right to run for president  —  To the dismay of all but hard-core political junkies, the endless campaign is a reality of modern politics.  With some midterm races still unresolved, voters' attention is already turned to 2012.  And no potential presidential candidate …

DeMint Sets Sights On Four Dems  —  South Carolina Sen. Jim DeMint (R) is turning his attention to 2012 and using the vote this week on an earmark moratorium to pick his Democratic targets.  —  DeMint sent an email to the supporters of his Senate Conservatives Fund early Wednesday highlighting four Democrats …

Brown in good position  —  As Scott Brown's first year in the Senate comes to a close he remains an extremely formidable political presence and leads five hypothetical 2012 reelection opponents by margins ranging anywhere from 7 to 19 points.  —  Vicki Kennedy (48-41) and Deval Patrick …

A Month After Elections, 200,000 Votes Found  —  The city's Board of Elections routinely reminds New Yorkers that the election night vote count is unofficial and preliminary.  —  Still, the difference in the results from Nov. 2 and in the returns formally certified by the board on Wednesday seems striking …

Sen. Alexander: “Most Of The People” Hit By Schumer's Tax Plan “Live On Wall Street”  —  2 hours and 44 minutes ago — Matt Finkelstein  —  With members of Congress fighting over the fate of the expiring Bush tax cuts, Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) has put forward a compromise that would maintain …

Joe Lieberman emulates Chinese dictators  —  (updated below)  —  The comparison of these two passages is so telling in so many ways:  —  The Washington Post, today: … The Guardian, yesterday: … Talking Points Memo — in an article headlined: “How Lieberman Got Amazon To Drop Wikileaks” …