- (Bloomberg)- The Obama administration’s health- care overhaul survived a federal court challenge in Virginia by a Christian college. The suit, brought by Liberty University and five individuals, claimed the health-care reform law didn’t protect against mandatory insurance payments being used to fund abortion coverage. Their claim that the law is unconstitutional was rejected yesterday by a judge in Lynchburg.
- (NY Daily News)- The civilian and military leaders of the nation's armed forces urged Congress Tuesday to repeal the Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy based on a survey showing that most troops are okay with gays serving openly.Defense Secretary Robert Gates said it was a simple matter of right and wrong: "A policy that requires people to lie about themselves to me seems fundamentally flawed," Gates said.
Wednesday 12/1
- (City Pages)- When Jeremy Geifer was charged with 11 counts of sexual misconduct November 18th, Tim Pawlenty might have envisioned his presidential ambitions going up in smoke. Just over three years ago, the Minnesota governor granted Giefer a pardon extraordinary, voting with the two other members of the Board of Pardons to wipe clean his previous criminal sexual record.
- (HuffPost)- The latest extension of emergency unemployment benefits expired on Tuesday, as a dysfunctional Congress let the deadline go without striking a deal to keep the money flowing.
Thursday 1/2:
- (PoliticalWire)- The House passed an extension of only the middle-class tax cuts on 231-187 vote with just three Republicans in favor and 20 Democrats opposed.Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has said he might bring the House bill to a vote in the Senate but it's unlikely to pass without a compromise with several Republican senators.
- (NatJournal)- With the House censure Thursday of Rep. Charles Rangel, D-N.Y., for ethics violations, he is the first representative to be censured since 1983, when Massachusetts Rep. Gerry Studds was censured for a sexual relationship with a 17-year-old male 10 years before.
- (Politico)- President Barack Obama made an unannounced pre-holiday visit to U.S. troops here Friday, telling them that they are “on the offense” in Afghanistan now, and making progress against the Taliban. After a 13-hour flight from Washington, Obama spent only about three hours at the sprawling base, meeting with Gen. David Petraeus, commander of U.S. forces, and U.S. ambassador Karl Eikenberry, and visiting wounded soldiers at the base hospital before addressing troops gathered in a hangar.
- (HuffPost)- In a statement sent out by his office, Sen. Scott Brown (R-Mass.) announced that he is supporting DADT repeal
- (WashPost)- During an appearance on "Fox News Sunday," former House speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) said that he is "much more inclined to run" for president in 2012 than not run. Gingrich has been hinting for months that he may seek the presidency -- though he has a history of making a lot of noise about running before deciding against it, as he did before the 2008 election. On Sunday, Gingrich said that after speaking with friends and colleagues, he is "more inclined to think it is doable." However, he said he would not make a decision until the "end of February, beginning of March."
- (HuffPost) A member of the House of Commons Defense Committee said Sunday that his Russian assistant is facing deportation as a suspected spy.Mike Hancock said he was unaware that the security services had any suspicions about his aide, Katia Zatuliveter, 25, until she was detained.Hancock, 64, is a member of the House of Commons Defense Committee, and the European Security and Defense Assembly of the Western European Union, a security and defense organization. He is a Liberal Democrat, the junior party in the Conservative-led government.
- (HuffPost)- President Barack Obama announced "a framework for a bipartisan agreement" Monday night over the impending expiration of the Bush tax cuts. Addressing the press after having discussed the arrangement with congressional Democratic leadership, Obama said he was unwilling to let "working families" become "collateral damage for political warfare here in Washington." He also stressed that his preference remained to let the rates for the wealthy expire. But Republicans wouldn't budge from their perch, he added. And securing a 13-month extension of unemployment benefits and other administration-favored tax credits in exchange for a two-year extension of all rates was, Obama stressed, a decent deal to make.
- (ABC)- So, who will Republicans choose to run the committee that controls the government’s purse strings? Will it be a proven deficit hawk? A fiscal conservative? An avowed opponent of pork-barrel spending? The front-runner is Hal Rogers (R-Kentucky), a 16-term Congressmen who known for funneling taxpayer money for pet projects in his district – and far beyond. Roger’s has brought so much federal money to his hometown (Somerset, Kentucky; population 11,000) that it is known as Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood. There’s a $52 million National Center for Hometown Security. The tiny airport that received $17 million in federal dollars but has so little traffic that the last commercial airline pulled out in February. And then there’s the Hal Rogers Parkway, which was formerly known as the Daniel Boone Parkway before being renaming for Kentucky’s Prince of Pork.
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