Originally devised as a solution to the last round of debt-limit negotiations, the fiscal cliff instead sets up another round of hostage taking.
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From Cliff to Ceiling
The relentlessly sane Michael Tomasky shows why the next silly Washington crisis is manufactured, synthetic baloney.
The Weird Resonance of #Mintthecoin
Here is a thought exercise. It’s 3013. You’re a historian, and you want to teach your students about the temporary dementia that gripped the political-media complex a millennium ago. I submit that you could do worse than to give them this article, a snapshot of how dysfunctional national politics converges with cable yakk-bait.
Start …
Obama’s “Alice in Wonderland” Veil of Secrecy
A federal judge scratches her head at White House secrecy around the targeted killing of an American citizen.
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Barney Frank for Senate?
I’ve known Barney for more than 40 years and he’s been a terrific public servant, with one exception: his non-oversight of FNMA (Fannie-Mae) as House Banking Committee chair. That should eliminate him from consideration as even a temporary Senator.
A Major Political Prediction for 2013
So you want to know what happens next? Don’t we all.
I happen to work in an industry built upon two things: reliable reporting about what has happened, and unreliable projections about what might happen in the future. It’s not that the projections are always wrong. It’s just that you would be a fool to believe that they are …
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Obama v. Neoconservatives
This week’s print column: whether or not the President appoints Chuck Hagel as Secretary of Defense next week, he’s going to be facing a foreign policy fight over Israel and Iran with the neoconservatives.
Boehner Agrees to Sandy Aid Vote on Friday
Under intense pressure from angry Republicans, House Speaker John Boehner agreed Wednesday to a vote this week on aid for Superstorm Sandy recovery.
Clinton Receiving Blood Thinners to Dissolve Clot
Doctors treating Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton for a blood clot in her head said blood thinners are being used to dissolve the clot and they are confident she will make a full recovery.
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Best Books 2012
This is not a list of the best books published in 2012, just the best I’ve read in the past year:
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Hagel Still Twisting
Tom Friedman weighs in on the Chuck Hagel non-nomination, with some very clear thinking. But the Obama Administration is still silent–which remains deeply unfair to Hagel, and deeply satisfying to the extremists who oppose his nomination.
The Timing of the Fiscal Cliff
Without a plan to avert the “fiscal cliff,” Congress realistically has two days on which it can pass a bill this year: Dec. 28 and 31.
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Kerry, Absolutely. But What About Hagel?
John Kerry will make a fine Secretary of State. He knows the world, and is easy in it. But I’m worried about the Obama Administration hanging Chuck Hagel–Kerry’s good friend and fellow Vietnam veteran–out to dry.
John Boehner’s Unhappy Holidays
The so-far insurmountable problem for House Speaker John Boehner and President Barack Obama as they try to reach a budget deal is that nothing matters more to Republicans than fighting taxes.
