Morning Read

FROM THE BLOGS:

The preemptive war on Hagel
Opposition to former Sen. Chuck Hagel's (R-Neb.) possible nomination for secretary of Defense centers around Iran, writes Elizabeth Drew at the NYR blog. Read more...

FROM THE BLOGS:

John Boehner's Calvinball
Daily Intel's Jonathan Chait says the House Speaker's on-the-fly rulemaking as he negotiates with President Obama is reminiscent of the anarchic game from Calvin and Hobbes.

What could have stopped Adam Lanza?
National Review's Christina Hoff Sommers believes lawmakers seeking solutions in the face of the tragic Connecticut shooting might be asking the wrong questions.

A survival food taste test
With Mayans predicting the end of the world on Friday, Mother Jones's Tim Murphy samples some of the best survival foods for the impending apocalypse.

Will ObamaCare exchanges be ready?
Hit & Run's Peter Suderman questions whether the exchanges required under the president's signature healthcare law can meet their stated schedule.

OTHER NEWS SOURCES:

Bloomberg: NRA deserves blame for Newtown shooting
The New York City mayor and anti-gun activist says the gun lobby is partially to blame for the massacre, The Hill's Justin Sink reports.

Hobby Lobby denied relief from Obama birth control rules
The religiously affiliated arts-and-craft store saw a request for an injunction against rules requiring healthcare with access to free contraception denied, The Hill's Elise Viebeck reports.

FROM THE BLOGS:

Robert Bork and the contingencies of history
The death of Robert Bork reminds us how much constitutional doctrine is directed by the course of history, argues Jack Balkin at Balkinazation.

Direct negotiations with terrorists?
Josh Marshall at Talking Points Memo argues that the White House suspects House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) can't deliver any type of deficit-reduction deal.

Speaking ill of the dead
At The American Prospect, Paul Waldman asks what you say when a public figure you find "repellent" dies.

Truth in advertising
Michael Walsh, writing at The Corner, highlights a billboard sign in Beverly Hills.

OTHER NEWS SOURCES:

Senators: ‘Zero Dark Thirty’ a ‘dangerous’ mix of fact, fiction
A trio of senators challenged the truthfulness of the movie "Zero Dark Thirty," report The Hill's Carlo Muñoz and Jeremy Herb.

Boehner scrambles for votes on 'Plan B'
Boehner scrambled for enough votes to pass his backup deficit-reduction plan, according to The Hill's Russell Berman.

FROM THE BLOGS:

The 'Jewish Lobby' quote that could hurt Hagel
Atlantic Wire's J.K. Trotter examines the Defense Secretary candidate's past comments on Israel, including a newly resurfaced quote on the "Jewish lobby," and their possible effect on his nomination.

The real problem with Chained CPI
The Ticker's Josh Barro says the White House's concession on chained CPI is actually a benifit-cutting measure "masquerading as a technical change"

The public relations advantage of 'Plan B'
The Corner's Eliana Johnson says Speaker John Boehner's proposal is designed to give Democrats a taste of their own medicine

Newtown teaches us to discount early media reports
Reuters' Jack Shafer says one of lessons of the tragic shooting is that many of the early reports at times of tragedy do not pan out

OTHER NEWS SOURCES:

NRA 'shocked, saddened' by Newtown massacre
The group promised ' to offer meaningful contributions to help make sure this never happens again,' The Hill's Daniel Strauss reports

Justice Dept. will not charge Paula Broadwell
The government will not proceed with cyberstalking charges against the mistress and biographer of former CIA Director David Petraeus, The Hill's Daniel Strauss reports

FROM THE BLOGS:

Boehner denies purge list
With his denial of a GOP purge list, House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) contradicts claims made by numerous sources, reports Matthew Boyle at Breitbart.

How to get Republicans to pay attention to women’s issues: Snacks
As Erika Eichelberger at Mother Jones reports, snacks might be the key to mobilizing female constituents to push for change.

Video: Japan scrambles aircraft after China violates airspace over disputed islands
According to Ed Morrissey at HotAir, a dispute over an island group escalated after China sent a government aircraft into Japanese airspace for surveillance purposes.

Pelosi takes hardest line against raising Medicare eligibility age
On Talking Points Memo, Brian Beutler reports that House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) took a hard stance against raising the Medicare eligibility age at her weekly Capitol press briefing.

OTHER NEWS SOURCES:

Report: Hagel likely top White House pick for Department of Defense chief
Former Nebraska Republican senator and Vietnam veteran Chuck Hagel is likely to fill the position of Defense secretary, reports The Hill’s Carlos Munoz.

State Department: No guarantee Clinton will testify on Benghazi before year’s end
According to The Hill’s Julian Pecquet, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's Benghazi testimony could be delayed if the independent review of the events before and during the terrorist attack isn't ready in time.

FROM THE BLOGS:

The market isn't free, so why make it even less so with right-to-work laws?
At Reason's Hit & Run blog, J.D. Tuccile responds to criticism of a blog post he wrote on right-to-work laws. 

The congressional roots of the Fed's new 'Evans Rule'
The history behind the new "Evans Rule" goes back to Congress in the 1970s, notes Sarah Binder at The Monkey Cage. 

The right way to do democracy wrong
The passage of right-to-work legislation shows Michigan legislators realized something important: that the best time "to smack representative democracy" is right after an election, argues Alex Koppelman at The New Yorker's News Desk blog. 

Virginia: Next stop for union battles?
The Corner's Jack Fowler wonders whether Virginia will be the next state to consider controversial legislation relating to unions.

OTHER NEWS SOURCES:

Senate unveils Hurricane Sandy bill
The Senate Appropriations Committee unveiled a proposal to spend $60.4 billion to repair damage caused by Hurricane Sandy, reports The Hill's Erik Wasson. 

Pelosi compares Boehner's tax dilemma to her handling of Iraq war
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) argued House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) should be willing to risk his Speakership to pass a deficit-reduction deal, according to The Hill's Mike Lillis.

FROM THE BLOGS:

The growing GOP tax-cave chorus?
Hot Air’s Erika Johnsen writes that the Republicans are giving up on opposing tax hikes to higher income earning families so people can clearly see which party is to blame for what happens afterwards.

Obama is using the permacampaign to change Washington from the outside
The Atlantic’s Julian Hattem writes that President Obama aims to win the fiscal-cliff debate by brainstorming in battleground states.

Little enthusiasm for Obamacare exchange
National Review’s Tevi Troy explains that the Obama administration shouldn’t be boasting with only 15 applications for the exchange.

Top 10 reasons why the US needs comprehensive immigration reform
Think Progress’s Amanda Beadle writes that most Americans will support reforming the immigration system and that tax revenues would increase if the system was changed.

OTHER NEWS SOURCES:

Obama jumps headfirst into fight over Michigan’s ‘right-to-work’ law
President Obama has said that his administration would be more active in Michigan’s labor fight than the one in Wisconsin in 2011, The Hill’s Amie Parnes reports.

Report: By 2030, US will lose superpower status
The United States will no longer be a single global superpower, says a report by the National Intelligence Council, The Hill’s Jeremy Herb reports.

FROM THE BLOGS:

Tapper to Carney: Has Obama seen 'The Devil Wears Prada?'
On HotAir.com, Ed Morrissey discusses the rumor that President Obama might appoint Anna Wintour, editor of Vogue, as U.S. ambassador to the U.K. or France.

Protesters pepper-sprayed in Michigan capitol as Republicans push anti-union law
According to Laura Clawson on Daily Kos, the debate over a Michigan anti-union bill became heated when police pepper-sprayed protesters.

Obama almost never golfs with women
President Obama has not included a woman in his golf outings in more than two years, reports Keith Koffler on White House Dossier.

Bush’s White House press secretary tells female victims of violence to ‘make better decisions’
Former White House press secretary Dana Perino said that victims of violence should “make better decisions,” reports Annie-Rose Strasser on Think Progress.

OTHER NEWS SOURCES:

NJ rejects state-based health exchange
According to The Hill’s Elise Viebeck, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) declined the healthcare law’s state-based insurance exchange the same day he met with President Obama.

Reid rejects GOP move to vote on debt-limit powers in Obama plan
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) rejected Republican calls to vote on the debt-ceiling portion of President Obama’s deficit-reduction package, reports Ramsey Cox on The Hill.

FROM THE BLOGS:

Falling back to the debt ceiling
According to Hot Air’s Ed Morissey, the media has been optimistic about an agreement between Democrats and Republicans on the "fiscal cliff," but why?

Will a 'fiscal cliff' agreement include Medicare and Medicaid?
Huffington Post’s Linda Bergthold says the restructuring of the Medicare and Medicaid was inevitable.

Christmas for Obama bundlers
The Obama administration is considering some of its wealthiest political contributors for appointments, according to Michelle Malkin.

Renegade Democrats keep NY state Senate in GOP hands
Gov. Andrew Cuomo has been trying to stay neutral during a time where his party and state need a strong and distinct Democrat, writes The Daily Kos.

OTHER NEWS SOURCES:

Study: Healthcare law’s insurance tax will raise premium costs
Because of a new tax in President Obama’s healthcare law, the cost of insurance premiums could increase by thousands of dollars, reports The Hill’s Sam Baker.

Warren asks for help to retire debt
Elizabeth Warren sent an email to her supporters asking for more money after she incurred some “last minute” campaign fund debt, reports The Hill’s Alexandra Jaffe.

FROM THE BLOGS:

The irrelevance of Susan Rice
The American Conservative’s Eric Margolis argues that Susan Rice is underqualified to bear the responsibility of secretary of State.

America isn’t as decadent as social conservatives think it is
The Atlantic’s Conor Friedersdorf makes the case that the primary contributing factor to declining birth rates is cultural forces. 

Fiscal cliff notes
National Review’s Thomas Sowell predicts that even if tax rates increase for the wealthiest, quantitative easing will lead to inflation.

Will Egypt’s liberals ever win?
Slate’s Tarek Masoud and Wael Nawara say that Egypt’s liberals need to focus on opposing the unchecked power of Mohamed Morsi.

OTHER NEWS SOURCES:

US oil production hits 15-year high
Domestic crude oil production in September hit its highest level since 1998, 6.5 million barrels per day, reports The Hill's Zack Colman.

Report: Holder’s chief of staff to leave DOJ
Attorney General Eric Holder’s chief of staff, Gary Grindler, is departing from the Justice Department, reports The Hill's Meghashyam Mali.