Yesterday on Dylan Ratigan’s show, he asked Austan Goolsbee a question I submitted via Twitter. It’s something I’ve been asking here as well: how are you going to perpetuate the stimulative effect of this bill, when you have deficit hysteria breaking out in Washington and a new Tea Party caucus bound and determined to cut spending next year? Goolsbee’s answer made it seem like he never considered the question…

Last night I appeared on a panel on the Scooter Libby case which was good. But I also had several weird moments when we were talking about reporter’s privilege. I’m still skeptical that the Bill of Rights will win out over the culture of secrecy.

The Brennan Center for Justice is out today with a report on the abuse of the filibuster in the 111th Congress. It lays out pretty firmly that the Senate is simply not the body envisioned by the Founders when they created it.

President Obama seems remarkably proud of himself for the many “concessions” he won from Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) as part of their deal to extend all the Bush tax cuts for two years. Yet, it seems almost all of the “concessions” Obama claims to have won were ideas actually promoted by Republicans. The amount of money allocated for things Obama wanted that didn’t have bipartisan support is much smaller.

There’s a set vote on the tax cut bill on Monday. Nothing else has been scheduled to move today. Bernie is not really blocking anything. This puts Sanders’ speech into the Congressional record; I’m not sure there’s an additional purpose.

But that’s not to say it isn’t important.

For most of the year, Washington is overrun with deficit hysteria, but right now is that special, magical time of the year. No I’m not talking about Christmas! I’m talking about the joyous season of the January 1 scheduled end of temporary tax provisions that would increase rates for the ultra wealthy and end select corporate welfare programs!

Joyous for lobbyists, at least.

Nancy Pelosi released a statement last night on the failure of the defense authorization bill, which included a legislative repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.” She also said that she would work to pass a standalone legislative repeal by the end of the legislative session. The President endorsed the move as well, urging the Senate to revisit repeal in the lame duck session.

You have no idea how much it kills me to write this: she nailed it.

I’ve said it before, but it’s worth repeating. . . Obama is using the unemployed as an excuse to get what he has wanted all along. And what he wants is to extend all the tax cuts.

The President predicted that his tax plan would pass Congress, saying specifically that “nobody — Democrat or Republican — wants to see people’s paychecks smaller on Jan. 1 because Congress didn’t act.”

But if Congress does act, people’s paychecks will get smaller – a substantial amount, actually. And it will be a particular subset of people – the working poor, people who make under $20,000 a year, or families under $40,000.