• Still saddened over the death of Elizabeth Edwards. Breast cancer sucks.
• For some reason several Republicans have stated that they will not vote on the New START treaty without both Presidents Bush weighing in on the situation. It is as if the Senate is too stupid to make up their minds on their own. George HW Bush has released a statement urging the Senate to ratify the New START treaty.
• Senator Susan Collins is holding up the legislation on "don't ask, don't tell" until her demands are met.
• In spite of all the bad news we've been hearing, the Secretary of Defense states that our Afghan policy is working.

From Political Animal:

• With Social Security recipients facing a second consecutive year without a cost-of-living increase, House Dems tried to pass $250 checks to these seniors. House Republicans killed the effort this afternoon.
• A rare judicial impeachment: "The Senate on Wednesday found Judge G. Thomas Porteous Jr. of Federal District Court in Louisiana guilty on four articles of impeachment, the first time the Senate has removed a federal judge from the bench in more than two decades." This is only the eighth time a federal judge has been removed from the bench through impeachment in the history of the Senate.
• For crying out loud: "As Don Blankenship prepares to give up control of Massey Energy after the nation's worst mining disaster in four decades ... corporate filings are revealing the staggering cost of his departure -- a golden parachute that will provide Blankenship with $2.7 million upon retirement, a free house for life, millions more in deferred compensation, and a 'salary continuation retirement benefit' of $18,241-a-month that will continue for 10 years after his Dec. 31 departure.
• In 2011, expect the House to do a lot less work -- not because of partisan gridlock, but because lawmakers simply won't be in D.C. nearly as often. (thanks to R.P. for the tip)
• In a setback for the Tea Party crowd, House Republican leaders threw their support to Rep. Fred Upton (R-Mich.) to serve as the next chairman of the Energy and Commerce Committee.
• In an even bigger setback for the Tea Party crowd, those same GOP leaders are backing Rep. Harold Rogers (R-Ky.) as the next chairman of the Appropriations Committee. Rogers is known for his love of earmarks.
• The food safety bill is in trouble on Capitol Hill, but Dems haven't given up on it.
• And in her latest classic Fox News appearance, Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) insisted today that tax cuts for the middle class cost money, but breaks for the rich do not. It's the kind of argument that only Bachmann could make with such enthusiasm.