Here’s some seasoning for your leisurely end-of-week mid-day repast:

* That was fast: House, Senate pass payroll tax/UI/”doc fix” package. 91 House Republicans and 30 Senate Republicans buck leadership to vote “no.:

* There’s another report that Sheldon Adelson is writing a new check for $10 million to Winning our Future, Newt Gingrich’s Super-PAC. If so, the big question is who gets attacked in the ads.

* Meanwhile, the President raised a reported $29 million for his re-election in January.

* An Alabama Occupy activist has created a PAC for the movement. Everybody’s getting in on the act, it seems.

* WaPo profiles ex-Mormon gadfly Helen Radkey.

* Renowned New York Times middle eastern correspondent Anthony Shadid dies, of natural causes, at 43.

Much more to come.

Our ideas can save democracy... But we need your help! Donate Now!

Ed Kilgore is a political columnist for New York and managing editor at the Democratic Strategist website. He was a contributing writer at the Washington Monthly from January 2012 until November 2015, and was the principal contributor to the Political Animal blog.