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Black Agenda Report

From the U.S. Artist General, via email

ZAPSAP

DS POISON (DOUBLE STANDARD)

The heart-bound venom of it Troubles the bloodstream
like lips in the arc of a drinking fountain, moving at the gibberish of thirst

but finally the moral snakebite
is from ANY nation
whose Overkill we look the other way on…

Yesterday I got a message from someone who objected to my coverage of the Israeli attacks on Gaza because, she said, it was pro-Palestinian.  Let me make this perfectly clear:  I believe that BOTH sides are at fault.  And I believe that armed conflicts and armed standoff don’t solve problems like the religious clashes in the Middle East, or anywhere else.

What worked in Northern Ireland was a many-year commitment to diplomacy rather than force, along with the Ulster Project, a many-year process of teaching young people on each side that those on the other side are human beings, not monsters.  For a number of years my sister was part of this ecumenical project in my home town, which is only one of many towns around the U.S. that hold summer workshops for Catholic and protestant teenagers—together.

Wikipedia has a list of projects working for peace between Israelis and Palestinians.  We must support projects like these.  They are our only hope for building a basis for long-lasting peace in the Middle East.

From: A Natural History of Peace (by Robert M. Sapolsky, Foreign Affairs, January/February 2006)
[H]umans, as primates, are hard-wired for xenophobia. Some brain-imaging studies have appeared to support this view in a particularly discouraging way… More recent studies, however, should mitigate this pessimism. Test a person who has a lot of experience with people of different races, and the amygdala does not activate. Or, as in a wonderful experiment by Susan Fiske, of Princeton University, subtly bias the subject beforehand to think of people as individuals rather than as members of a group, and the amygdala does not budge. Humans may be hard-wired to get edgy around the Other, but our views on who falls into that category are decidedly malleable.

Peace is possible (click here to watch the video)

Forget Jesus. What Would You Do? (by Athenae at First Draft, thanks to Susie at Suburban Guerilla)
What would you do? The lure of history and family and loyalty, what would you if it was you? Would you forgive? No, my mother said, never. Multiply by thousands and you have a war. Multiply by millions and you have the human race, loving one’s enemies be damned… I’m barely talking about Israel and Palestine, is that making sense? I’m talking about how we as Americans watch this shit on the evening news and think to ourselves, “Why can’t those people stop killing each other?” Why don’t they just nuke each other into oblivion? Why don’t we let them? Hell, why don’t we help?

Analysis: Gaza crisis may hurt Obama peace efforts (AP)
WASHINGTON – Israel’s military onslaught against the militant Hamas movement will probably make it harder for President-elect Barack Obama to fulfill a campaign pledge of early and vigorous Mideast peacemaking, and the pre-inauguration timing may frustrate any effort he plans to establish new footing among Arab partners.
And those peace efforts ARE?????????????????????

Obama makes third trip to golf course in Hawaii (AP)
KAILUA, Hawaii – Staying out of the public eye during an extended vacation doesn’t mean staying away from the golf course for President-elect Barack Obama.

McKinney to Obama: “Say Something” About Gaza Humanitarian Crisis (Black Agenda Report)
“As we are about to celebrate Dr. Martin Luther King Jr’s birthday, let us remember what he said. He said that the United States is the greatest purveyor of violence on the planet.  And guess what: we experienced a little bit of that violence, because the weapons that are being used by Israel are weapons that were supplied by the United States government.”
CNN has a video of McKinney’s appeal.  Obama did take some time out to make a statement on his potential replacement, however.  See below.

Obama issues statement on Burris appointment (Chicago Sun-Times)
President-elect Obama issued the following statement on Gov. Blagojevich tapping Roland Burris to fill the Senate seat: “Roland Burris is a good man and a fine public servant, but the Senate Democrats made it clear weeks ago that they cannot accept an appointment made by a governor who is accused of selling this very Senate seat. I agree with their decision, and it is extremely disappointing that Governor Blagojevich has chosen to ignore it. I believe the best resolution would be for the Governor to resign his office and allow a lawful and appropriate process of succession to take place. While Governor Blagojevich is entitled to his day in court, the people of Illinois are entitled to a functioning government and major decisions free of taint and controversy.”
There’s more on Blago-gate farther below.

AP rolls a gutter ball (County Fair, Media Matters for America)
The Associated Press reports: “‘That was pretty good, right?’ Obama said to cheers as he finished a round of golf near his $9 million rented vacation home near Honolulu. The woman sitting on a nearby wall shouted, ‘Better than your bowling.’… The woman’s quip referred to Obama’s embarrassing bowling outing in Pennsylvania, when he knocked down only 37 pins — with the assist during two frames from an 8-year-old. It was an effort to connect with working-class voters, yet he lost Pennsylvania’s primary election to Hillary Rodham Clinton.”

“Disastrous”?  Really?  It was a trip to a bowling alley, not a failed amphibious invasion of Cuba. ”Disastrous” seems a bit overheated. And notwithstanding the AP’s certainty that Obama’s “disastrous” bowling experience destroyed his ability to “connect with working-class voters,” the man did, um, win the presidency.  Seems like he must have connected with at least a handful of working-class voters along the way.  Even some Pennsylvanians, who managed to look past Obama’s bowling ability and give him a comfortable general-election win.
Personally, I’m reminded of George Bush talking very seriously to reporters about a previous Israeli/Palestinian conflict, immediately followed by, “Now watch this drive.”  At least Obama’s not pretending to be interested.

Bolton: Gaza Crisis Means We Should Attack Iran Now (Think Progress)
[Monday], on Fox’s Hannity and Colmes, Iran war hawk John Bolton said that Israel’s recent bombing campaign in Gaza is all the more reason for the United States to bomb Iran now. “So while our focus obviously is on Gaza right now, this could turn out to be a much larger conflict,” he said, adding that “we’re looking at potentially a multi-front war here.” “You would strike Iran right now?” asked host Alan Colmes. “I would have done it before this,” Bolton responded. Colmes asked whether tensions and war across Middle East would escalate if the U.S. or Israel were to bomb Iran. Bolton said that the many Arab countries would secretly be cheering if Iran were attacked.
Well, why not?  Bolton and friends saw our country attacked by mostly Saudi Arabian citizens trained and funded by a fundamentalist group in Afghanistan and decided to attack Iraq.  Click through to watch the video.

Atheists Sue Chief Justice Over Inaugural Oath (Law.com)
The oath of office that presidents take on Inauguration Day is right there in the U.S. Constitution — at the end of Article II, Section 1. Take a look, and you will see that the oath does not include the words “so help me God” at the end, though presidents and the chief justices who swear them in have apparently added the words in every inauguration since 1933.
If it ain’t one thang, it’s another THANG!

Journos May Not Get Inaugural Spots (Politico)
While every day seems to bring another report of media layoffs and buyouts, the Senate press galleries say they’ve received an unprecedented number of requests from journalists seeking to cover Barack Obama’s inauguration. The galleries plan to start saying no this week to those who don’t qualify for credentials.

Freedom Rider: Rick Warren and Barack Obama (by Margaret Kimberley at the Black Agenda Report)
Some folks like to call him “No-Drama Obama,” but it appears that the president-elect doesn’t care how much drama he stirs up – on his Left. Obama and his handlers should have known that bestowing the invocation honors to “evangelical preacher/businessman” Rick Warren was sure to cause drama among gays, as well as pro-choice advocates. But, “like Bush, Obama believes that he is the decider. The Warren invitation is yet another instance of the patronizing Obama telling the left that they shouldn’t worry their pretty little heads about anything that he decides is inconsequential.”

Owning “marriage” (by J –SOM at Liberal Rapture)
I responded to a post reader Kara linked in the comments last night…a Rick Warren interview…The trouble I have with Warren was not assuaged. His arguments are soothing but foolish. He states he is for equality for everyone but wants to take possession of the word “marriage” using lame historical excuses. …for five thousand years all societies have… agreed on quite a lot, actually:
-Until recently slavery was the norm in many…for 5 thousand years
-Most societies have been and remain male dominated – for 5 thousand years
-War is a part of all societies for the last 5 thousand years.
The same “5 thousand year” argument could be made to re-institute slavery, or create a monarchy here, or legalize child beating….

What’s so weird about Warren in this piece is his attempt to CLAIM the word marriage. Which is his way of saying ”some loving couples are more valued than others.” without saying it… Gays should not be expected to sign off on second class status so close minded conservatives can keep their delusions alive… Being handed warm blankets at the back of the bus by nice evangelicals, and told to sleep well in a kindly voice- will not shut gays up. Separate but equal did not work before and it won’t work now.

Religious Liberty (by Susie at Suburban Guerrilla)
Shorter Jeff Jacoby: “People in a democracy should be allowed to discriminate on the basis of whichever misreading of Leviticus they prefer.” As usual, he misses the point. Did these wedding photographers also refuse to shoot ceremonies between people of mixed faiths? Or couples who were serving shrimp cocktail at the wedding? Or Groomsmen who were wearing wool vest with linen ties? Because all that’s forbidden in the Bible, too, you know. Nope, it’s that religious fundamentalists aren’t really obsessed with matters of faith, they’re obsessed with SEX. Other people, and what they do with their genitalia.

Barack Obama; Martin Luther King, Jr.; and the rest of us (by heidiliofpotpourri at The Confluence)
Unlike Martin Luther King, Jr. Barack Obama has not made the cornerstone of his life or his political career the elimination of arbitrary inegalitarianism of the sort that makes the legitimate pursuit of liberty impossible. So Barack Obama does not provide me with a model for how to fight the fights I think need fighting: the overcoming of hatred of women, the effort to have people see women as people deserving of their full and rightful place in American society and around the world. Martin Luther King, Jr. does.

Franken lead at 50 with absentees left to count (AP)
ST. PAUL, Minn. – Democratic candidate Al Franken now holds a 50 vote lead over Republican Sen. Norm Coleman with almost all of the counting in Minnesota‘s Senate race done.

A New York Story – Governor Paterson, Governor Blagojevich, Caroline Kennedy, Charles Schumer, Part I (Hillary Is 44, thanks to Riverdaughter)
Caroline Kennedy’s ride with Uncle Ted to the U.S. Senate is not going very well. In fact, you could say it’s jumped the bridge. We’ve privately heard two major, behind the scenes reasons, why the Caroline campaign is losing air and sinking fast.
Reason 1: Governor David Paterson has a potential Blagojevich problem.
Reason 2: Senator Chuck Schumer is A, if not THE, secret hand against the Caroline power grab.
Click through for more of this most interesting take on the New York machinations.

BLOOMBERG AIDE: KENNEDY LOBBYING ‘WASN’T WORKING’ (New York Post)
Mayor Bloomberg’s top political aide is pulling back on his lobbying campaign to propel Caroline Kennedy into the U.S. Senate because “it wasn’t working,” according to sources. “Everything was backfiring,” said one source of the intense behind-the-scenes effort by Deputy Mayor Kevin Sheekey. “He’s not out front any more.” The source said that Sheekey had hoped to round up overwhelming support for Kennedy very quickly so she would become the inevitable choice when Gov. Paterson selects the successor to Hillary Clinton.

Leecia – Not Caroline (by Alegre)
Gov. Paterson need look no further than Leecia Eve for this job.  She’s been around politics since she was a girl (her father is deputy Assembly Speaker Arthur Eve) and has many contacts throughout the state.  Leecia has worked for 2 US Senators as a top aide, has run for statewide office in New York (Lt. Governor), is from upstate (Buffalo) and can fundraise the money needed for those two elections.  Leecia WILL successfully defend this seat.  Gov. Paterson has expressed a preference for putting a woman from upstate into this position and given that there are very few women holding statewide elected office, Leecia would be perfect for this position. 

Maloney Picks Up 3rd Major Endorsement (by Alegre)
Carolyn Maloney has just picked up another huge endorsement in her (rather low-key) bid to take over Hillary’s senate seat once she’s confirmed as our next Secretary of State.  Maloney may not be going on any “listening tours” or giving back to back interviews with major New York newspapers, but she’s quietly positioning herself just in case Kennedy’s public push for this appointment crashes and burns… “The National Women’s Political Caucus announced today it sent a letter to Gov. David Paterson urging him to appoint Maloney to Clinton‘s seat, citing her “proven record of working well with legislative colleagues to pass significant legislation.”

Repost: Interview With Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney, Part I (by madamab at The Confluence)
[From] Part I of my email interview with the gracious, intelligent, fiery and fabulous feminist, Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney, after reading her book: “Rumours of Our Progress Have Been Greatly Exaggerated.”… “During the years of Bush I saw a rollback, a stalling of progress on women’s issues, and in many instances an effort to roll back gains we had achieved in the ‘70s. I wanted to bring attention to the problems we continue to face and the danger that we might lose some of the civil rights protections we had struggled so hard to achieve – and more than that, I wanted to get women involved, to give them ideas of how they can work for change in their own communities. I wanted the book to serve as a wake up call, to galvanize women and like-minded men to take action to address some of the problems I talk about in the book.”
Click through for much, much more.

Blago Busted – Chicago Sun-Times

Blagojevich names Roland Burris to Obama’s Senate seat
US Senate Dems, Ill. secretary of state plan to block Blago’s choice

Burris has long history of brazenness
‘I AM A VISIONARY’ | First African American elected to statewide office cites ‘divine providence’

Why would Burris jump into toxic situation?
It is tainted fruit. Gov. Blagojevich’s bodacious handout to Roland Burris is every bit as toxic as anything he has been accused of seeking for President-elect Barack Obama’s Senate seat.

Rep. Rush does quick turnaround on seat
Rep. Bobby Rush (D-Ill.) on Dec. 9 said Gov. Blagojevich’s alleged conduct was so “heinous” that the governor should not fill President-elect Barack Obama’s U.S. Senate seat.

Davis said thanks, but no thanks to Senate seat offer
Lynn Sweet: Rep. Danny K. Davis (D-Ill.) would like to replace President-elect Barack Obama in the Senate. The appointment was dangled before him last Wednesday.
Danny Davis is my congressman.  He’s also an African American, so it’s pretty obvious the governor is using race here.

More pieces to Senate seat puzzle
Obama report helps fill in blanks in Blagojevich case

Another wiretap in Blago probe: feds also taped ex-top aide
Federal authorities had an additional, previously undisclosed wiretap in their investigation of Gov. Blagojevich — on the cellular telephone of someone in the governor’s inner circle. A new prosecution court filing indicates that, in November, authorities tapped the cell phone of “Lobbyist 1″ — identified by the Chicago Sun-Times as Lon Monk, a longtime friend and college classmate of Blagojevich who was the governor’s first-term chief of staff.

Gov’s lawyer: Tapes ‘just talk, not action’
Defense attorney Ed Genson blasted the governor’s legislative accusers for having no clear standards to boot him from office and for depriving him of the ability to present who might corroborate that Blagojevich was merely all talk and no action.

Blagojevich’s General Counsel resigns
The Blagojevich administration’s top lawyer, William J. Quinlan, resigned [Tuesday]… Quinlan has not been accused of any wrongdoing, though it is widely believed that he would be able to assist federal prosecutors in their case against Blagojevich. It is unknown whether Quinlan has agreed to cooperate in the investigation.

Gov discloses federal grand jury subpoenas
Ending a long dispute, Gov. Blagojevich has disclosed federal grand jury subpoenas issued to his administration in 2006.
Blagojevich has been under investigation for years.

Former U.S. Atty: Blagojevich appointment shows he’s ‘crazy like a fox,’ playing to future black jurors. (Think Progress)
[Tuesday], Gov. Rod Blagojevich (D-IL) appointed Roland Burris, the first African-American elected to statewide office in Illinois, to take Barack Obama’s U.S. Senate seat. Democratic leaders have indicated they are planning to block the appointment. Speculating on Blagojevich’s motives, former U.S. Attorney Kendall Coffey told CNN that the Illinois governor may be acting “crazy like a fox” and looking ahead to his own potential trial. Coffey said Blagojevich’s “conniving strategy” may be an effort to persuade future African-American jurors.
Click through to watch the video.

Blago’s Hail Mary Pass (Political Wire)
[Dan Conley, a former speechwriter for Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley and an observer of Illinois politics:]The appointment of [Roland] Burris is a pure impeachment-defense tactic from Blagojevich.  First, he’s making a public case that no crime was actually committed.  If Burris was appointed without any quid pro quo (highly likely, since Burris has no great wealth or influence), then Blagojevich can argue that all the talk about other possible appointments were just that — talk.  And talk is not a crime…

But second, and more important for Blagojevich’s survival plans, he’s chosen to play the race card. To anyone who thought that the election of Barack Obama would diminish the power of racial politics, today’s press conference was depressing — especially the appalling spectacle of Rep. Bobby Rush using the word “lynch” in reference to criticism of Burris, then Blagojevich repeating the phrase while wagging a finger at the press corp on the way out of the room.  For a Governor looking to rally support in the House and Senate to avoid impeachment or convinction, it’s a smart move.  A combination of African American and Latino Senators could be sufficient to save Blagojevich from a conviction in the Illinois Senate.  It probably won’t work, but Blagojevich has few options left.

Ill. governor must set election to replace Emanuel (AP)
CHICAGO – Rep. Rahm Emanuel said Monday that he will resign his congressional seat this week, a development that draws further attention to Illinois’ embattled governor and his role in filling vacancies in the state’s legislative delegation.

Obama online supporters key to pushing his agenda (AP)
HONOLULU – President-elect Barack Obama’s top asset in pushing his agenda will not be his Cabinet secretaries or aides, but rather his online network. Obama’s political e-mail list tops 13 million names, a digital force that the incoming White House can tap to push for his legislation, tamp down critics or bolster popular support. It’s also a way for Obama to reach into every state, every city, and every neighborhood. A study released Tuesday found that a quarter of Obama voters said they would continue to work online to support the new administration. The nonpartisan Pew Internet and American Life Project also found 62 percent of Obama’s voters say they would ask others to support Obama’s policies.
That might be great, if we had any idea what Obama’s agenda IS.  And he’s not the only politician using modern communications.  See below.

The Governator Takes to Twitter and Widgets to Pass California Budget (Mashable)
California is yet to pass Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger’s budget, intended to help correct the huge deficit the state is expected to face over the next year and a half. The Governator has apparently had enough, and is turning to social media to urge constituents of the nation’s most populus state to pressure their lawmakers in the state legislature. The “Legislature’s Failure to Act” widget features how many days the state has gone without having a budget passed, and also keeps a running ticker estimate of how much money the state is losing, modeled after the famous National Debt clock in New York that recently ran out of digits. The widget, powered by Clearspring, can be emedded on user’s websites and blogs, or posted directly to social networking profiles by clicking the “share” button:

Additionally, in case you hadn’t noticed yet, Schwarzenneger has taken to Twitter in recent months, posting links to updates about the budget crisis and promoting things like the widget. So far, his team is using the microblogging tool completely as a one-way broadcasting tool (the Governator isn’t following anyone and he has made no replies), but it’s a useful stream of information if you’re concerned about the issue. Schwarzenneger, the former movie star, fittingly has his own channel on YouTube as well.

Pew! (by lambert at Corrente)
New Pew survey about online “activism”… [Among the] key findings: “…62% of Obama voters expect that they will ask others to support the policies of the new administration over the next year…” Notice anything? The communication singled out as key is entirely top-down… Some “conversation”! Sounds more like a monologue, to me.

Obama fails to disclose transition meetings (by Lynn Sweet, Chicago Sun-Times)
The Obama team, pledging the ”most open and transparent transition in history,” gets an ”A” for disclosing donors to the Jan. 20 inauguration and a ”F” when it comes to revealing transition meetings with groups. Contrary to its own ”seat at the table transparency policy,” meetings are not posted on a Web site. I’m giving a ”B” to the Obama transition report on staff contacts with Gov. Blagojevich. The report was a summary narrative released last week of an internal inquiry into Gov. Blagojevich’s selling-of-a-Senate seat scandal. While the Obama team deserves credit for disclosure — including that President-elect Barack Obama and incoming White House staffers Valerie Jarrett and Rahm Emanuel met with federal prosecutors — offering some notes or transcripts to support the conclusions would have been helpful.

Did Barack Obama Appoint an Underqualified Political Hack & Privatizer to be Secretary of Education? (A Bruce Dixon interview at the Black Agenda Report)
The answer to the above question, is Yes, for a number of reasons. According to veteran Chicago educator and union activist George Schmidt, Education Secretary nominee Arne Duncan closed 20 elementary schools while Superintendent of Schools. “Most of them have been privatized into charter schools, and he’s closed six high schools. In all the cases I know of, the majority of the staffs of those schools who were then kicked out of union jobs and forced on the road to try to get new jobs, were majority black teachers and principals.” But Duncan has no background in education.

Arne Duncan and Neoliberal Racism (by Paul Street at the Black Agenda Report)
Barack Obama likes to play basketball with his friend Arne Duncan, but does that make Duncan worthy of the nation’s top education spot? If Obama’s appointees are a reflection of the president-elect’s own world view, this one is quite disturbing. Paul Street writes: “Privatization, union-busting (charter and contract schools operate union-free), excessive standardized testing, teacher-blaming, military schooling, and the rollback of community input on school decisions – these are the interrelated hallmarks of private school graduate Arne Duncan’s six and a half years at the helm of” the Chicago Public Schools.

Holder adds Blago link to his confirmation papers (Chicago Sun-Times)
Eric Holder — President-elect Barack Obama’s pick to head the Justice Department — has amended his Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation paperwork to include a tie to Gov. Blagojevich. That follows a report Dec. 17 in the Chicago Sun-Times disclosing that Holder had left out the fact that Blagojevich planned to appoint him in 2004 as a special investigator to the Illinois Gaming Board and that Holder had made a public appearance with the governor regarding that effort.

Obama’s Mishandling Of The Intelligence Community (by Mel Goodman at No Quarter)
During his campaign for the presidency, Barack Obama spoke out against the militarization and politicization of the intelligence community and indicated that an Obama administration would address the intelligence abuses of the past decade. Unfortunately, his maneuvers over the past several weeks strongly suggest that business as usual will dominate the president-elect’s intelligence policy. Even before the election, Obama had appointed an intelligence advisory staff that was headed by former associates of George Tenet, whose failed stewardship of CIA was dominated by the cover-up of intelligence failures before 9/11; corruption in the run-up to the Iraq War; and the CIA’s programs of rendition and detainee abuse at Agency secret prisons. Tenet’s deputy, John McLaughlin, who supported these policies, was part of Obama’s advisory group…

The retention of [Michael ] Hayden, the naming of Blair, along with the selection of retired marine general James Jones as national security adviser, indicates that Pentagon players will continue to occupy important posts in the national security process and that the de-emphasis of civilian control of the foreign policy process that the Bush administration began eight years ago will continue.
Melvin A. Goodman, senior fellow at the Center for International Policy, is a former intelligence analyst at the CIA (1966-1990) and the author of Failure of Intelligence: The Decline and Fall of the CIA. Mr. Goodman is a longtime friend of Larry Johnson’s and gave his express consent to reprint this article, originally published at Public Record.

Obama adviser: Slowing economy won’t halt tax cuts (AP)
WASHINGTON – A top adviser to President-elect Barack Obama said Sunday that the country’s slowing economy won’t keep the new administration from fulfilling its plans for a middle-class tax cut.

Still No Domestic Stimulus Plan (by Deacon Blues at The Left Coaster)
The Wall Street Journal [reported Tuesday] that congressional Democrats are already having to backslide on their timeline for a domestic stimulus package. Is this because of GOP threats to obstruct the effort? No. It’s because they still don’t have an outline of the desired package from the Obama transition team. The Democratic leadership wanted to get the incoming administration’s desired package, at least in outline form, by last week. Yet they still have nothing from Team Obama, despite weeks of discussions on the Hill with members of the transition team.

Tuesday: Liberal Great Expectations (by riverdaughter at The Confluence)
Jesse Jackson Sr. wrote a somewhat cryptic column in the Chicago Sun-Times [Tuesday] called Who Will Speak for America’s Poor?… Does anyone recall the controversy that erupted during the primaries when Hillary said that Martin Luther King’s dream of Civil Right’s legislation wasn’t enough and that President Johnson was needed to make the dream possible?…

It seems like he might actually be, um, *agreeing* with her but this time he is talking about the war on poverty: “Obama will be inaugurated one day after the holiday celebrating’s King’s birth and life. He will come with a mandate to get the economy moving, to put people back to work. And across the country, the weakest and most vulnerable Americans will be hoping that he takes up LBJ’s war on poverty, and King’s poor people’s campaign.” Yikes!  It sounds like Jackson is expecting Obama to act like a liberal… Obama and his bloggy droogs have been very busy lowering expectations and here Jesse Jackson is sticking a jack under the bus.  He’s saying that now is the time for Barack Obama to fulfill Martin Luther King’s dream and Obama, the great African-American change agent, won’t have any excuses. Damn him and his rainbow ponies.

Great Meltdown Followed by Great Theft (by Glen Ford at the Black Agenda Report)
In the brief space of three months, the Bush regime’s response to the [financial meltdown], with Barack Obama’s blessing, has been at least as lawless, chaotic and secretive as the decades of Wall Street debaucheries that created the crisis in the first place. The U.S. Congress was essentially terrorized into forking over $700 billion to George Bush’s extortionist Treasury Secretary, Henry Paulson, on pain of imminent socio-economic collapse and martial law. Paulson immediately pulled a switch, sending the money directly to his banking and insurance friends instead of buying up toxic securities, as the Congress intended. Simultaneously, the Federal Reserve seized full overlordship of the nation’s current and future wealth, creating trillions of dollars in new money at will with no accountability to anyone. More than $8 trillion of the people’s money has been set in motion – into whose pockets, nobody knows.

The Big Bailout Lessons (by Harold Meyerson)
One of the major lessons of the year is that unregulated and underregulated capitalism ends up confronting democratic governments with a subprime choice: Either let a major institution go down and watch as chaos follows (the Lehman option) or funnel gobs of the public’s money into such institutions to avoid such Lehman-like chaos… When the American financial industry came tumbling down this year, the laissez-faire ideologues of this most ideological administration indulged their ideology just once, allowing Lehman to go under. Thereafter, as one giant institution after another tottered under the weight of dubious deals, the administration tossed ideology out the window and funneled money to the banks.

Laissez faire be damned, the ideologues concluded: When handed a Lehman, make Lehman aid. The lesson for 2009 couldn’t be clearer: To avoid nationalization, you need regulation. [Emphasis added.]

More Creative Economics on the Washington Post Oped Page (by Dean Baker)
During the years when the housing bubble was growing to ever more dangerous levels the Washington Post could never find room for an oped piece warning of its dangers. There were so many more issues that were more important than an $8 trillion housing bubble. However, just over three months ago the Post did find room for a piece telling readers that the economy was really just fine and that the people complaining were a bunch of whiners. In this proud tradition, the Post has an oped column today by Amity Schlaes that tells readers the best way to deal with the economic downturn is to cut the corporate income tax and virtually eliminate the capital gains tax.

The Washington Post Is Still Missing the Housing Bubble (by Dean Baker)
An article on the latest Case-Shiller data on house prices noted that the October index shows prices falling back to their 2004 level. The article blamed the decline on the recession… Obviously the recession was a factor in the decline … in house prices, but the main story is that the housing bubble is in the process of deflating. The inflation-adjusted level of the Case-Shiller index is still considerably higher than its mid-90s level, which implies that prices still have some way to fall before getting back in line with long-term trends.

NYT Wrongly Focuses on Credit Crunch, Not Economy (by Dean Baker)
The NYT was better than almost everyone else in occasionally noting the housing bubble on the way up, but it still is having difficulty coming to grips with the implications of its collapse. It told readers that the economy’s prospects in 2009 will depend on the unlocking of credit. Really? Do they expect consumption to rebound to its pre-crisis levels if credit is unfrozen? What theory of consumption do they have where spending is unaffected by the loss of $6 trillion in housing wealth and $8 trillion in stock market wealth… In short, there is literally no coherent story that can be told under which ending the credit crunch will lead to a rebound in 2009.

No Economic Recovery Without Downsizing the Military (by Glen Ford at the Black Agenda Report)
The U.S. cannot pay for recovery and fund its wars, too. Barack Obama must choose between the imperial military and saving what’s left of the economy.

Chrysler, GM Blow Half a Million on Thank-You Ads (Advertising Age)
Can SOMEONE Help These People With PR?

Helping those who need it: Congress gets a raise Thursday (McClatchy)
WASHINGTON — Members of Congress have at least one reason to ring in the new year: They’ve given themselves a $4,700-a-year pay raise starting Thursday.
Can someone help THESE people with PR?

Action Alert: Vote for single payer on Obama’s website (by DCblogger at Corrente)
Letter from Healthcare-Now!… Until December 31st, 2008, we have the opportunity to use the Obama web site to vote your support for the single-payer position. The Obama transition team is soliciting questions from the public via their web site… Visitors may “vote” for the best questions, which will then be responded to by the Obama team. As of this writing, single-payer questions have been voted #2 and #3 under the “health care” section. Please help us vote them to the top and send a strong message to the Obama team and the new Congress that the American public favors single payer, not incremental band-aids.
Click through for instructions on voting and a link.

Katrina and Bush (by Paul Krugman)

So everyone is talking about the Vanity Fair article in which Bush aides say that Katrina is what did him in. I don’t think that’s entirely true, but what I’d like to focus on is why Katrina was such a problem for Bush. Above are two photos. The second one shows Bush flying over New Orleans; it was widely regarded as a PR disaster, because he seemed so disconnected. But it looks an awful lot like the first photo, of Bush on Air Force One on 9/11. And that photo was considered a wonderful picture of leadership in action — so much so that there was a mini-scandal when the GOP started selling copies of that photo for political fundraising… So why didn’t it work? I think the answer is simple: in the case of Katrina people could actually see the results of Bush policy… [F]or the first time its failures were visible to all.

Action: Call NBC (Media Matters for America)
Despite Ann Coulter’s long and well-documented history of controversial statements, NBC has once again reportedly invited her to promote her latest book on its airwaves. On Fox News’ Hannity & Colmes, during a segment in which she called President-elect Barack Obama an “atheist” and asked if “we could get all of his aliases before he’s sworn in on the Quran,” Coulter announced that she is scheduled to appear on the January 6, 2009, broadcast of NBC’s Today.
Actually, Obama does have a lot of aliases.  Nevertheless, Ann Coulter is so far out of the mainstream that she shouldn’t be given a free platform on broadcast TV.

NY Times Sued Over McCain Affair Story (The Smoking Gun)
[Washington lobbyist Vicki] Iseman alleges that while a Times investigation turned up no “credible evidence” of a romantic relationship between her and McCain, the newspaper published its story in the face of ”pressure” from the Drudge Report and The New Republic, which both became aware of reported internal “resistance” at the Times to the publication of the McCain-Iseman story. In seeking to avoid being scooped on their own story, the Times committed “an act of callous indifference to human decency and human dignity,” Iseman contends.

62 Journalists Killed in 2008 (Reporters Without Borders)
In its annual tally of journalist mistreatment, Reporters Without Borders has found that 62 journalists (including one blogger and one media assistant) were murdered in the past year, down from 86 in 2007. Over 700 journalists were arrested in 2008, and nearly 1000 were physically attacked.

Deborah Taylor Tate, Republican FCC Commissioner, Steps Down
FCC commissioner Deborah Tate has announced her resignation. Tate, a Republican, has served three years on the five-member Federal Communications Commission. Tate’s departure had been expected, as her term of office had expired and she had not been reconfirmed by Congress.

Judge Delays Ruling on Blocking Release of ‘Watchmen’ Film
A superhero movie may not reach theaters on its scheduled date after a federal judge said that he might block the film’s release because of an ownership dispute.

Bad Year for Media Stocks
The shares of most of THR’s Showbiz 50 components will end 2008 down in the double-digit percentage range amid a deepening global recession and the continued fallout from the financial crisis. The index is down 43% year-to-date through Tuesday.

2008′s Media Winners? (Jossip)
There’s no two ways about it: it’s been a bad, bad year for the media industry. Nevertheless, amid the bloody carnage and chaos, there were some media winners this year. Here are the precious few who not only survived, but thrived in 2008. Whether your cheer them or await their downfall is all up to you.

Auld Lang Syne: A look back at our best-read stories of 2008 (McClatchy)
There are many ways to recall 2008. The first African-American president. The worst economic crisis since the Great Depression. But how about that naked lady in Dick Cheney’s sunglasses? Or that woman who asked Obama about his lapel flag pin during the ABC debate? Or China’s anger at Bill O’Reilly? Those topics were among the 25 stories that were the most-read by McClatchy Web readers. What better way to remember 2008 than revisiting what readers found most interesting?

Larry Flynt in Family Battle Over Media Company’s Name
Larry Flynt, the wheelchair-bound publisher of Hustler magazine, is locked in a bitter legal dispute with nephews Jimmy Flynt II and Dustin Flynt to block them from starting a new adult-entertainment video company that the duo want to call Flynt Media.

Village Voice Lays Off Nat Hentoff and 2 Others
Three writers were laid off, including Nat Hentoff, the prominent columnist who has worked for the paper since 1958, contributing opinionated columns about jazz, civil liberties and politics.

NYT Is ‘Indispensable’ (by Peter Osnos at the Century Foundation)
It is easy and satisfying to be a critic of the Times. But The New York Times accomplishes so much, in so many ways, every day, that on scale alone, its role as a chronicler is indispensable. What matters most though is its core values as a gatherer and interpreter of news.
Would someone please save me from reading this article and tell me what it says, other than the ridiculousness quoted above?

Publisher Cancels Rosenblat Kids Book
The publisher of Herman Rosenblat’s children’s book has now pulled the book from stores and is offering refunds. In September, Minneapolis-based Lerner Books released Angel Girl, which was based on the story of Roma throwing young Herman apples over the fence of a concentration camp.

Investors tuned out radio in 08.
Like the Dow Jones average, and most other stocks, radio stocks took a beating in 2008. Market leaders Clear Channel, Citadel, Cumulus, Cox, Radio One, Emmis, even Arbitron, all had huge losses.

Viacom to Pull Networks From Time Warner Cable
Viacom Inc on Tuesday said it will pull its cable television networks, including Nickelodeon, Comedy Central, and MTV, off Time Warner Cable if the companies do not reach a deal on carriage fees by Jan. 1. Viacom said it is seeking a fee increase of less than 25 cents per month per subscriber.
The channels affected are running messages for people to call their cable providers to protest.

Fox News, CNN and MSNBC see record ratings in 2008
After a year of explosive audience growth, the cable news channels head into 2009 buoyed by record ratings, a rare bright spot in what has otherwise been a gloomy media season. Thanks largely to avid interest in the historic presidential campaign, all of the networks scored their largest prime-time viewership in history this year — though they suffered a steep drop in viewers after the election. Fox News racked up its seventh straight year as the most-watched cable news channel, delivering an average prime-time viewership of 2.1 million, 40% more than 2007, according to data released Tuesday by Nielsen Media Research. CNN placed second with 1.3 million, up 69%, while MNSBC drew 920,000, a boost of 82%.

2010 Pro Bowl Moving to ESPN
The 2010 NFL Pro Bowl is the latest major sporting event to make the jump to cable. ESPN will televise the game which has been a yearly staple on broadcast networks with NFL rights. Fox will broadcast the next one in 2009.

Boring Holidays = Social Networking Extravaganza (Mashable)
There are a lot of reasons that social networks experience a bump in traffic during the holidays. For one, lots of people are off from work or school. Moreover, there simply isn’t that much else going on – a slowdown in email and news means more time to loiter around your favorite online hangouts. This year has been no exception, as Hitwise breaks down the numbers. According to the analytics firm, Facebook saw record traffic this Christmas, with 1 in every 22 websites visited in the UK going to the social network. Overall, that made the site the second most popular online destination in the UK during the holiday, behind only Google.

Consumers Union To Buy Gawker’s Consumerist.com (Paid Content)
Consumers Union is buying Consumerist.com from Gawker Media, according to the New York Times—meshing the non-profit publisher’s interest in expanding its reach to a younger online crowd 

Twitter — The New Focus Group?
So, seems like Twitter may be the new low-cost focus group. This according to an AdvertisingAge story by Lee Mikles, CEO and founder of The Archer Group. The short article references the impact that Twitter had on a new product that a CPG client did not put advertising dollars behind. After watching the tweets, the CPG client then put advertising dollars behind the new product and saw significantly better performance (55% higher click-through rate) relative to the rest of the campaign. Just one example of growing impact and power of social networking, and obviously with Twitter, the natural impact of mobile on advertiser and marketers.

Music Companies May Partner with Hulu for Video Site (Media Bistro)
Last week, there was a story that major music labels, fed up with the paltry advertising revenues generated from their partnership with YouTube, were looking to band together to form a Hulu-eque site for music videos. Well, this week it looks as if they might just join up with Hulu altogether. Now the Financial Times is reporting that partnering with Hulu itself is not only an possibility, but it’s a very likely option… This would be a major blow to YouTube, which, despite having massive traffic numbers, makes around the same amount of money in advertising as the much smaller Hulu. Hulu’s approach to focus on high-production value content has paid off, earning them more per view than YouTube. The music companies heading to Hulu shows that the content owners value the quality and the control that Hulu’s model offers over the user-generated approach that YouTube was taking.

Hulu’s content is not readily available on most mobile devices, unlike YouTube, which has almost native support in the iPhone operating system.

Ad Agencies Fashion Their Own Horn, and Toot It
A blog about Michelle Obama’s clothes shows how agencies are moving from promoting to creating brands.

Top 30 iPhone Apps for Organization and Productivity (Mashable)
So it’s almost the new year, and you want to start being more organized and productive, right? Well we’ve put together a list of great iPhone apps to help you manage your tasks, track your time, store passwords, and stay organized. With these 30 apps you can create to do lists, invoice for contract work, access your computer remotely, manage all your online accounts in one place, print files to your phone, and more. We’re hoping that these handy apps can make 2009 the most productive year for you and your mobile lifestyle.

Stream Live TV To Your BlackBerry
Noted over on the BlackBerryCool blog… SlingPlayer [lets] you watch and manipulate the TV and DVR in your home remotely (be sure you have an unlimited mobile data plan!). A number of devices in this beta release including the Bold, Curve, and Pearl are supported. The Storm, however, is not listed as supported.

Israel mulls truce offer on Day 4 of Gaza assault
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip – Israel is considering suspending its Gaza offensive to give Hamas militants an opening to halt their rocket fire, but the threat of a ground offensive remains if the truce does not hold, an Israeli defense official said Tuesday.

Pat Bagley

Defiant Hamas hits Israel with dozens of rockets
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip – Palestinian militants sent a deadly barrage of missiles flying deep into Israel on Monday, demonstrating that Hamas still had firepower three days into Israel’s punishing air offensive in Gaza. Three Israelis were killed and two seriously wounded.

Hezbollah watches for now as Israel hits Hamas
BEIRUT, Lebanon – Lebanon’s powerful Hezbollah guerrilla movement — widely seen as the Arab world’s most effective force against Israel — is a staunch Hamas supporter but has so far held its fire as its Palestinian ally faces down Israel’s assault in Gaza.

Across Mideast, thousands protest Israeli assault
BEIRUT, Lebanon – Crowds of thousands swept into the streets of cities around the Middle East on Sunday to shout down Israel’s air assault on Hamas targets in the Gaza Strip.

Shoe-throwing Iraqi journalist’s trial postponed
BAGHDAD – The trial of a journalist who has been hailed as a hero in the Arab world after throwing his shoes at President George W. Bush was postponed on Tuesday pending a review of the case by a higher court, a spokesman for Iraq’s Higher Judicial Council said.

Iranian group recruits volunteers to fight Israel
TEHRAN, Iran – A group of influential conservative Iranian clerics launched an online registration drive on Monday seeking volunteers to fight against Israel in response to its air assault on the Gaza Strip. About 3,550 people registered Monday with the Combatant Clergy Society’s Web site. The weeklong online campaign gives volunteers three options on ways they can fight Israel: military, financial and propaganda.

Afghanistan, US consider ‘community’ security forces
KABUL(AFP) – Afghanistan and the United States are mulling the creation of unarmed community guards to help defend against insurgents as troops cannot be deployed in every village, the US ambassador said Tuesday.

Pakistan closes US supply route to hit militants
PESHAWAR, Pakistan – Pakistan closed the main route used to ferry supplies to U.S. and allied troops in Afghanistan on Tuesday after launching a fresh offensive against militants in the area.

Bomb kills 26 at polling station in NW Pakistan
PESHAWAR, Pakistan – A suicide bomber pretending to need help with his car killed 26 people in northwest Pakistan on Sunday, officials said, underscoring concerns that militant violence near the Afghan border could escalate now that Pakistan is shifting troops away from the region toward India.

Pakistan: India moves troops toward shared border
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan – Pakistan said Tuesday that India had moved troops toward their shared border, following Islamabad‘s own redeployment of forces toward the frontier amid tensions over the Mumbai attacks.

Pro-India parties to take power in Indian Kashmir
NEW DELHI – A pro-India coalition will head the Kashmir state government, ending nearly six months of federal administration that saw deadly protests against New Delhi’s rule, leaving more than 50 people dead.

Bangladesh elections said to be free and fair
DHAKA, Bangladesh – Bangladesh’s first election in seven years — which returned former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to power in a landslide — was largely free and fair, observers said Tuesday in a positive omen for the country long plagued by corruption and misrule.

Suicide bomber kills 8 near Sri Lankan capital
COLOMBO, Sri Lanka – A suspected Tamil rebel suicide bomber killed at least seven troops and one civilian in a blast at a guard post near the Sri Lankan capital on Sunday, authorities said. Another 17 people, including four civilians, were wounded.

Thai PM says his goal is to heal political divide
BANGKOK, Thailand – Anti-government protesters abandoned their siege of Thailand’s Foreign Ministry building on Tuesday, easing a standoff that threatened to re-ignite a long-running political crisis.

SKorean lawmakers ordered to end protest
SEOUL, South Korea – The speaker of parliament threatened Tuesday to send in guards to forcibly remove opposition lawmakers camped out inside the National Assembly to prevent ratification of a free trade deal with the U.S.

Taiwan court sends former president back to jail
TAIPEI, Taiwan – A Taiwan court ordered former President Chen Shui-bian returned to jail Tuesday pending trial on corruption charges, accepting prosecutors’ arguments that he be locked up to prevent him fleeing or colluding with alleged coconspirators.

Mexicans return home for migrant truck parade
JALPAN DE SERRA, Mexico – Organizers of central Mexico’s annual parade of tricked-out “trocas,” or trucks, say more migrants are returning to their homeland, and many are planning to stay for a while.

Police detain Brazil rancher linked to Stang death
BRASILIA, Brazil – Brazilian police on Friday detained a rancher suspected in the slaying of rain forest activist Dorothy Stang for allegedly illegally acquiring titles to land the U.S. nun died trying to defend.

In Chile, 3 more false dirty-war victims
SANTIAGO, Chile – Three more people listed as missing victims of the nation’s dictatorship have either been located or died under unrelated circumstances.

Over 400 Cubans wait to seek Spanish citizenship
HAVANA – More than 400 Cubans of Spanish ancestry mobbed that country’s stately embassy in Havana on Monday, waiting to apply for citizenship under the newly enacted “law of grandchildren.”

British opposition leader calls for 2009 election
LONDON – Britain’s opposition leader on Tuesday urged Prime Minister Gordon Brown to call an election in 2009, saying the country needs a chance to choose between their competing economic plans.

Doctors could get Internet post reviews: minister
LONDON (AFP) – Patients could soon rate their doctors by posting reviews on an official health service website, Health Minister Ben Bradshaw said in comments published Tuesday.

Russia braced for unrest
Russia is bracing for further unrest as the rouble on Friday slid to a new low against the euro after a succession of moves to devalue its currency. A cut on Friday extended six weeks of devaluations by Russia’s central bank designed to offset the impact of the global economic crisis and falling oil prices as the country’s main export commodity approached its lowest level since 2004. Mikhail Gorbachev, the former Soviet leader, warned Russia faced “unprecedentedly difficult and dangerous circumstances” and could be “heading into a black hole”. “It is not clear what the fate of our rouble will be or if society has sufficient financial and moral resources,” he said.

Russia: Law signed to extend presidential terms
MOSCOW – Russia’s President Dmitry Medvedev signed a law extending presidential terms from four years to six on Tuesday in a move seen as paving the way for Vladimir Putin’s return to the presidency.

Ukraine says it will pay off gas debt
KIEV, Ukraine – Ukraine’s gas company Naftogaz said Tuesday it would pay $1.5 billion to settle its debt for Russian gas imports and avoid a threatened New Year’s cutoff of natural gas deliveries.

Guinea coup leader names civilian prime minister
CONAKRY, Guinea – Coup leaders in Guinea named a civilian banker as prime minister Tuesday, making good on a key promise a week after seizing power upon the death of the country’s long-time dictator.

Ghana: Narrow lead for opposition candidate
ACCRA, Ghana – Opposition leader John Atta Mills was leading in Ghana‘s presidential election Monday, and his supporters poured into the streets to claim victory after a local radio station said he would be the West African nation’s next leader.

Officials: Ebola virus outbreak kills 11 in Congo
KINSHASA, Congo – An Ebola virus outbreak has killed 11 people in western Congo, the health minister said.

Zimbabwean activists in court in Mugabe plot case
HARARE, Zimbabwe – A prominent Zimbabwean activist and 31 others — some with bloodied and swollen faces — appeared in court Monday in connection with an alleged plot to oust President Robert Mugabe by force.

1 year after Kenya vote, tensions still high
NAIROBI, Kenya – Mary Macharia will never go home again, even though a year has passed since ethnic tensions flared into violence after Kenya‘s deeply flawed presidential election.

Attack on Somali market amid political crisis
MOGADISHU, Somalia – Mortars slammed into a busy market in Somalia‘s capital Tuesday, witnesses said, as the country’s weak government crumbled and the impending pullout of allied Ethiopian troops raised fears that Islamic insurgents might seize the opportunity to take over.

Gov: Rice works phones aggressively on Gaza crisis
WASHINGTON – Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on Tuesday kept up steady U.S. calls for a “durable and sustainable,” but not necessarily immediate, cease-fire to end Israel’s assault on Gaza and rocket attacks by Palestinian militants based there.

Population up 2.7 million this year
The United States will enter 2009 with 305,529,237 residents, the Census Bureau estimated on Monday. That’s an increase of 2,743,429 this year.

SEC halts alleged $23 million Ponzi scheme
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. securities regulators obtained an emergency court order to stop an alleged Ponzi scheme that collected more than $23 million from thousands of investors in Florida’s Haitian-American community, the Securities and Exchange Commission said on Tuesday.

Postal Service lifts curtain on next year’s stamps
WASHINGTON – Lucy and Ethel lose their struggle with a chocolate assembly line. Joe Friday demands “just the facts” with a penetrating gaze. A secret word brings Groucho a visit from a duck.

Group sues to reinstate firearms ban
WASHINGTON – The Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence is suing to stop a last-second Bush administration change that would allow people to carry concealed, loaded guns in most national parks and wildlife refuges.

Murders of Black Teens Are Up Sharply
A rise of over 39% was reported in murders of African-American teens since 2000 and 2001, according to a new study.

Wall Street gains as GMAC gets financing
NEW YORK – Wall Street showed more signs of stability Tuesday after Washington’s latest lifeline to the auto industry bolstered hopes that the government will keep taking whatever steps are necessary to cut short the recession.

Consumer confidence and home prices hit grim records
NEW YORK (Reuters) – The U.S. economy continued its run of record-breaking dismal data Tuesday, with consumer confidence and home prices registering a pair of grim milestones.

Crude Oil Rises as Israeli Attacks on Gaza Roil Middle East
rude oil rose above $40 a barrel after Israeli air strikes in the Gaza Strip raised concern that supply from the Middle East, the world’s largest producing region, may be disrupted.

Day-after-Christmas shopping falls short
Despite bargains, clearance prices, many malls quiet; but Amazon reports ‘best ever’ season

Parent Company, a Retailer, Files for Bankruptcy
The Parent Company, an Internet retailer of children’s products, apparently became the first well-known retailer to file for Chapter 11 protection after Christmas.

Less interest means more mortgages for homeowners
Many Kansas City homeowners, and some buyers too, are celebrating the holiday season with a welcome gift from the Federal Reserve Bank — a big drop in mortgage rates.

Florida proposes tough new rules for mortgage brokers
After months of stinging criticism for letting crooks and con artists prey on Florida borrowers, regulators have proposed sweeping changes in state law that would make Florida one of the most tightly regulated mortgage markets in the country.

Permanent link to MTA daily media news

Bush Refuses To Interrupt His Final Vacation As Middle East Crisis Escalates (Think Progress)
In an effort to “prevent Palestinians from attacking towns in southern Israel with missiles,” Israel [Monday] undertook its third day of offensive military airstrikes in the Palestinian territory of Gaza, raising the death toll to more than 300… Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak called the situation “all out war.” While Bush has been briefed on the situation by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley, he has opted not to interrupt his final vacation as president to make a public statement on the crisis.
Um, need I say that Obama ALSO refused to interrupt his vacation for the Middle East crisis?  Or that he, too, has been briefed by Rice?  Or that he, too, has not made a public statement on the crisis?

Huffington Post

MY vote for president went to someone who has convictions, and who lives them:
McKinney relief boat rammed by Israeli navy (Atlanta Journal-Constitution)
A boat carrying international peace activists, including former Georgia congresswoman Cynthia McKinney, and medical supplies to the embattled Gaza Strip sailed back into a Lebanese port on Tuesday after being turned back and damaged by the Israeli navy, organizers of the trip said. The crowds on the docks in the Lebanese port city of Tyre were jubilant and cheering as they welcomed the vessel.

How You Can Help (by Susie at Suburban Guerrilla)
Medical supplies badly needed in Gaza. If you want to help, click here for details. “As the situation stands, Palestinian doctors are performing surgeries without surgical gloves, local or general anesthetics, gauze, sterilized equipment or sufficient oxygen for patients…” Because Americans who send supplies may be convicted of a federal crime, our only options are to donate to organizations in other countries, including Physicians for Human Rights-Israel, who is making a Gaza Emergency Appeal.

David Gregory shows why he’s the perfect replacement for Tim Russert (by Glenn Greenwald at Unclaimed Territory, Salon)
To see what Cheney aide Cathie Martin meant when she explained that Cheney knew he could go on Meet the Press and “control the message” — and to see in action David Gregory’s model of sycophantic, unchallenging “journalism” — one could do no better than to examine Gregory’s embarrassingly deferential “interview” yesterday with Israel’s Foreign Minister, Tzipi Livni.  It’s a perfect template for how our American press corps (with some rare exceptions) functions.

Whatever one’s views are on Israel’s attack on Gaza — pro, con or otherwise — there’s no denying that it’s an extremely controversial matter — at least it is in the world that exists outside of mainstream American political discourse.  Even within Israel, there are scathing criticisms of what the Israeli Government is doing — on both strategic and moral grounds.  Yet none of those objections made their way into David Gregory’s interview of Livni.  He didn’t present her with a single argument against the Israeli attack.  He didn’t challenge a single word she uttered.  He was even more sycophantic with her than the average American journalist is with the average American political leader.
Click through to read a transcript of the interview.

Zbigniew Brzezinski on Gaza conflict (video)
Dec. 30: ‘Morning Joe’ host Joe Scarborough discusses the escalating conflict in the Mideast with former National Security Advisor Zbigniew Brzezinski.
Watch Zbig tell Joe “You know, you have such a stunningly superficial knowledge of what went on that it’s almost embarrassing to listen to you.”  Zbig’s daughter Mika, as you may know, is the foil/co-host of the program.

The Third Rail (by Susie at Suburban Guerrilla)
Some signs of change in the blogosphere in the discussion over Israel and the Gaza war. In addition to the fine work of Glenn Greenwald, Jane Hamsher notes the pushback from Time’s Joe Klein; Open Left is home to some of the most thoughtful discussions around; and Greg Mitchell, editor of Editor & Publisher, is pushing the media to do their jobs… I don’t know what the solution is for the Middle East. But we won’t find it unless people are able to have a free and open discussion without being painted with the antisemitism brush. And while I don’t have any answers, I do know inhumanity when I see it.
Gee, do you think we might finally have a free and open discussion about an important issue, without resorting to calling each other names?  Can we disagree without being disagreeable?

Axelrove: We Have Always Been At War With EastAsia. (by madamab at The Confluence)
In July, I remarked upon the Orwellian nature of the Obama campaign. And why shouldn’t they be Orwellian – they have copied KKKarl Rove’s playbook down to the last semicolon, and La Turd Blossom has certainly been a fan of the visionary 1984 author… But no worries – we need not miss Rove and Bush for long. Here comes KKKarl’s younger, hairier brother, with his latest logic-twisting assertions. “‘You have a conservative evangelical pastor who’s coming to participate in the inauguration of a progressive president,’ Axelrod said from Chicago. ‘This is a healthy thing and a good thing for our country. We have to find ways to work together on the things on which we do agree, even when we profoundly disagree on other things.’”…

May I ask the LGBT Obama supporters out there what Obama has ever done for gay rights? Anyone? Bueller? In fact, his position on gay marriage is the same as Rick Warren’s. Oh, Mr. Obama may not compare it to pedophilia, polygamy or other aberrations, like Rick Warren did; but when Barack Obama’s voice was used in robocalls to tell his supporters in California to vote for Proposition 8, where was Mr. Obama’s protest? Why did he not vigorously state that using his voice in that context was wrong? Well, because as he has stated often, Barack Obama opposes same-sex marriage. Feeling hopey-changey yet, LGBT community?

Matt Davies

Responsibility (by Joseph Cannon at Cannonfire)
[Regarding the excerpt just above the cartoon:] At what point does a refusal to state “vigorously” your opposition to something being done by your supporters translate into an endorsement of the questionable activities of your supporters?

That question was at the heart of my falling away from Obama, and from the party, during the 2008 primaries. Daily Kos and the other progressive blogs, acting as instruments of the Obama campaign, ran the filthiest, most unforgivable propaganda barrage against Hillary Clinton and Sarah Palin in the history of American political odium. Barack Obama did not personally spread filth except on a few occasions, as when he extended his middle finger to the former First Lady. But he said not one word against the filth-peddlers who ran his cult of personality. Can he really escape responsibility?

Monday: Live by the, you know, sword… (by riverdaughter at The Confluence)
Dear Caroline, … If your brother were asking to fill Hillary’s seat, we wouldn’t be having this conversation.  He would have been *well* qualified.  It wouldn’t have mattered a bit to New Yorkers how many times he had failed the bar exam.  He would have been a son of a president and we would have all passed pictures around the web of him saluting at his father’s funeral.  Little girls didn’t salute.  See, even at 3 years old, he had more in penis years than you did as his senior by 3 years. The drubbing that you are getting in the court of public opinion is an unintended consequence of your ill-considered endorsement of Barack Obama… [Y]ou have helped to set the bar so incredibly high for women candidates that it may be hard to find any woman in NY who will be able to meet the new standards set for them…

It was unfair to Hillary and Sarah and Linda Stender and every other woman who ran this year and lost.  It’s not fair to any of us that we can be reduced to a bunch of “you knows” and “I can see Russia from my house!” and “why didn’t Hillary cry for Katrina?”.  Now, Caroline Kennedy, that second in line to the throne after her younger brother, is going to be subjected to the same sexism and misogynism that reduced Hillary from one of the most powerful women in the world and Sarah from the governor of a crucial oil state with two international borders to charicatures of the calculating uber-bitch and brainless beauty queen respectively… I hear, you know, you are a lawyer.   Like, really?  You’d never know it from the press you’re getting. You know. Sincerely, RD
Except I don’t think that Caroline will be treated as badly as Hillary and Sarah.  She’ll be made to look silly, but she won’t be made into a vicious harpy.  It’s a class thing, you see.

Impeachment panel offered tapes on Blagojevich (Reuters)
Prosecutors agreed on Monday to provide an impeachment panel with tape-recordings in which investigators say Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich is heard scheming to sell the powers of his office. Patrick Fitzgerald, the U.S. Attorney in Chicago, said he will ask a judge next week for permission to turn over redacted versions of four intercepted conversations in which investigators say Blagojevich is heard talking about exchanging state funding and contracts for campaign contributions.

Eligibility remains focus of Supremes’ conferences (WorldNetDaily)
A second conference has been posted on the docket for the U.S. Supreme Court over the issue of Barack Obama’s eligibility to occupy the White House, this one scheduled a week after Congress is to review the Electoral College vote tabulation. The latest issue posted is a request for an injunction on the election results pending the resolution of a petition for a writ of certiorari filed by attorney Philip J. Berg, a case that is docketed for a similar conference among the justices on Jan. 9… [M]ore than a dozen lawsuits have been filed over Obama’s eligibility to assume the office of the president, many have been dismissed, while others remain pending. The cases, in various ways, have alleged Obama does not meet the “natural born citizen” clause of the U.S. Constitution, Article 2, Section 1…

“Should Senator Obama be discovered, after he takes office, to be ineligible for the Office of President of the United States of America and, thereby, his election declared void,” argues the Alan Keyes case pending in California, “Americans will suffer irreparable harm in that (a) usurper will be sitting as the President of the United States, and none of the treaties, laws, or executive orders signed by him will be valid or legal.”
WorldNetDaily is a conservative rag, but they’re not lying in this article, as best I can tell.  Keyes states what worries me the most.  If we don’t settle this matter, every action Obama takes as president will be questioned, as to its legality.

MSNBC Host: It wouldn’t be ‘funny’ if someone called me ‘Tamron Hall the Magic Negro Anchor Lady.’ (Think Progress)
[Tuesday] on MSNBC, anchor Tamron Hall hosted a segment discussing RNC chair candidate Chip Saltsman’s Christmas greeting this year that contained a CD with the song “Barack the Magic Negro” on it. During the discussion, Kate Obenshain, vice president of Young America’s Foundation, defended the song, calling it “a parody.” But Hall, an African-American, quickly interjected, saying there is nothing “funny or amusing” about it… Hall later told Obenshain, “you’re not going to win a lot of people over calling them ‘Magic Negros.’”
Somehow, I don’t think attracting black people to the Republican Party was the reason behind the song.  Click through to watch the video.

The Barack the Magic Negro brouhaha (by J –SOM at Liberal Rapture)
Many people are angry about the lyrics below sung to the tune of Puff the Magic Dragon: “Barack the Magic Negro lives in D.C. / The L.A. Times, they called him that / ‘Cause he’s not authentic like me…” The rest of the song can be heard here. It is okay as far as satire goes. Not great. A little funny… I don’t see how this little piece of mockery crosses any line… In fact , until the end of the clip the entire song is mocking white liberals. Therein lies the real issue. The media reaction that makes this “news” (it is not) comes from whites who do not like being called out for what is an obvious truth: they voted for BHO in part because he’s black…

Obama consciously presented himself as a safe black man to whites. It was part of his plan. I, for one, reserve the right to mock the President of the United States and his fan base regardless of their race. The end of the clip dives into some mockery of Sharpton… Meanwhile a pastor who said all gays were child molesters and Jews would burn in hell will be giving the blessing at the inauguration. To THAT many of the same white liberals are yelping for gays and lesbians to “get over it.” Among the chattering “liberals” some victims of oppression are more worthy than others this year. Women, Jews, and gays get thine arses to the back of the bus and SHUT UP! 

Little Town Beseeches Obama’s Health Chief (New York Times)
DUBLIN, Ind. — Former Senator Tom Daschle, whom President-elect Barack Obama has called the “lead architect” of the new administration’s efforts to expand health insurance and rein in medical costs, attended a community meeting Monday where he got an earful about expenses that were too high and coverage that was too little… The gathering here in this small eastern Indiana town was one of thousands on health care being held around the country at the behest of the Obama transition, and the first attended by Mr. Daschle, whom Mr. Obama has chosen to be secretary of health and human services and director of the new White House Office of Health Reform.
I REALLY hate to be so cynical, but how can we expect Tom Daschle to put together anything that will solve the real problem—insurance companies?  He and his wife are both lobbyists for those very companies.

Webb Sets His Sights On Prison Reform (Washington Post)
This spring, [Sen. James] Webb (D-Va.) plans to introduce legislation on a long-standing passion of his: reforming the U.S. prison system. Jails teem with young black men who later struggle to rejoin society, he says. Drug addicts and the mentally ill take up cells that would be better used for violent criminals. And politicians have failed to address this costly problem for fear of being labeled “soft on crime.” It is a gamble for Webb, a fiery and cerebral Democrat from a staunchly law-and-order state. Virginia abolished parole in 1995, and it trails only Texas in the number of people it has executed. Moreover, as the country struggles with two wars overseas and an ailing economy, overflowing prisons are the last thing on many lawmakers’ minds.

But Webb has never been one to rely on polls or political indicators to guide his way. He seems instead to charge ahead on projects that he has decided are worthy of his time, regardless of how they play — or even whether they represent the priorities of the state he represents.
Good for Webb.  I wish our next president felt the same way.

Study: Premarital abstinence pledges are ineffective. (Think Progress)
A cornerstone of many abstinence-only programs is the concept of virginity pledges, which encourages “children as young as 9 to promise to wait until marriage to have sex.” But a new study from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health finds that “teenagers who pledge to remain virgins until marriage are just as likely to have premarital sex as those who do not promise abstinence and are significantly less likely to use condoms and other forms of birth control when they do”… [This] study isn’t the first to indicate that virginity pledges are ineffective. In 2005, a study by Yale and Columbia University researchers found that “adolescents who pledge to remain virgins until marriage are more likely to substitute high-risk sexual behaviors that increase the likelihood of transmitting sexually transmitted diseases.”

Republican McConnell Seeks to Slow Economic Stimulus Measure (Bloomberg)
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said he wants to slow consideration of an economic stimulus package that Democrats are hoping to send to President- elect Barack Obama soon after he takes office. McConnell yesterday called for giving lawmakers and the public at least one week to review the legislation once it has been written. He said he wanted Senate committee hearings on the measure, rather than immediate floor consideration.
Well, that’s a switch.  McConnell helped push through every poorly considered initiative that Bush ever sent to Congress.  I agree that legislators ought to read and debate before they pass legislation, but somehow I don’t think that’s really what McConnell is talking about.  I’ll be he’s signaling that the Republicans are going to obstruct everything the Obama administration tries to pass through Congress.

US Treasury throws 6-billion-dollar lifeline to GMAC (AFP)
The US Treasury unveiled a six-billion-dollar package Monday to assist GMAC, the troubled financial arm ofGeneral Motors seen as vital to the survival of America’s largest automaker. The Treasury said in a statement it would purchase five billion dollars in senior preferred equity with an eight percent dividend from GMAC, which is also partially owned by Chrysler parent company Cerberus Capital Management, and make a one-billion-dollar loan to General Motors. In exchange, Treasury would receive warrants from GMAC in the form of additional preferred equity equal to five percent of the preferred stock purchase and would be paid a nine-percent dividend if used.

Holiday Sales Drop to Force Bankruptcies, Closings
Bloomberg) — U.S. retailers face a wave of store closings, bankruptcies and takeovers starting next month as holiday sales are shaping up to be the worst in 40 years. Retailers may close 73,000 stores in the first half of 2009, according to the International Council of Shopping Centers.

Bernie’s funda-mental defense (Rush & Molloy, New York Daily News)
If you thought Bernard Madoff’s $50 billion investment scheme was audacious, get ready for his alibi. Lawyers for the accused scammer are exploring an insanity defense, we hear. “Bernie’s family and his attorneys may argue that, somewhere along the line, he had a mental break,” says a Madoff acquaintance. “They may even say he has a multiple personality disorder.”

Disagreeing With Martin Feldstein On Defense Spending (by Stan Collender, thanks to Economist’s View)
[D]ollar for dollar, military spending doesn’t provide as much an economic return as domestic spending. Building an extra tank or missile that then sits idle because it’s not needed provides a one-time boost to the economy. But building a road, bridge, tunnel, sewer, or information superhighway that is needed continues to provide benefits as people, goods, and information travel faster, less expensively, and far more productively than would have otherwise been the case. That means that starting with the headline, Feldstein was seriously mistaken.

Republicans Call Special Meeting (Political Wire)
“For the first time in party history, members of the Republican National Committee have called their own unscheduled meeting without the aid of the Washington-based party apparatus,” according to The Hill. It’s just another sign that the Republican party lacks a natural leader after getting blown out in two consecutive election cycles.

Farewell to All That: An Oral History of the Bush White House (Vanity Fair)
The threat of 9/11 ignored. The threat of Iraq hyped and manipulated. Guantánamo and Abu Ghraib. Hurricane Katrina. The shredding of civil liberties. The rise of Iran. Global warming. Economic disaster. How did one two-term presidency go so wrong? A sweeping draft of history—distilled from scores of interviews—offers fresh insight into the roles of George W. Bush, Dick Cheney, and other key players.

Reading Into Bush’s Book List (by Richard Cohen)
It is awfully late in the day for Rove — and, presumably, Bush — to assert the president’s intellectual bona fides. Now feeling the hot breath of History, they are dropping the good ol’ boy persona and picking up the ol’ bifocals one. But the books themselves reveal — actually, confirm — something about Bush that maybe Rove did not intend. They are not the reading of a widely read man, but instead the books of a man who seeks — and sees — vindication in every page. Bush has always been the captive of fixed ideas. His books just support that… My hat is off to Bush for the sheer volume and, often, quality of his reading. But his books reflect a man who is seeking to learn what he already knows. The caricature of Bush as unread died today — or was it yesterday? But the reality of the intellectually insulated man endures.

Iranian-Canadian blogger detained, judiciary says
TEHRAN (Reuters) – A prominent Iranian-Canadian blogger has been detained and his case is being investigated, Iran’s judiciary said on Tuesday in the first official public confirmation about his whereabouts.

Liberty Media’s Boss, a Hero to His Shareholders
John Malone appears to have salvaged some semblance of value for his shareholders when Liberty Media swapped a large chunk of the News Corporation for a package of assets that included a stake in the satellite broadcaster DirecTV, a pile of cash and some regional sports cable networks.

A Brief History of Modern Lying Authors
In the last 10 years, “fake” memoirs have appeared everywhere, ranging in mendacity from “unverifiable details” to “totally fabricated.” Here’s a look back at the four biggest sham memoir writers and what brought their discrepancies to light.

Connors, Purcell Not in Boston Globe Deal
Both Boston Herald publisher Patrick Purcell and former Boston advertising executive Jack Connors flatly ruled out being involved in deals to buy the Boston Globe, which is owned by the New York Times Co. Connors further said he had no interest in buying the Times Co.’s stake in the Boston Red Sox.

Film Critic Ben Lyons Gets Many Thumbs Down
Is Ben Lyons the most hated film critic in America? In the four months since the fresh-faced 27-year-old was installed to co-host a revamped version of At the Movies, he has gotten a resounding thumbs down from an angry mob of film bloggers, columnists, professional movie critics, and fans of the show.

At NBC, There Is No Script For Success (by Lisa de Moraes, Washington Post)
: NBC is averaging less than 8 million prime-time viewers this season, trailing front-runner CBS by about 4 million, though only by about a half-million among 18-to-49-year-old viewers. In just a few short years, NBC, once the best brand in broadcast TV, has become virtually irrelevant.

Anderson Cooper Doesn’t Want to Start a Web Site
“There’s a real global impact with CNN,” the anchor tells Choire Sicha. “It’s not really about mass distribution. It’s more about just telling stories that affect people’s lives… There’s a lot of opportunities at CNN that if I had a little Web site somewhere I don’t think I could take part in.”

Online Piracy Menaces Pro Sports
After years of focusing on the pirating of highlight clips and photos on the Web, the major sports leagues are finding that pirated feeds of live games are now common.

Voice Messaging for Groups: Top Services Compared (Mashable)
Even though it’s not a new concept, sending voice message blasts to a group of people appears to be a service on the rise. We’ve decided to break down four sites with distinct offerings in the hopes that you can easily find your preferred option for sending rapid voice messages to groups. From freemium to premium, and simple to robust, you’ve definitely got options should you opt in favor of voice message broadcasting.
Click through for an evaluation.

TV Retains Marketing Dollars in Hard Times
While newspapers, magazines, radio and local television are all losing advertisers in the recessionary economy, the broadcast networks continue to be an anomaly, with advertisers putting their marketing dollars into national television at levels reminiscent of prosperous economic times.

Top 10 Reputation Tracking Tools Worth Paying For (Mashable)
Reputation management is essential to both individuals and companies… You should consider paid services if you are unable to manage and keep your pulse on your online reputation. Also, paid services help you analyze and understand the magnitude and sentiment of conversations around your brand, which would take you even longer if you did it manually. Services start out at a minimal price of $1 for individual bloggers and shoot up over $100,000 for large enterprises. If you are considering using a paid service, select the one that best matches your current situation and scale up as your requirements grow.

Give Us More Bandwidth
Hotels, conference centers and event organizers struggle to provide enough Net access for corporate clients.

InfoWorld’s guide to the best mobile devices
San Francisco – The iPhone started it, but everyone and his brother now seem to have a fancy smartphone on offer. If it’s time to join the “mobile 2.0″ generation, the InfoWorld Test Center can help you make the right choice. We’ve reviewed the new generation of mobile devices and sussed out their strengths and weaknesses.

With a Digital Stereo, Cisco Systems Is Starting a Push Into Home Electronics
The dominant provider of the digital pipes that run the Internet is making a big play in digital entertainment.

How Helium Can Be Solid And Perfect Liquid At Same Time, Now Explained By Computer-assisted Physics
At very low temperatures, helium can be solid and a perfect liquid at the same time. Theoreticians, though, have incorrectly explained the phenomenon for a long time. Computer simulations … have shown that only impurities can make this effect possible.

Researchers’ vision: restoring sight through artificial retinas
WASHINGTON — Scientists are testing artificial retinas that they hope can restore partial sight to people who’ve lost their vision to the most common causes of blindness.

Our Unconscious Brain Makes The Best Decisions Possible
Researchers at the University of Rochester have shown that the human brain—once thought to be a seriously flawed decision maker—is actually hard-wired to allow us to make the best decisions possible with the information we are given.

Facial Expressions Of Emotion Are Innate, Not Learned
Facial expressions of emotion are hardwired into our genes, according to a study

Circumcision Reduces The Risk Of HIV Infection In Heterosexual US Men
A new U.S. study has found that being circumcised significantly reduced the risk of HIV infection in heterosexual African American men known to have been exposed to the virus.

Family Rejection Of Lesbian, Gay And Bisexual Children Linked To Poor Health In Childhood
negative parental behaviors toward LGB children dramatically compromises their health. The discovery has far reaching implications for changing how families relate to their LGB children and how a wide range of providers serve LGB youth across systems of care.

Many Teens Don’t Keep Virginity Pledges
Pledgers are also less likely to use birth control, study finds.

Gastric Bypass Halts Diabetes in Obese Teens
Surgery could help them avoid long-term complications of blood sugar disease, scientists say.

Diet For Diabetics: Low-glycemic Diet Shows Greater Improvement In Glycemic Control Than High-fiber Diet
Persons with type 2 diabetes who had a diet high in low-glycemic foods such as nuts, beans and lentils had greater improvement in glycemic control and risk factors for coronary heart disease than persons on a diet with an emphasis on high-cereal fiber, according to a new study.

Vigorous Treadmill Workout Curbs Appetite Hormones
U.K. researchers say findings may lead to more effective ways to control weight

College Students Find Comfort In Their Pets During Hard Times
A new study suggests that college students may handle stressful situations better if they have a pet.

Protein Sports Drinks Proven To Give Best Performance
Research … has shown that drinks containing a mix of carbohydrate and protein are superior to carbohydrate-only drinks in improving cyclists’ recovery from exercise.

Potential Autoimmunity-inducing Cells Found In Healthy Adults
 It’s not just patients with autoimmune diseases like lupus and rheumatoid arthritis (RA) that have self-attacking immune cells—healthy people have them too, according to a new report. In healthy adults, however, these cells are maintained in an ‘off’ state.

Redesigned Protein Accelerates Blood Clotting
Researchers have made several, subtle changes in the structure of a key protein, dramatically increasing its ability to drive blood clotting.

Lung Cancer: Still the Biggest Cancer Killer, by Far
While researchers make advances, quitting smoking remains your best bet

How Certain Vegetables Combat Cancer
While it has been known for some time that eating cruciferous vegetables, such as broccoli, cauliflower, and cabbage, can help prevent breast cancer, the mechanism by which the active substances in these vegetables inhibit cell proliferation was unknown — until now. Scientists … have shown how the healing power of these vegetables works at the cellular level.

Family Needs to Know When Patient Survival Is Uncertain
In most cases, loved ones prefer doctors be honest about possible outcomes, study finds

Humans And Chimps Register Faces By Using Similar Brain Regions
Chimpanzees recognize their pals by using some of the same brain regions that switch on when humans register a familiar face

One World, Many Minds: Intelligence in the Animal Kingdom
The brains of other animals are not merely previous stages that led directly to human intelligence. Instead—as is the case with many traits—complex brains and sophisticated cognition have arisen multiple times in independent lineages of animals during the earth’s evolutionary history. With this new understanding comes a new appreciation for intelligence in its many forms. So-called lower animals, such as fish, reptiles and birds, display a startling array of cognitive capabilities. Goldfish, for instance, have shown they can negotiate watery mazes similar to the way rats do in intelligence tests in the lab.

What Can Swiss Cheese Teach Us About Dark Energy?
About 10 years ago, scientists reached the astonishing conclusion that our universe is accelerating apart at ever-increasing speeds, stretching space and time itself like melted cheese. The force that’s pushing the universe apart is still a mystery, which is precisely why it was dubbed “dark energy.” But is dark energy really real? Is our universe really accelerating? [Researchers] recently published a paper… looking at how giant holes in our “Swiss-cheese-like” universe might make space look as if it’s accelerating when it’s really not. They concluded these holes, or voids, are not sufficient to explain away dark energy; nevertheless, Vanderveld says it’s important to continue to question fundamental traits of the very space we live in.

Humans, Oceans Shaped North American Climate Over Past 50 Years, NOAA Report Says
Greenhouse gases play an important role in North American climate, but differences in regional ocean temperatures may hold a key to predicting future U.S. regional climate changes, according to a new NOAA-led scientific assessment.

Seawater science can help climate change forecasts
SINGAPORE (Reuters) – A team of scientists has come up with a new definition of seawater which is set to boost the accuracy of projections for oceans and climate.

Carbon Limits, Yes; Energy Subsidies, No
There isn’t much doubt that Congress and incoming President Barack Obama will try to impose some kind of limits on carbon emissions. The Republicans, girding in opposition, are denouncing global warming as a fraud, and claiming that either a carbon tax or cap-and-trade system will impose an unacceptable burden on the economy. Their strategy of stonewalling cedes the game in what will be the most dangerous aspect of carbon legislation — the effort to use the proceeds of an emissions tax to subsidize a dead-end expedition into “renewable” energy.
So says the conservative Wall Street Journal.

In Reversal, Court Allows a Bush Plan on Pollution
A federal appeals court in Washington temporarily reinstated a plan to reduce pollution from coal-fired power plants that it had struck down in July.

Scientists plan to ignite tiny man-made star
It is science’s star experiment: an attempt to create an artificial sun on earth — and provide an answer to the world’s impending energy shortage.

 Japan auto sales plunge as young lose interest
To get around the city, Yutaka Makino hops on his skateboard or rides commuter trains. Does he dream of the day when he has his own car? Not a chance. Like many Japanese of his generation, the 28-year-old musician and part-time maintenance worker says owning a car is more trouble than it’s worth, especially in a congested city where monthly parking runs as much as 30,000 yen ($330), and gas costs $3.50 a gallon (about 100 yen a liter). That kind of thinking — which automakers here have dubbed ”kuruma banare,” or “demotorization” — is a U-turn from earlier generations of Japanese who viewed car ownership as a status symbol. The trend is worrying Japan’s auto executives, who fear the nation’s love affair with the auto may be coming to an end.

Canadians Set Up First Solar Powered Community In North America
A new Canadian neighborhood is North America’s first solar-powered community. The community, named the Drake Landing Solar Community (DLSC) is located in the town of Okotoks, Alberta, and consists of 52 houses all powered by solar (what else?) energy. The system that links the community together is ingenious. It stores the summer months’ excess energy underground for it to be put to use in the extremely cold winter months that Alberta is notorious for. A total of 800 solar panels located on garage roofs throughout the community generate 1.5 megawatts of thermal power during a typical summer day, the project’s organizers say.

A New Place for Solar Energy: Highway Right of Way
[William Ellard, an economist specializing in energy and renewable energy markets:] During a recent work meeting with the Western Renewable Energy Zones Initiative, it became clear that the recent push for renewable energy in the western US has major wildlife and environmental implications. As an alternative energy economist, my contribution in the meeting was to present some of the new solar energy technologies and explain how distributed solar could be deployed without disturbing wildlife ecosystems.

Surface Plasmons Increase PV Efficiency to 30%
Solar-powered electricity generation is heading towards better days, due to nanotechnology research. Dutch scientists Kylie Catchpole and Albert Polman from the FOM Institute for Atomic and Molecular Physics in Netherlands, showed that by using nano-sized metal particles in solar cells can render their overall efficiency up to 30%.

US Becomes Largest Wind Power Producer in the World
The United States has overtaken Germany to become the largest producer of wind energy in the world , generating enough capacity to eliminate the burning of 91 million barrels of oil per year. According to the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA), US wind producers enjoyed another record year of growth in 2008, the third in a row. The country now has an installed wind power capacity well in excess of 21,000 megawatts (MW), enough to supply electricity to over 5.5 million American homes.

Raser Technologies Acquires 50,000 Acres for Geothermal Development
Raser Technologies, Inc. recently announced that it continues to expand its geothermal resources by acquiring 17 new lease parcels covering more than 50,000 acres of geothermal, surface and other rights in Utah as a part of the BLM (Bureau of Land Management) geothermal auction.

Fill ‘Er Up With Human Fat
Liposuctioning unwanted blubber out of pampered Los Angelenos may not seem like a dream job, but it has its perks. Free fuel is one of them. For a time, Beverly Hills doctor Craig Alan Bittner turned the fat he removed from patients into biodiesel that fueled his Ford SUV and his girlfriend’s Lincoln Navigator.

 No Furnaces but Heat Aplenty in ‘Passive Houses’
Innovative homes pioneered in Germany are encased in such an airtight shell that barely any heat escapes.

Build Your Own Plastic Bottle Greenhouse
Do you have tons of plastic bottles lying around your house and excess backyard space? If so, you might want to look into building a plastic bottle greenhouse. The greenhouse idea was devised and brought to life by Blue Rock Station . For $5 (the electronic version is $4), you can buy instructions to build one yourself

Bush eyes oil reserves off California coast
The federal government is taking steps that may open California’s fabled coast to oil drilling in as few as three years, an action that could place dozens of platforms off the Sonoma, Mendocino and Humboldt coasts, and raises the specter of spills, air pollution and increased ship traffic into San Francisco Bay.

Activists attack Japanese whalers with stink bombs
TOKYO (AFP) – Militant environmentalists said they had pelted stink bombs at a Japanese whaling ship in Australian waters in their latest bid to disrupt hunting of the protected creatures.

Japan whalers out of Australia-claimed area
SYDNEY (Reuters) – Anti-whaling group Sea Shepherd Conservation Society has said it achieved its aim of forcing Japan’s whaling fleet out of Antarctic waters claimed by Australia. In a statement on its website (www.seashepherd.org), the U.S.-based group said its ship, the Steve Irwin, had forced the fleet into waters off the Ross Dependency, which is a New Zealand possession.

Navy, Environmentalists Settle Sonar Suit
The Navy has settled a lawsuit filed by environmentalists challenging its use of sonar in hundreds of submarine-hunting exercises around the world.

Death of corals is oceanographer’s murder mystery
Marine scientist John Bruno became interested in coral reefs as a boy snorkeling in the turquoise waters off the Florida Keys above reefs of golden corals the size of football fields.

Malaysia ‘using satellite to fight illegal logging’
KUALA LUMPUR (AFP) – Malaysia is zooming in on forests with a satellite in order to fight illegal logging which its government says is harming the major timber exporting country, a report said Sunday.

Permanent link to MTA daily media news

What’s Your Best Blog Post of 2008? (Mashable)
Help us prove the case for blogging in 2009: post a link to your best blog post of 2008 [click through to post in this post’s comment section] for our staff and readers to enjoy, and explain to us why it’s worth the click. We hope to find some great unsung bloggers to add to our Mashable feed-reading lists in 2009, and great content to link to and share. Can you deliver, blogosphere?

The Heretik

Obama Refuses To Endorse Gaza Attacks… (by M.J. Rosenberg at Talking Points Memo)
On Meet The Press [Sunday], David Axelrod was asked about Gaza by David Gregory. Gregory reminded Axelrod that the President-Elect had visited Sderot earlier this year and said that Israel had the right to defend its people against the mortars. What does he think now? Axelrod said, predictably, that we have one President at a time. He also said that Obama understood the “urge” to respond militarily… When Obama feels strongly about anything, the “one President at a time” mantra is abandoned. When he wants to avoid being boxed in, he invokes it… I hope the Israelis understand what this means… Axelrod sent a signal. After Jan. 20th, America will be an “honest broker.” That is what both sides need.

What, me worry? (by Michael J. Smith at Stop Me Before I Vote Again)
[From the Rosenberg article quoted above:] “The oldsters are cheering on the Gaza attacks but the Jewish ‘best and brightest’ think ethically and not ethnically….” …The “best and brightest” to whom Rosenberg refers all take pretty much the same line: the Israelis are being silly and short-sighted, if not downright “idiotic”. The Gaza attacks are not in their interest… Considering that stunts like this are the way that Zionism took state power in the first place, and has sustained itself there for my lifetime, and has successfully beaten off during that time every remote chance of peace breaking out — considering all these things, the “idiots” in Jerusalem might have some justification for thinking that they understand their bloody brutal business better than a troika of underage beautiful-soul yesbutnik bloggers like Klein, Yglesias, and Ackerman.

Attack On Gaza: As Usual, U.S. Media (And Most Liberals) Silent — As Israeli Newspaper Raises Doubts (by Greg Mitchell, Editor & Publisher)
In the usual process, the U.S. government, media here — and most of the leading liberal bloggers — are silent or playing down questions about whether Israel overreacted in its massive air strikes on Gaza, while the foreign press, and even Haaretz in Israel, carries more balanced accounts.

A Hundred Eyes For An Eye (by Norman Soloman)
Israelis and Arabs “feel that only force can assure justice,” I. F. Stone noted soon after the Six Day War in 1967. And he wrote: “A certain moral imbecility marks all ethnocentric movements. The Others are always either less than human, and thus their interests may be ignored, or more than human and therefore so dangerous that it is right to destroy them.” The closing days of 2008 have heightened the Israeli government’s stature as a mighty practitioner of the moral imbecility that Stone described.

The Israel-Palestine Problem: The Quest for a Political Solution (by eriposte at The Left Coaster)
The biggest challenges for the Obama administration, in my mind, are two fold. First, if a political solution is what is desired, then a key question is what kind of solution could be facilitated between Israeli and Palestinian moderates that allows them to save face with a majority of their respective populations, regardless of what the extremists believe.  Stated another way, we need to create the conditions, both inside Israel and West Bank/Gaza and in the Middle-East, for moderates to convince a clear majority of Israelis and Palestinians that the eventual solution is indeed the best possible solution and that it is a win-win solution…

Second, there has to be a lasting mechanism by which the eventual solution can be sustained regardless of changes in the political landscape in Israel and West Bank/Gaza. In the absence of such a mechanism any “solution” will likely be short-lived and quickly be replaced with a new cycle of violence.
From the polls I’ve seen, ordinary people in both Israel and in the Palestinian territories want peace.  It’s the extremists who keep getting their way.

Why the Israeli Military Response in Gaza is Bullshit (by Larry Johnson at No Quarter)
We have the technology–as do the Israelis–to quickly pinpoint the source of a rocket/mortar launch and hit the target. The United States did not go in with airstrikes and wipe out entire neighborhoods because two assholes with a mortar were trying to stir things up… [T]he Israeli military is acting like a bunch of pathetic thugs rather than conduct themselves with professionalism and skill. You do not just kill Palestinians because you can. You kill the assholes shooting the rockets/missiles. Israel has the means to do that but clearly prefers killing large numbers of Palestinians. Sorry folks, but thems the facts.

Obama’s Plan to Rejoin the World Community (by Phyllis Schlafly, a right winger)
When Candidate Barack Obama declared himself a “citizen of the world” before thousands of cheering German socialists, and later pledged to “rejoin the World Community,” those weren’t just his usual platitudes about “change.” Those words sounded the trumpet for his specific and far-reaching globalist agenda. Obama plans to use his presidential power to get the Democratic-majority Senate to ratify a series of treaties that would take us a long way toward global rule over our money, our laws, our military, our courts, our customs, our trade and even our use of energy.
Offered not for the truth of the matter, but to let you know what the right wingers are saying.

Obama the Weasel: On Iraq, Antiwar Candidate Delivers More Carnage (by Ted Rall)
NEW YORK-Obama won the Democratic nomination and the presidency by speaking out against the Iraq War. Now that he’s packing for Washington, however, the old Chicago lawyer is using Harvard Law weasel words to make sure the war goes on for years… Of course, we should have seen this coming. Obama talked and talked and talked about his opposition to the Iraq War. He’s good at that. But whenever he had a chance to put his vote where his mouth was, he chumped out. Time after time, he voted for Bush’s requests to send billions of taxpayer dollars to Halliburton and other war profiteers. He never voted no… [E]ven in a depression, Barack Obama is no less devoted to the pit of blood and treasure that is Iraq than George W. Bush. Forget preemptive war. How about preemptive impeachment?
And that’s what the lefties are saying.

Blago Busted – Chicago Sun-Times

Obama fails to disclose transition meetings
WASHINGTON — The Obama team, pledging the ”most open and transparent transition in history,” gets and ”A” for disclosing donors to the Jan. 20 inauguration and a ”F” when it comes to revealing transition meetings with groups. Contrary to its own ”seat at the table transparency policy,” meetings are not posted on a Web site.

More pieces to Senate seat puzzle
Who knew what — and when did they know it — regarding Gov. Blagojevich’s alleged effort to sell President-elect Barack Obama’s U.S. Senate seat?

Blagojevich’s lawyer to submit internal report to impeachment panel
Gov. Blagojevich’s lawyer Monday intends to submit President-elect Barack Obama’s internal report to a House impeachment panel as evidence the governor wasn’t trying to enrich himself while deciding who to appoint to Illinois’ vacant U.S. Senate seat.

Quinn: Blago will be out by Abe’s 200th birthday (Chicago Tribune)
Lt. Gov. Pat Quinn said he is certain scandal-plagued Gov. Rod Blagojevich will be out of office by Abraham Lincoln’s bicentennial birthday celebration Feb. 12, 2009. Quinn, speaking from Chicago, told CBS’ “Face the Nation” on Sunday he believes Blagojevich will be impeached and convicted by the Illinois Legislature.

No it is not the same (by mwb at Alegre’s Corner)
The Washington Post just had an opinion piece by Anne Glusker entitled, She’s a Kennedy, But She’s a Lot Like Us that frankly appalled me… “A great deal of the criticism around Kennedy’s interest in Hillary Rodham Clinton’s soon-to-be-vacated Senate seat sounds an alarm for women like me. We’ve been at home with the kids, sure, but we’ve also been busy with lots of other things. We’ve been working part-time, consulting, freelancing. Like Kennedy’s, our resumes don’t conform to the conventional, one-job-after-the-other sequence that recruiters expect…”

Caroline Kennedy is not trying to resume an interrupted career in politics – she never had a career in politics.  This is leaping to an entirely different occupation from what she has done.  (And frankly if you were trying to draw a comparison to the rest of “us” – she is not applying for just any old job but trying to be appointed a senior VP of company as her entry level position – in an industry she has never actually worked in.)… Seriously Washington Post if you want some perspectives of women who actually have had to deal with juggling motherhood and careers you need to look a lot harder. 

Senator You Know (Political Wire)
Ben Smith notes one thing Caroline Kennedy would bring to Washington: A new, distinctive Kennedy verbal tic. She said “you know” 142 times in her recent New York Times interview.

Say goodnight, Caroline: How JFK’s daughter flubbed the audition to become the next Senator Kennedy (by Michael Goodwin, New York Daily News)
[A] strange thing is happening on the way to the coronation. The wheels of the bandwagon are coming off. Fantasy is giving way to inescapable truth. That truth is that Kennedy is not ready for the job and doesn’t deserve it. Somebody who loves her should tell her. Her quest is becoming a cringe-inducing experience, as painful to watch as it must be to endure. Because she is the only survivor of that dreamy time nearly 50 years ago, she remains an iconic figure. But in the last few days, her mini-campaign has proved she has little to offer New Yorkers except her name.

Her handlers and family enablers insist she feels no entitlement to the Senate job, yet there is no other possible reason to give it to her. Her name is the sole reason she even dares go for it. Camelot must be Gaelic for chutzpah. New York can do better.

McAuliffe’s Prowess As Fundraiser Grabs Spotlight in Va. Race (Washington Post)
RICHMOND — With his booming voice, quick wit and gregarious nature, Terry McAuliffe established a reputation as one of the world’s best political fundraisers, soaking up hundreds of millions of dollars for Democratic causes and candidates. Now, after spending much of his adult life soliciting donations for others — most notably, former president Bill Clinton and Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) – McAuliffe is considering using those prodigious skills and extensive contacts for himself, as a candidate for governor of Virginia. McAuliffe’s potential candidacy has created what Michael Toner, a former chairman of the Federal Election Commission, calls “the perfect fundraising storm.” Virginia is a state with no limits on how much an individual, corporation or union can donate to a candidate running for state office, and some say McAuliffe could wage an $80 million campaign — triple what Kaine spent four years ago — if he is the Democratic nominee.
We have GOT to get the money out of the political process.

Will MoveOn live up to its name? (Politico)
fter more than a decade spent railing against the Republican machine, MoveOn wants to move on —even if it means leaving some of its high-minded ideals behind.  Last week, the group’s members chose their top four priorities for the organization, winnowed down from a top-10 list culled from 50,000 suggestions… What they chose: universal health care; economic recovery and job creation; building a green economy/stopping climate change; and end the war in Iraq. What they didn’t: holding the Bush administration accountable; fighting for gay rights and LGBT equality; and reforming campaigns and elections. MoveOn Executive Director Eli Pariser says that this happy alignment with Barack Obama’s agenda — and fortuitous absence of conflict with same — comes in part because “the people he’s listening to and the people we’re listening to are the same people.”
Obama’s listening to them. Uh huh.  I think the leaders of MoveOn are listening to Obama and the stultified leadership of the Democratic Party—and are imposing those ideas on the rest of the membership.  That’s what they’ve always done.

On Being “Disagreeable” (by kenosha Marge at InsightAnalytical)
Since the Rick Warren controversy began there is no escaping what passes for an explanation from President-elect Barack Obama. His advertising agency phrase about being able to “disagree without being disagreeable”  is played endlessly on television… I intend to be very disagreeable about Rick Warren. He is the happy face the Obama Administration has chosen to put on bigotry… Beneath the benevolent corpulence of Rick Warren beats the heart of a misogynistic, homophobic, creationist. Not someone you could believe would have a place of honor at the Inauguration of a Democratic President. Not someone you would expect liberals to embrace. Not someone acceptable to the progressive community. Au contraire,  mes amis! Our lefty friends are working so hard to keep from being annoyed with PEBO that they are abandoning or ignoring every belief they ever had.

10 things that won’t survive the recession (by Mike Elgan at Infoworld)
Here are 10 things that I believe won’t survive the recession.
1. Free tech support…
2. Wi-Fi you have to pay for…
3. Landline phones…
4. Movie rental stores…
9. Half of all retail stores…
10. Satellite radio.
Click through for more.  I have a special beef about the tech support issue.  If you have to pay for tech support, it’s in the best interest of the equipment or software manufacturer to build defective products so as to make as much money as possible from the tech support.

Fifty Herbert Hoovers (by Paul Krugman)
No modern American president would repeat the fiscal mistake of 1932, in which the federal government tried to balance its budget in the face of a severe recession. The Obama administration will put deficit concerns on hold while it fights the economic crisis. But even as Washington tries to rescue the economy, the nation will be reeling from the actions of 50 Herbert Hoovers — state governors who are slashing spending in a time of recession, often at the expense both of their most vulnerable constituents and of the nation’s economic future…

[S]hredding the social safety net at a moment when many more Americans need help isn’t just cruel. It adds to the sense of insecurity that is one important factor driving the economy down… What can be done? Ted Strickland, the governor of Ohio, is pushing for federal aid to the states on three fronts: help for the neediest, in the form of funding for food stamps and Medicaid; federal funding of state- and local-level infrastructure projects; and federal aid to education… And once the crisis is behind us, we should rethink the way we pay for key public services… That’s for later. The priority right now is to fight off the attack of the 50 Herbert Hoovers, and make sure that the fiscal problems of the states don’t make the economic crisis even worse.

The Beautiful Machine (Washington Post)
Many of the most compelling aspects of the economic cataclysm can be seen through the story of AIG and its Financial Products unit: the failure of credit-rating firms, the absence of meaningful federal regulation, the mistaken belief that private contracts did not pose systemic risk, the veneration of computer models and quantitative analysis.
This article is the first of a three-part series on what went wrong.

Stock-Market Strategy Halts Fishing Collapse
Perhaps the best way to fight the decades-long decline of fish populations, primarily from overfishing, is to give the fishing industry clearer incentives to preserve them. That conclusion leapt from a recent analysis of the effect of “catch share” incentives by resource economist Christopher Costello and others at the University of California, Santa Barbara… The system of catch shares works somewhat like a stock market: individual fishers can net a designated percentage of the total amount of a species set aside for fishing annually. The cap on each fish type is adjusted yearly by the government according to how the species is faring. If the population increases, the shares increase in value, too. And fishers can buy and sell shares to one another.
Now, if we could only find a stock market strategy that would stop the STOCK MARKET from collapsing.

Robert Samuelson’s Ignorance Is Humbling (by Dean Baker)
Robert Samuelson devotes his column today to telling readers all the ways in which the conventional wisdom about the economy was wrong. As Samuelson puts it, “our ignorance is humbling.” Yes, the experts’ ignorance was striking. But, it is also worth noting that some of us recognized that it was wrong five years ago. It should have been easy to see that it was wrong… [T]he more important question is why the experts could not see what should have been very evident, most importantly an enormous housing bubble?… Are these experts facing any consequences for their extraordinary and costly oversights? Unfortunately, the answer to the latter question will almost always be “no.” There is no cost to an expert for being wrong because he followed the conventional wisdom.

Chrysler Ad Prompts Mark Cuban Takedown (by Benjamin Sarlin at The Daily Beast)
The road to bankruptcy is paved with good intentions it seems. Critics are roasting Chrysler for purchasing pricey full page ads in several major newspapers thanking Americans for dishing out bailout dollars to keep the sinking company afloat.

Retailers Want In on Stimulus Plan
The largest retail trade association asked Obama to add sales tax-exempt shopping days to a coming economic stimulus package in an effort to spur spending.

BERNIE CASH STASH (New York Post)
Madoff, 70, has been ordered by a Manhattan fed eral judge to provide to the Securities and Exchange Commission by New Year’s Eve a detailed list of all of his assets – in cluding investments, loans, lines of credit, business interests and brokerage accounts. But tracking what happened to the estimated $50 billion Madoff is accused of making off with is already promising to be one of the longest and most complicated financial investigations on record.

Will Increased Protectionism Mean Stronger Barriers to Trade in Professional Services and Increased Copyright and Patent Protections? (by Dean Baker)
USA Today is worried that the economic slowdown may cause countries to impose higher tariff barriers on merchandise trade. But will it also lead professionals like doctors and lawyers to make it more difficult for foreign professionals from entering these fields. If so, this can cost the consumers tens of billions of dollars in higher prices for professional services and the economy tens of billions of dollars in lost output. Will the downturn cause the government to devote increased resources towards cracking down on unauthorized copies of copyrighted material or unauthorized imports of prescription drugs? These protectionist policies can also raises costs to consumers by tens of billions of dollars. USA Today is silent on these costly forms of protectionism, focusing only on the narrow category of merchandise trade.

The Noose Tightens (Newsweek)
The United States, like many countries, has a bad habit of committing wartime excesses and an even worse record of accounting for them afterward. But a remarkable string of recent events suggests that may finally be changing—and that top Bush administration officials could soon face legal jeopardy for prisoner abuse committed under their watch in the war on terror… High-level charges, if they come, would be a first in U.S. history. “Traditionally we’ve caught some poor bastard down low and not gone up the chain,” says Burt Neuborne, a constitutional expert and Supreme Court lawyer at NYU. Prosecutions may well be forestalled if Bush issues a blanket pardon in his final days, as Neuborne and many other experts now expect.

Yes We Can UnPardon War Criminals (by David Swanson)
On his third day in office President Grant revoked two pardons that had been granted by President Andrew Johnson.  President Nixon also undid a pardon that had been granted by President Lyndon Johnson.  There may be other examples of this, as these two have somewhat accidentally come up in a discussion focused on numerous examples of presidents undoing pardons that they had themselves granted, something the current president did last week… In 2001, President George W. Bush’s lawyers advised him that he could undo a pardon that President Clinton had granted… We will call on the courts to challenge [any Bush] pardons and on Congress to reject them.  We will demand that Congress reject any nominee for attorney general who accepts such pardons as legitimate.

Under Bush, OSHA Mired in Inaction (Washington Post)
“The legacy of the Bush administration has been one of dismal inaction,” said Robert Harrison, a professor at the University of California at San Francisco and chairman of the occupational health section of the American Public Health Association. It has been “like turning a ketchup bottle upside down, banging the bottom of the container, and nothing comes out. You shake and shake and nothing comes out,” Harrison said. More than two dozen current and former senior career officials further said in interviews that the agency’s strategic choices were frequently made without input from its experienced hands. Political appointees “shut us out,” a longtime senior career official said.

Federal Cases of Stock Fraud Drop Sharply (New York Times)
WASHINGTON — Federal officials are bringing far fewer prosecutions as a result of fraudulent stock schemes than they did eight years ago, according to new data, raising further questions about whether the Bush administration has been too lax in policing Wall Street. Legal and financial experts say that a loosening of enforcement measures, cutbacks in staffing at the Securities and Exchange Commission, and a shift in resources toward terrorism at the F.B.I. have combined to make the federal government something of a paper tiger in investigating securities crimes.

Bush’s Books (Political Wire)
In one of the more unbelievable anecdotes to come out about President Bush as he winds down his presidency, Karl Rove says his former boss has read 95 books in the last three years. However, Rove claims victory in their book reading competition, having read 110. Writes Rove: “The president lamely insisted he’d lost because he’d been busy as Leader of the Free World.”
I do NOT believe that Bush reads.  Not books, anyway.

Quote of the Day (Political Wire)
“As bad as the incident is, in my view, it is a sign that Iraqis feel a lot freer to express themselves.” — Laura Bush, in an interview on Fox News, on an Iraqi journalist throwing his shoes at President Bush.

Rice: Much Of Bush’s Foreign Policy Agenda Deserves An ‘A+’ (Think Progress)
[Sunday] morning on CBS, Sunday Morning’s Rita Braver interviewed Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. In a portion of the interview that does not appear to have aired, Braver noted the results of the recent Pew Global Attitudes survey which found that “the U.S. image abroad is suffering almost everywhere.” Braver prompted Rice saying, “It has to be more than just a perception problem.” Rice dismissed the poll’s results, claiming that the Bush administration has “left a lot of good foundations”:

One Leg Raised On The Bush-Cheney Legacy: Deconstructing The Spin And Propaganda (by Walter Brasch)
In an incisive 2,500 word analysis, award-winning journalist and university professor Walter Brasch reviews eight years of Republican spin and propaganda, all wrapped up in a letter sent by the Republican National Committee.

CBS newsman’s $70m lawsuit likely to deal Bush legacy a new blow (The Guardian)
As George W Bush prepares to leave the White House, at least one unpleasant episode from his unpopular presidency is threatening to follow him into retirement. A $70m lawsuit filed by Dan Rather, the veteran former newsreader for CBS Evening News, against his old network is reopening the debate over alleged favourable treatment that Bush received when he served in the Texas Air National Guard during the Vietnam war. Bush had hoped that this controversy had been dealt with once and for all during the 2004 election…

Rather contends not only that his report was true – “What the documents stated has never been denied, by the president or anyone around him,” he says – but that CBS succumbed to political pressure from conservatives to get the report discredited and to have him fired. He also claims that a panel set up by CBS to investigate the story was packed with conservatives in an effort to placate the White House. Part of the reason for that, he suggests, was that Viacom, a sister company of CBS, knew that it would have important broadcasting regulatory issues to deal with during Bush’s second term.

Obama’s Election Voted Top News Story Of 2008
The epic election that made Barack Obama the first African-American president was the top news story of 2008 — followed closely by the economic meltdown that will test his leadership, according to U.S. editors and news directors voting in The Associated Press’ annual poll.

2008 Media Follies! (by Maria Tomchick & Geov Parrish at Eat The State)
Welcome to our 13th annual selection of the year’s most over-hyped and underreported stories, separated into local and global categories. [Sample:] The Great Black Hope. Reality check, please? Obama is a corporate centrist–not a progressive. Always has been, never sold himself as anything but. His actions thus far as President-Elect are exactly what he promised. But after eight long, desperate years, far too many progressives believed what they wanted to be true, not what actually was true. Wasn’t that the approach that got George W. in trouble?

Announcing the P.U.-litzer Prizes for 2008 (by Norman Solomon)
Now in their seventeenth year, the P.U.-litzer Prizes recognize some of the nation’s stinkiest media performances.

Journalists Petition Court for Right to Cover Attack on Gaza
JERUSALEM Foreign journalists in Israel are petitioning the country’s highest court to let them into Gaza to report on the heaviest fighting there in decades.

IAPA Anti-Impunity Project Releases Three Reports On Crimes Against Journalists
The murders of journalists in Bolivia and Mexico and efforts by the Brazilian justice system to put an end to impunity in crimes against the press are the subjects of three new reports published by the Inter American Press Association (IAPA).

Website age ratings ‘an option’ (BBC)
Film-style age ratings could be applied to websites to protect children from harmful and offensive material, [British] Culture Secretary Andy Burnham has said. Mr Burnham said the government was looking at a number of possible new internet safeguards. He said some content, such as clips of beheadings, was unacceptable and new standards of decency were needed. He also plans to negotiate with the US on drawing up international rules for English language websites.

Uproar in Australia over plan to block Web sites
SYDNEY, Australia (AP) – A proposed Internet filter dubbed the “Great Aussie Firewall” is promising to make Australia one of the strictest Internet regulators among democratic countries. Consumers, civil-rights activists, engineers, Internet providers and politicians from opposition parties are among the critics of a mandatory Internet filter that would block at least 1,300 Web sites prohibited by the government – mostly child pornography, excessive violence, instructions in crime or drug use and advocacy of terrorism.

In California, schools gain a tool to halt online cruelty
It was bad enough when middle school students in Novato last year harassed and ridiculed 14-year-old Olivia when she suffered a seizure on campus.

Jewish groups blast TV show
BRUSSELS, Belgium – Jewish groups have condemned a Belgian public broadcaster for airing a show in which a standup comedian jokes about the Holocaust and the persecution of Jews.

Should Facebook End Breast Ban? (Mashable)
A group of moms staged a protest outside Facebook’s Palo Alto offices yesterday over the site’s policy to remove photos of bare breasts.  While Facebook’s policy is to remove photos where the nipple or areola is visible, attendees of the MILC (Mothers International Lactation Campaign) “nurse in” want an exception for breastfeeding moms.

Montenegro bans Facebook, YouTube in public offices
PODGORICAAFP (AFP) – The former Yugoslav republic of Montenegro has banned public sector staff from accessing the popular Internet websites Facebook and YouTube at work, the government said Wednesday.

Activism in a Time of New Media: ‘The New School in Exile’ in Real Time
Student protesters claim victory after using text messages, email, blog posts, Youtube videos, and Twitter feeds to win the battle over message.

What Would Google Do? on a Fortune best list (by Jeff Jarvis)
I’m delighted to say that What Would Google Do? is on Fortune’s list of the three best web books of 2008.

Media Jobs? Depressing
Ad/Marketing Services Falls From ’07 Peak; Media off 19% From 2000

An NPR Reporter Becomes the News
Midway through her reporting on how Americans were handling economic pressure, National Public Radio senior correspondent Ketzel Levine found out that she had been laid off.

If It Involves Jews, Chabad’s Tiny but Far-Flung News Organization Is on It
Written and produced from a small home office in Israel by a husband-and-wife team, Chabad.org News focuses on stories of interest to the Lubavitch community around the globe.

NYT Co. Actively Looking for Buyer for Red Sox Stake
Seeking to fortify its core assets, New York Times Co. is actively shopping its stake in the holding company of the Boston Red Sox baseball club, according to two people familiar with the discussions. The company is the second-largest shareholder.

The Comics Are Feeling the Pain of Print
Many wonder whether daily comics can make a jump to mass electronic distribution or whether they will be tossed aside like yesterday’s news.

Bargain Hunting for Books, and Feeling Sheepish About It
Book publishers and booksellers are faltering. But don’t blame the recession — it’s all the fault of the Internet used books market.

Publisher Cancels New ‘Holocaust’ Book After Press Reports Doubts — Oprah Goofed Again
NEW YORK The publisher of a disputed Holocaust memoir has canceled the book, adding the name Herman Rosenblat to an increasingly long line of literary fakers and bringing down with a crash his story – embraced by Oprah Winfrey, among others – of meeting his future wife at a Nazi concentration camp… The cancellation is sure to outrage survivors and scholars, who have worried that Rosenblat would encourage Holocaust deniers, and likely revive the debate over why publishers don’t fact check books. Even after such fabrications as James Frey’s A Million Little Pieces, another Winfrey favorite, publishers have said that with more than 100,000 books coming out each year, fact-checking is too time-consuming and too expensive.
Oprah is, plainly, a sucker.  And not only when it comes to books.

Satellite Radio Still Reaches for the Payday
Five months after regulators approved a merger of Sirius and XM, satellite radio’s pioneers and former rivals, in a deal that was supposed to deliver their industry to the promised land of profits and permanence, the company faces an uncertain future.

Hard Day’s Night for Beatles Reissues (by Allan Kozinn, New York Times)
To collectors, the inability of Apple and EMI to get new versions of the Fab Four’s music onto the market is a symbol of how pathetic the record business has become.

Hollywood Cheers Strong Sales
Strong holiday box-office results bucked the recession, giving a solid boost to two studios with a lot riding on expensive films.

Satellite Radio Still Reaches for the Payday
Deep debt, including Howard Stern’s $500 million contract, is causing Sirius XM Radio big worries despite growing revenue and subscriptions.

TV News Winds Down Operations on Iraq War
With a presidential election and its aftermath dominating the news, the three broadcast networks have quietly cut back war coverage.

‘Today’ Show Tries Prime-Time Role
NBC’s juggernaut morning show, now expanded to four hours each weekday, produced last week a prime-time holiday special called “Today Looks Back.”

MLB Network Preps for Rollout in 50 Million Homes (by Larry Dobrow at Advertising Age)
In these challenging economic times — during which every story and press release commences with an “in these challenging economic times …” salvo — media entities are as likely to roll out a big-dollar, big-ambition offering as they are to quadruple their head count. And then there’s Major League Baseball, which will come across as positively brazen when it launches its eponymous cable network in upward of 50 million homes Jan. 1. Those 50 million homes make the MLB Network the biggest debut in the history of cable.

Eisner Drops CNBC Show
Michael Eisner is ending his CNBC show. But unlike the recent scaling back of The Big Idea with Donny Deutsche, this was Eisner’s decision, not CNBC’s. The former Disney CEO said he’s giving up hosting Conversations with Michael Eisner to concentrate full-time on his investing activities.

Arpaio enters realm of reality TV (AP)
In Arizona, seeing Sheriff Joe Arpaio on TV is nothing new. But the self-described “America’s toughest sheriff” now has a national platform to pursue lawbreakers that stretches beyond the 5 o’clock news. The Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office, which oversees the state’s most populous county, has a starring role in Smile … You’re Under Arrest!, a new reality show debuting Saturday on Fox Reality Channel. A cross between Punk’d and Cops, the program sets up elaborate sting operations to snare people wanted on outstanding warrants. Actors and undercover deputies play along in faux scenarios where scofflaws are enticed to have a good time before doing time. The “gotcha” drama comes when cast members reveal the prank and waiting deputies slap handcuffs on the offender.

New Web Sites Target Young Women
The Internet remains a potential growth area, thanks to its relatively low start-up costs and immediate delivery to consumers. Among the new offerings, Web sites targeted to women are growing in numbers, serving up content across a wide swath of subjects and age groups.

Sex Sells, but a Commitment Can Help
While sex in advertising is generally thought to be more useful in selling to men than to women, a study finds that this effect is reversed when emotional intimacy justifies the sex.

Your Ad in the Pages of ‘A Christmas Carol,’ or Any Other Novel
Book serialization has come into vogue again, 170 years after Charles Dickens popularized it with “The Pickwick Papers” and “Oliver Twist.” Funny enough, it’s the 19th-century author who is championing the form in 2008: His “A Christmas Carol” is one of more than 1,000 titles available through DailyLit, a digital serial book publisher that shares books with nearly 150,000 subscribers in short, customized installments via email and RSS feed. And now it’s opening its virtual pages to advertisers.

Online Video Ads Put Message Into the Medium
Online video technology firm Blinkx has developed an integrated advertising system it hopes will help generate revenues from the growing amount of video on the Web. Blinkx has developed what it calls its “un-roll” unit, which allows advertisers to wrap their message into videos.

Lennon in TV ad 28 years after his death (Reuters)
Imagine, John Lennon makes a television commercial for charity — 28 years after his death. Through the use of digital technology, the former Beatle urges people across the United States to support a campaign by “One Laptop per Child” to deliver tough, solar-powered XO laptop computers to the world’s poorest children. “Imagine every child no matter where in the world they were could access a universe of knowledge. They would have a chance to learn, to dream, to achieve anything they want,” a voice and video image of Lennon has been created to say.

Automakers’ troubles could help radio close the gap.
Ohio-based BigResearch analyzed spending by GM, Ford and Chrysler and concluded too much of their budget is allocated to television, which is far less cost efficient than other media. BigResearch VP Miles David tells Inside Radio ”It’s no longer possible for companies fighting for survival to ignore the evidence.” BigResearch recommends radio be given a 22% share — far greater than the low-single digit share it currently receives.

Internet Access Turns School Buses Into Rolling Classrooms
As part of his economic-stimulus plan, President-elect Barack Obama has pledged to wire more schools to provide high-speed Internet access. Ethan Clement, a student in rural Arkansas, has some advice: Don’t forget to wire the buses. A program providing wireless Internet access on buses enables high-school senior Ethan Clement to do classwork online during long rides to and from school in rural Arkansas, and offers her advanced classes and far-flung mentors.

Android apps you won’t find on the iPhone
Two months after the first Android phone was released, there are more than 400 free programs from which to choose and the promise of more handsets coming that use the open-source operating system.

What Carriers Aren’t Eager to Tell You About Texting
The public assumes that wireless carriers’ costs are far higher than they actually are, and profit margins are concealed by a heavy curtain.

50+ iPhone Apps to Enhance Your Photo and Video Experience (Mashable)
We know you’re obsessed with your iPhone, and chances are you’ve been taking a lot more photos – perhaps even recording videos – over the holidays. To satisfy aspiring iPhone photographers and videographers, we’ve assembled a collection of more than 50 iPhone and iPod Touch apps to enhance your photo and video experience.

LG to Debut 3G Watch-phone at CES
LG Electronics plans to debut a wristwatch-style 3G phone at the Consumer Electronics Show next month, it said Sunday.

MP3 player guides rescuers to lost tourists
ZURICH (Reuters) – The light from an MP3 player saved two lost tourists from a chilly night stuck out in the snowy Swiss mountains, rescue authorities said Saturday.

Permanent link to MTA daily media news

A faraway people, of whom we know nothing (by Michael J. Smith at Stop Me Before I Vote Again)

US blames Hamas for Gaza attacks (The Australian)
THE United States has blamed the Islamist group Hamas for breaking a cease-fire and urged the Jewish state to avoid civilian casualties after Israeli air strikes killed more than 200 people in Gaza… There was no immediate comment on the Israeli air strikes from Mr Obama, who is vacationing with his family in Hawaii, or his staff. [Emphasis added.]

PEBO Speaks to Rice (by Jake Tapper at Political Punch, ABC News)
An Obama transition aide tells ABC News that President-elect Obama spoke by phone today with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to discuss the situations in Gaza and in South Asia. The call lasted approximately eight minutes and was initiated by the president-elect, who is vacationing in Hawaii with his family. The president-elect appreciated the call and the information from Secretary Rice, the transition aide says, adding that Obama will continue to closely monitor these and other global events.

Obama’s Hawaii retreat loses power for 11 hours (AP)
HONOLULU – President-elect Barack Obama’s Hawaiian vacation was darkened for 11 hours Friday night and early Saturday when a power outage enveloped the island of Oahu… Honolulu Mayor Mufi Hannemann said three generators had been installed earlier for Obama’s rented compound. A fourth generator sent by Hawaiian Electric Co. was turned away, he said… Transition officials would not say if generators had been installed, but an aide said no generators were used and the Obamas spent the evening in the dark.

Hope Chest (by David Shribman)
[A]mid the seaspray on his Hawaiian holiday and his Blackberry conversations with friends and advisers, Obama surely recognizes that hope is both a tool and a burden. He is well-versed in the use of that tool; more even than Franklin Delano Roosevelt he used it with brilliance and effectiveness in his presidential campaign… The conventional wisdom is that Obama’s first chores are to prepare for national-security challenges and to deal with the economy… But the truth is that Obama’s first chore is not to manage diplomacy or the economy. His first chore is to manage hope… [N]ow that we have put aside “A Christmas Carol” for another year and while we move from Bleak House to Great Expectations, Obama is facing the question of how to satisfy all those expectations, great and small…

One of the things he must indicate, on Jan. 20 and beyond, is that hope may be the overture for the Obama years, but it cannot provide the lyrics.
I think Obama’s success with the hopey-changey message is closely related to the syndrome that gave us the dot com bubble.  And the housing bubble.  And all the other bubbles.  Don’t forget Granny Bee’s commentary from last January, Bubbleheads. But can Americans overcome their predilection for bubble-iciousness?  See below.

Boom, Bust, Repeat (by Daniel Gross)
[Panic: The Story of Modern Financial Insanity, edited by Michael Lewis] is to a large degree a chronicle of the capacity of highly paid professionals for self-delusion. This volume could just as easily have been titled “Complacency.” As Lewis shows, there’s something distinctly Ameri can in our propensity to blow bubbles until they pop, spend a few months licking our wounds and then hit replay. “Yuppies’ Last Rites Readied,” declared the headline on a New York Times article of Oct. 21, 1987, which documented how the stock market crash was causing materialist, money-soaked urban dwellers to reduce conspicuous consumption and focus more on human relationships. Of course, that moral awakening lasted only as long as the downturn. And the same business publications that do such a great job of dissecting the bubbles once they’ve popped are the same ones that help promote and sustain the next one. What drives this? It’s not simply greed, or stupidity, but a kind of learned naïveté. We convince ourselves, over and over again, that nothing can go wrong, and that even if it does the smart ones among us will be insulated from any ill effects.

Missing Minsky (by John Tepper Marlin , thanks to Economist’s View)
Martin Wolf, at FT.com, wrote on December 24 that Keynes offers us the best way to think about the financial crisis: “The ghost of John Maynard Keynes, the father of macroeconomics, has returned [and] that of his most interesting disciple, Hyman Minsky.” I first heard Hy Minsky talk in the 1960s. His main message I summarize as follows:

1. Financial systems have a built-in tendency to euphoria. The financial market does not tend toward stability. The opposite is true. Bankers and other financial actors borrow more and more heavily, making the system increasingly vulnerable to panic. Lenders start after a scare by being conservative, hedging their bets. But eventually confidence returns and speculation takes hold again. Then investors get to the Ponzi phase – manic use of credit, a euphoria or bubble.
2. The credit cycle tends to manic, ends with panic. The Ponzi phase continues until some investors exit with their profits, or the central bank raises interest rates to reduce investor euphoria, and then a financial institution runs into difficulty. The failure causes a bankers’ panic. Turning points in the five stages of the cycle are called “Minsky moments”.
3. The system tends to instability and must be regulated. Fashions in monetary theory have moved from a belief that Keynesian sophisticates could “fine-tune” the economy, to fear that the Fed had lost control of the ability to contain inflation, to a belief that markets work best with minimal interference. Hy rejected all these ideas, preaching consistently about the need for regulation and the importance of leaning against the excesses of what Keynes called the animal spirits of investors.

Economics learns a thing or two from evolutionary biology (by Massimo Pigliucci, thanks to Economist’s View)
[H]ow it is possible that so many smart people in the financial sector made irrational decisions over a period of years, despite clear data showing there was a problem, and eventually leading to a worldwide economic crisis that is at the least poking at, if not shaking, the foundations of capitalism itself. Part of the answer is to be found in the persistent idea in economics that “markets” work because people are rational agents who act in their own self-interest and have perfect, instantaneous access to relevant information about the businesses they are considering investing in…

But now there is a new kid on the block: “behavioral finance” takes seriously the idea that people act somewhat rationally some of the time but can spiral into downright panic at other times… The old “efficient markets hypothesis” underlying classical models is being replaced by the “adaptive markets hypothesis,” where Adam Smith’s invisible hand becomes more directly analogous to natural selection. As evolutionary biologists have found out, natural selection is not an optimizing process, but a satisficying one, meaning that it produces whatever outcome happened to be achievable at a particular historical moment and that works “well enough” for the problem at hand. Moreover, it does so while “wasting” a lot of resources and often marching straight into dead ends (just think that over 99% of the species that ever existed went extinct). The emerging picture is much more realistic than the rationalist paradigm, but it sure is a lot more messy too.

You’re not even likable enough, Frank Rich (by heidiliofpotpourri at The Confluence)
Frank Rich, an entrenched New York Times columnist, finally decided to publish a wee bit of criticism directed a President Elect Obama… I wholeheartedly agree that the decision to have Rick Warren bless his inauguration is no Bay of Pigs. But Frank Rich … calls the Warren invitation and Warren’s role in the event an “asterisk to the joyous inaugural of our first black President.” Having a bigoted, homophophic, misogynistic cleric headline your inaugural is likely to render the event anything but joyous for millions of Americans. What Rich regards as an asterisk, they recognize as the sharp elbow to the ribs… Precisely because this is no Bay of Pigs, Mr. Obama can do something about the situation before he goes through with a bad choice.

Hillary Remains Most Admired Woman – Gallup (by campskunk at Alegre’s Corner)
Hillary won again, as she has every year since 2001, when Laura Bush won. Prior to that, Hillary won every year from 1993 to 2000. Prior to that, it was often won by the First Lady… So why has Hillary practically retired the trophy, regardless of who’s First Lady? Maybe it’s all those people who hold the values of the first and second generation feminists, that what matters is what you DO, not what you’re a symbol of.

SWEET CAROLINE: I’M SET TO SERVE (New York Post)
Caroline Kennedy broke her silence with the start of a media blitz yesterday, defending her qualifications to replace Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton and confidently saying she’s up to the job. Kennedy sat for half-hour interviews with The Associated Press and NY1 after two weeks in which the controlled rollout of her candidacy raised questions about her credentials… Kennedy … said the 9/11 attacks and her work stumping for President-elect Barack Obama were motivating factors in asking Gov. Paterson, who has sole power to fill the Senate seat, to consider her. Paterson has made clear he doesn’t consider Kennedy the front-runner for the job and with criticism of her effort mounting, the Camelot scion is under pressure to demonstrate publicly why she wants – and should get – the job.

Kennedy Will Work Twice as Hard (by Lady Boomer NYC at The Confluence)
December 26, 2008 — Today, NY Senatorial bidder, Caroline Kennedy, has stated in an AP interview that she knows she’ll have to work twice as hard in her job if appointed by Governor David Paterson… [L]ike Caroline Kennedy … [I’m] a firm believer in and product of lifelong learning, and have had many careers… [L]ately I’ve been reconsidering my career choices. and have decided that I want to be a surgeon. In fact, I’m going for the on-the-job training program. So, if I work twice as hard, will you let me operate on your broken leg? No wait, I think I’ll be a mechanic. Can I rebuild your engine? I think I can, I think I can. After all, reality TV, and this past year, have taught me that anybody can do just about anything they want to, and I mean that in every way.
All you have to do is sleep at a Holiday Inn Express.  EVERYONE knows that.

Send Caroline Kennedy to Court of St. James (by Steve Clemons at The Washington Note)
Caroline Kennedy’s first efforts to sell herself to New Yorkers — but also to make herself look like a compelling choice other than having a good “brand name” to Americans at large — has not gone well. Barack Obama should stop this grilling and torment that is being prepared for Kennedy and all who helped push her candidacy for “appointment” by offering Kennedy the Court of St. James, the U.S. Ambassadorship to Great Britain. Kennedy has an outstanding record of public service to those in need, and she is savvy about the who’s who of the political world. In fact, she’s playing the role of Ambassador on behalf of her father’s memory and her clan for a long time — while maintaining a tight lid on her private affairs. She’s incredibly “ambassadorial” already.
What a great idea, Steve!  And to those who say she should get the senate seat because it once belonged to her uncle Bobby, let me remind the history challenged that the ambassadorship to Great Britain was once held by her grandfather Joe.

Minn. court blocks Coleman on double recount votes (AP)
ST. PAUL, Minn. – Minnesota’s highest court on Wednesday ruled against Republican Sen. Norm Coleman’s attempt to keep dozens of possible double votes from Democratic-heavy precincts out of the long-running U.S. Senate recount, but left the door open for a lawsuit.

Blago Busted – Chicago Sun-Times

‘Wrong planet’ if he is guilty
Gov. Blagojevich said Friday that if what he has done as governor is an impeachable offense, he’s living on the “wrong planet” and is in the “wrong place.”

Corruption crisis creates confusion in Illinois
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — Embattled Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich has made a point of regularly going to work at his office in Chicago. He has signed legislation and issued pardons. He has sent out press releases about predatory lending and fighting poverty.

Fitzgerald asks panel not to subpoena Obama aides
The Illinois House committee investigating a possible impeachment of Gov. Rod Blagojevich said Saturday that members won’t subpoena two incoming White House advisers as the governor’s attorney requested.

Blago: Help me figure this one out (by Joseph Cannon at Cannonfire)
As you know, impeachment proceedings against Governor Blagojevich are afoot. Blago’s lawyer, Ed Genson, wants some notable figures to testify, including Rahm Emanuel, Valerie Jarrett and JJJ. But Patrick Fitzgerald’s office doesn’t want them to testify… Why is Fitz keeping these witnesses under wraps? The only explanation that makes sense to me is that he is making deals with them: “If you help us, we’ll try to make sure that the public never finds about XYZ…” Deals for what purpose? For testimony against Blagojevich — or against someone else?

RNC Chair Candidate Distributes ‘Barack The Magic Negro’ As His Christmas Greeting (Think Progress)
Last year, Rush Limbaugh came under intense criticism for repeatedly airing a parody song called “Barack the Magic Negro” by conservative satirist Paul Shanklin. The song, which dealt with Obama’s popularity amongst white voters, was widely attacked as being racist. Doing an Al Sharpton impersonation, Shanklin sings the song to the tune of “Puff the Magic Dragon.” Limbaugh, however, tried to defend it as “creative” and “funny.”
Click through for a link to the song.  McCain refrained from racist attacks.  The right wing is only just getting started.

America can’t wait for Bush to leave. (Think Progress)
A new CNN/Opinion Research Corp. poll finds that 75 percent of Americans are glad President Bush is leaving office; just 23 percent indicated that they will miss him. CNN notes that when Clinton left office, more Americans — 45 percent — said they would miss him. Twenty-eight percent also believe that Bush is the worst president ever.

Australia may take Guantanamo detainees. (Think Progress)
Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd’s office has said that his country may accept Guantanamo Bay detainees, which could “make it easier for Obama to fulfill his campaign pledge to shut the prison.” Australia joins Germany and Portugal in expressing a willingness to take some of the detainees. 

Bush’s $1 Trillion War on Terror: Even Costlier Than Expected (Time)
A trio of recent reports – none by the Bush Administration - suggests that sometime early in the Obama presidency, spending on the wars started since 9/11 will pass the trillion-dollar mark. Even after adjusting for inflation, that’s four times more than America spent fighting World War I, and more than 10 times the cost of 1991′s Persian Gulf War (90 percent of which was paid for by U.S. allies). The war on terror looks set to surpass the cost the Korean and Vietnam wars combined, to be topped only by World War II’s price tag of $3.5 trillion.

The Influence Game: Unlikely groups seek job funds (AP)
WASHINGTON – Zoos, the bicycle industry and advocates of beach replenishment share something this holiday season: They’re all hoping for a slice of the mammoth economic stimulus package President-elect Barack Obama and Congress hope to pass early next year.

Like Many States, Ohio Reaches for A Lifeline (Washington Post)
As the economy sputters and tax revenue plummets, governors and mayors across the United States are lining up to ask President-elect Barack Obama and the new Congress for hundreds of billions of dollars to plug holes in their budgets, arguing that services will suffer and joblessness will rise if Washington does not come to the rescue.

Protectionist dominoes are beginning to tumble across the world (The Telegraph, U.K.)
The riots have begun. Civil protest is breaking out in cities across Russia, China, and beyond. Greece has been in turmoil for 11 days. The mood seems to have turned “pre-insurrectionary” in parts of Athens – to borrow from the Marxist handbook. This is a foretaste of what the world may face as the “crisis of capitalism” – another Marxist phase making a comeback – starts to turn two hundred million lives upside down. We are advancing to the political stage of this global train wreck. Regimes are being tested. Those relying on perma-boom to mask a lack of democratic or ancestral legitimacy may try to gain time by the usual methods: trade barriers, sabre-rattling, and barbed wire.
The Telegraph is a conservative newspaper, so of course any attempt by countries protect their citizens’ ability to earn a living must be seen as oh-so-scary Marxism.

Chinese Savings Helped Inflate American Bubble (New York Times)
In the past decade, China has invested upward of $1 trillion, mostly earnings from manufacturing exports, into American government bonds and government-backed mortgage debt. That has lowered interest rates and helped fuel a historic consumption binge and housing bubble in the United States. China, some economists say, lulled American consumers, and their leaders, into complacency about their spendthrift ways.
Because it can’t possibly be OUR fault.

Why does your health insurance cost so much? (by DCblogger at Corrente)
Data from the Institute for Health and Socio-Economic Policy show that:
1. The top seven U.S. health insurers earned a combined $10 billion dollars – nearly triple their profits of 5 years earlier (Wall Street Journal, August 2006).
2. In 2004 top executives of the 11 largest health insurers made a combined $85 million per year in one year (Weiss Reports).
3. The 20 largest HMOs in the U.S. made $10.8 billion in profits in the fiscal year 2005. 12 top HMO executives pocketed $222.6 million in direct compensation in the fiscal year 2005.

Tennessee coal ash disaster three times larger than originally estimated. (Think Progress)
On Monday, toxic coal sludge burst through a retention wall in eastern Tennessee, causing massive property and environmental damage. Federal studies have shown that coal ash contains “significant quantities of heavy metals like arsenic, lead and selenium, which can cause cancer and neurological problems.” The incident — already being called the “largest environmental disaster of its kind in the United States” — may now be even worse than originally anticipated. Tennessee Valley Authority officials “initially said that about 1.7 million cubic yards of wet coal ash had spilled” in the disaster. Yesterday, however, they “released the results of an aerial survey that showed the actual amount was 5.4 million cubic yards, or enough to flood more than 3,000 acres one foot deep.”

The Perfect Test That the Chicago Tribune Failed (by Henryk A. Kowalczyk at the Huffington Post)
It has been barely one year since the new owners took over the Tribune, so it would be unrealistic to expect that they finalized the implementation of whatever concepts they have. And, obviously, the current recession has put an extra burden on the turn-around venture. On the other hand, how much time should they really need to convert the Chicago Tribune into a profitable media company? Two years? Maybe three. Excuses aside, by the end of the first year the concept should show signs of working. “The perfect storm” could be seen as a perfect test, proof that Sam Zell’s vision for the Tribune is working. But it isn’t working…

During the first year, Sam Zell has run the Chicago Tribune with the same — if not greater — disrespect for readers as his predecessors did. One year ago, Mr. Zell was full of lofty talk about creative ventures and cross-media initiatives. All of this boiled down to skimming the milk and repackaging it. Sam Zell said it best himself: “I’ve reformatted all eight newspapers–they’re much louder; they’ve got more pictures; they have more color; they have easier navigation.” As if people buy products for packaging rather than content, especially when cash is in short supply.
Packaging, rather than content, is exactly how America bought Barack Obama.  Why couldn’t it work for newspapers?

US retail sales data deepens year-end gloom
WASHINGTON (AFP) – Christmas retail sales plunged in the United States, a poll showed Friday, as Japan reported record cuts in production in November in a gloomy run-up to 2009 for the world economy.

Mike Keefe

Ramadi prison revolt leaves 16 dead
Prisoners in a western Iraqi jail staged an armed revolt Friday morning that lasted for at least two hours. Ten police men and six prisoners were killed in the battle that ensued. Three Al Qaida in Iraq prisoners escaped and are on the loose, Iraqi police said.

Thousands of candidates may complicate Iraq’s provincial elections
BAGHDAD — Iraqi voters next month will see 14,500 candidates vie for 440 open seats on provincial councils, an outpouring of interest in a new phase of Iraqi self-government that could make for a baffling ballot.

Lebanese Army finds rockets near Israel border
BEIRUT, Lebanon – Lebanese army officers say troops have discovered seven rockets set up with timers that were on the verge of firing near the border with Israel.

Palestinian rocket misfires, kills 2 girls in Gaza
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip – A crude rocket fired by Palestinian militants fell short of its target in Israel on Friday, striking a house in the northern Gaza Strip and killing two schoolgirls.

Iran leader’s Christmas message decries bullies
LONDON – Iran’s president is offering season’s greetings to Christians in a British TV address and suggests that if Jesus were alive, he would oppose “bullying, ill-tempered and expansionist powers” — an apparent reference to the U.S. and its allies.

US coalition says it kills 11 Taliban in operation
KABUL, Afghanistan – The U.S. coalition said Friday its forces killed 11 Taliban militants, including the leader of a bomb-making cell, during an operation in southern Afghanistan.

Officials: Pakistan moves troops toward India
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan – Pakistan has started to redeploy thousands of troops to the Indian border from the tribal areas near Afghanistan, intelligence officials said Friday, raising tensions in the aftermath of the Mumbai terror attacks.

China targets pirates in groundbreaking mission
GUANGZHOU, China – Chinese warships headed toward Somali waters Friday to combat piracy, the first time the communist country has sent ships on a mission that could involve fighting so far beyond its territorial waters.

2 Chinese go on trial for selling melamine
BEIJING – Two Chinese went on trial Friday accused of making and selling the chemical at the center of a tainted milk scandal blamed for killing six children and sickening nearly 300,000 others.

Exiled Muslim tycoon pays price for criticizing China
WASHINGTON — Some of China’s favorite adjectives for Rebiya Kadeer, an exiled leader of China’s ethnic Uighur minority, are “terrorist” and “separatist monster.”

Japanese firms to open Chinese virtual mall: Nikkei
TOKYO (Reuters) – About 100 Japanese firms will begin selling products via an Internet site in China next month, targeting combined sales of 4 billion yen ($44 million) in the first year of operation, the Nikkei business daily reported on Friday.

Australia to maintain Iraq presence
SYDNEY, Australia – Australia says it will maintain its military presence in Iraq until at least the middle of next year.

Australian gov’t, opposition refuse to say sorry to wronged doctor
SYDNEY (AFP) – Australia’s government and opposition Wednesday refused to apologise to an Indian doctor wrongly charged over a British terrorist plot, as his lawyers said they would seek substantial compensation.

Canadian economy shrinks, on track for recession
OTTAWA (Reuters) – Canada’s economy shrank in October on declines in wholesale trade and manufacturing, paving the way for a recession that has been widely predicted by analysts and government officials.

Mexico: 7 cops, drug gang arrested at cock fight
ACAPULCO, Mexico – Soldiers arrested the deputy police chief of a Mexican resort town and six other officers who were allegedly protecting drug cartel members at a cock fight, the Defense Department said Thursday.

El Salvador to withdraw troops from Iraq
SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador – President Tony Saca announced Tuesday he will withdraw Salvadoran troops from Iraq after Dec. 31, pulling out the only remaining soldiers from Latin America.

Chavez denies helping Iran ship weapons to Syria
CARACAS, Venezuela – President Hugo Chavez is denying a report that claims Iran used Venezuelan flights to send missile parts to Syria.

Police: Tear gas grenade kills 5 in Peru nightclub
LIMA, Peru – Peruvian police say five nightclubbers are dead after a tear gas grenade was detonated in the middle of a crowded disco.

Web site lets Cubans abroad buy gifts on island
HAVANA – A country that shunned Christmas for decades is now looking to cash in on the holiday season, promoting an online shopping site designed to let Cubans overseas buy everything from food and flowers to flat-screen TVs for delivery to relatives on the island.

Belgium still searching for new PM
BRUSSELS (AFP) – Belgium’s ex-premier Wilfried Martens, tasked with resolving the country’s political crisis, said Friday he is still looking for a new prime minister after Yves Leterme’s government collapsed.

Germany vs Italy in World Court over WWII claims
AMSTERDAM, Netherlands – Germany has filed suit at the World Court asking Italy to stop its legal system from awarding damages to victims of Nazi war crimes.

Report: Russian military gets new nuclear missiles
MOSCOW – Russian news reports say the military has commissioned another batch of new intercontinental ballistic missiles.

Russia warns Ukraine of sanctions over gas debt
MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russia threatened Ukraine with sanctions over its gas debt on Wednesday but its gas monopoly Gazprom floated a compromise that could keep gas flowing to Kiev and ensure smooth transit to Europe after a January 1 deadline.

Medvedev hopes for better ties with US under Obama
MOSCOW – Russia’s president said Wednesday he hopes his country will be able to develop better ties with the United states under Barack Obama’s administration.

Guinea junta seeks support, buries Conte
CONAKRY (Reuters) – Guinea’s military junta appealed for support to lead the country to elections in two years having seized power after the death of veteran ruler General Lansana Conte, who was buried in a state funeral on Friday.

Zimbabwe has ‘no intention’ of releasing activists
HARARE (AFP) – Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe’s regime has “no intention” of releasing a top rights activist and opposition figures accused of recruiting anti-government plotters, a defence lawyer said Friday.

Jordan to build health centre in Darfur
AMMAN (AFP) – Jordan’s King Abdullah II on Thursday ordered the setting up of a health centre in Kas in Sudan’s war-torn region of Darfur to serve more than 25,000 people there, an official said.

US urging calm over possible Pakistan troop moves
WASHINGTON – U.S. officials watched with growing concern Friday as reports suggested Pakistan was massing troops to the India border. Such a move raises double-barreled worries: A possible confrontation between two nuclear powers and a shift by the Pakistani military away from battling the Taliban along its western Afghan edge.

Homeland Security forecasts 5-year terror threats
WASHINGTON – The terrorism threat to the United States over the next five years will be driven by instability in the Middle East and Africa, persistent challenges to border security and increasing Internet savvy, says a new intelligence assessment obtained by The Associated Press.

Arabs lavish jewels on Secretary of State Rice
WASHINGTON – President George W. Bush’s foreign policies may be unpopular in the Middle East, but Arab leaders showered his top diplomat with jewelry worth far more than a quarter of a million dollars last year.
I thought we had laws against public servants accepting gifts.

Problems seen in e-voting overseas
WASHINGTON – Election ballots could be safely distributed electronically to Americans overseas, but getting their votes back securely could present problems, a study released Wednesday says.

F.D.A. to Reconsider Plastic Bottle Risk
The agency was accused of failing to adequately consider research about the dangers of a substance known as bisphenol-A.

Senate bill cracks down on bailout recipients
WASHINGTON – One of the first orders of business for the new Congress next month will be making sure that banks and other firms that received some of the $700 billion economic bailout reveal how they are spending it.

Prosecutors to court: Get on with Jefferson trial
WASHINGTON – Federal prosecutors are urging an appeals court to get on with Rep. William Jefferson’s corruption trial, saying his appeal to the Supreme Court does not have enough chance of success to justify further delays.

In Reversal, Court Allows a Bush Plan on Pollution
A federal appeals court in Washington temporarily reinstated a plan to reduce pollution from coal-fired power plants that it had struck down in July.

Federal judges call for higher pay
WASHINGTON – Earlier this year, Martin Jenkins took what looked like a step down the career ladder. Jenkins traded his lifetime appointment as a federal trial judge for a seat on a California state appeals court. In his new job, Jenkins must periodically face the voters, but he reaped one immediate benefit — a 20 percent jump in his annual salary. Jenkins’ case highlights what Chief Justice John Roberts and many other federal judges have identified as an emerging crisis — the failure to pay judges enough to keep them on the job and lure talented lawyers from private practice to the federal bench.

Disgraced Mass. sen. applies for pension increase
BOSTON – A former state senator in Massachusetts who resigned after he was charged with harassing women is trying to double his pension.

Stocks up after GMAC lifeline, retail sales dip
NEW YORK – Wall Street put together a modest advance in light post-holiday trading Friday after the finance arm of General Motors got a government lifeline, but dreary holiday spending readings dimmed the chance of a big year-end rally.

Stores cut prices to entice post-holiday shoppers
Two hours before the doors were set to open Friday morning, a Miami-area Wal-Mart parking lot was full of cars — and possibility. But in a Christmas shopping season in which many Americans were unwilling to spend, even a packed lot doesn’t always translate into holiday cheer for stores.

Consumer sentiment improves
The Reuters/University of Michigan survey for December confirms an uptick from 28-year low hit in the prior month, as consumers warm to expectations for falling prices and inflation.

Lines at the unemployment office lengthen
Both initial and continuing claims reach levels last seen in December 1982, underscoring worries about the depth of a recession — and what December’s employment report will indicate.

Data suggest thaw in mortgages taking hold
Week-to-week mortgage applications jump 48%, as homeowners and first-time buyers rush to lock in lower interest rates.

A Banking Regulator Speaks Out
John Dugan, the Comptroller of the Currency, suspects that lenders aren’t doing enough to reduce the mortgage burden on homeowners

Push for 2009 tax holidays
Industry group floats the idea of three 10-day intervals, during March, July and October next year, when sales taxes wouldn’t be collected. Washington would reimburse states for lost tax revenues

Rules to Make Battered Retirement Savings Go Further
Tax tricks and drawing-down guidance to bolster a battered retirement portfolio

Permanent link to MTA daily media news

A Highly Evolved Propensity for Deceit (New York Times)
[I]t’s all too easy to lie. In more than 100 studies, researchers have asked participants questions like, Is the person on the videotape lying or telling the truth? Subjects guess correctly about 54 percent of the time, which is barely better than they’d do by flipping a coin. Our lie blindness suggests to some researchers a human desire to be deceived, a preference for the stylishly accoutred fable over the naked truth… We’re desperate to believe that what our loved ones say is true.
Just as I’ve been saying—most of the people WANT TO BE FOOLED most of the time.

Iowa Presidential Watch

It is hard for an empty suit to take a stand – or perhaps even to understand what it means to take a stand (by heidiliofpotpourri at The Confluence)
During the primary season and the general election a friend of mine who spent some considerable amount of time listening to me lament the Democratic Party’s poor judgment in making then-Senator Obama their poster-child, kept saying to me that the real problem with Mr. Obama is that he is an “empty suit”. That term seemed to me too tepid back then. But I have come to see it as the essential problem behind the problem of Mr. Obama’s inability or unwillingness to be a moral leader, and possibly any kind of leader. To be a moral leader, to stand for something means that you have to fill out your suit, your office, your position. To be an “empty suit” is to be a person who cannot draw a line in the sand… To be an “empty suit” is to be devoid of the weightiness that real leadership requires… To be an “empty suit” is to be a moral vacuum…

In some ways, moral emptiness, especially in a President, is worse than moral wrong-headedness… After all, it seems easier to go after people who actually do take stands (Rick Warren, for example) rather than the person who silently enables wrong-headed person to gain in stature. But this is sleight of hand. The real problem is the enabler, the person who allows the sophomoric sexist to put words in his mouth, the person who lets bigoted clerics and their churches affiliate with him… If we cannot give this empty suit some backbone, we need, as I have written before, to start figuring out how we can have a better candidate on offer in 2012. So to the people who are canceling their celebrations, may I suggest that they use the time and effort saved to start solving that problem.

Lack of attendance at a Christmas service shows Barack Obama’s church dilemma (Chicago Tribune)
HONOLULU — Barack Obama has long stressed the importance of religion in his life. But as his fellow Christians around the world attended Christmas services on Wednesday and Thursday, the president-elect and his family remained sequestered at their vacation compound on the windward coast of Oahu. His lack of attendance at formal religious services showcased a dilemma faced by Obama, who is between churches and often expresses concern about bringing the disruption of his security detail into the lives of others. Still, he has not attended a public church service since before being elected, a departure from the actions of his two immediate predecessors.
Must we not even consider, Chicago Tribune, whether Obama never was religious, but only used Rev. Wright’s church for political reasons, and now that he’s reached the highest level he can reach in politics, doesn’t need religion any more?

Obama, Clinton top ‘most-admired’ lists… (On Politics, USA Today)
“A month before his inauguration,” USA TODAY Washington bureau chief Susan Page writes this mornings, “Americans choose Barack Obama as the man they admire most in the world, according to a new USA TODAY/Gallup Poll. It’s the first time a president-elect has topped the annual survey in more than a half-century.” Obama was the choice of 32% of those polled. President Bush was a distant second at 5%. Among women, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton ranked No. 1 with 20% of the “vote.” Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, the 2008 Republican vice presidential nominee, was No. 2 with 11%.
Taegan Goddard didn’t mention Clinton at all.  Isn’t that odd?

Because I see what’s coming… (by J –SOM at Liberal Rapture)
What continues to make my hair stand on end is the hijacking of the process by the DNC and the media. Obama is still not being vetted. It is remarkable. We all need an election break – but Obama’s involvement in Blag’s gubernatorial campaign is the kind of story journalists once salivated over. In my adult lifetime there are only two examples of this lack of questioning I can think of- both recent. George W. Bush in 2000 and his subsequent win, and the run up to the Iraq invasion. Why we are where we are has everything to do with these two events. Both stories were presented but not covered. Subsequently the media made perfunctory apologies: We treated Gore unfairly, We fell down on the job before the Iraq war - blah, blah. blah…

Who benefits when journalism takes a holiday? And why is it happening more often?… Vast sectors of the economy are now pseudo nationalized and the national conversation has been constricted by a few large media outlets. The illusion of debate has replaced debate… Why was Obama chosen? Who brought (also “who bought”) him? Who benefits?

Happy Holidays, Bill “Judas” Richardson (by Truthteller at No Quarter)
[Wednesday’s] edition of The Beverly Hills Courier provides a list of all the donations CDR submitted to Richardson for what appears to be access to New Mexico State contracts. I quote: “According to reports, CDR and Chief Executive Officer David Rubin gave at least $110,000 to three political groups created by Richardson… Rubin reportedly contributed $25,000 in October 2003 to a political committee called Moving America Forward that was backed by Richardson. That donation apparently came at a time when the New Mexico legislature was discussing the transportation construction program. Rubin also donated $10,000 to Richardson’s re-election campaign, reports said.”

Obama’s Betrayal of Public Education? Arne Duncan and the Corporate Model of Schooling (by Henry A. Giroux and Kenneth Saltman, truthout.org)
Barack Obama’s selection of Arne Duncan for secretary of education does not bode well either for the political direction of his administration nor for the future of public education… Duncan, CEO of the Chicago Public Schools, presided over the implementation and expansion of an agenda that militarized and corporatized the third largest school system in the nation, one that is about 90 percent poor and nonwhite. Under Duncan, Chicago took the lead in creating public schools run as military academies, vastly expanded draconian student expulsions, instituted sweeping surveillance practices, advocated a growing police presence in the schools, arbitrarily shut down entire schools and fired entire school staffs…

Duncan’s advocacy of the Renaissance 2010 plan alone should have immediately disqualified him for the Obama appointment. At the heart of this plan is a privatization scheme for creating a “market” in public education by urging public schools to compete against each other for scarce resources and by introducing “choice” initiatives so that parents and students will think of themselves as private consumers of educational services.

Barack Be Good (by Paul Krugman)
Like the New Deal, the incoming administration must greatly expand the role of government to rescue an ailing economy. But also like the New Deal, the Obama team faces political opponents who will seize on any signs of corruption or abuse — or invent them, if necessary — in an attempt to discredit the administration’s program… So what are the lessons for the Obama team? First, the administration of the economic recovery plan has to be squeaky clean… Second, the plan has to be really, truly pork-free,,, Finally, the Obama administration and Democrats in general need to do everything they can to build an F.D.R.-like bond with the public. Never mind Mr. Obama’s current high standing in the polls based on public hopes that he’ll succeed. He needs a solid base of support that will remain even when things aren’t going well. …

Democrats are off to a bad start on that front. The attempted coronation of Caroline Kennedy as senator plays right into 40 years of conservative propaganda denouncing “liberal elites.” And surely I wasn’t the only person who winced at reports about the luxurious beach house the Obamas have rented, not because there’s anything wrong with the first family-elect having a nice vacation, but because symbolism matters, and these weren’t the images we should be seeing when millions of Americans are terrified about their finances.

Eisenhower’s roads to prosperity (by Tom Lewis, thanks to Economist’s View)
The story of President Eisenhower’s decision in 1956 to create the interstate highway system … holds lessons that the new president and the country would do well to heed… Eisenhower wasn’t afraid to create a huge public works program, and unlike today’s presidents, he wasn’t afraid of taxes. … The 1956 highway bill levied a tax of 3 cents on each gallon of fuel — equal to 24 cents today… It is said the 44th president is taking office at a Lincoln moment and a Roosevelt moment. True enough, but it can be an Eisenhower moment as well.
“It is said”?  The president-elect himself, methinks, is the one doing the saying.

More Expensive (by Susie at Suburban Guerrilla)
Of course, your paycheck (should you be fortunate enough to have one) didn’t go up to cover the cost of food: “While eating in sounds like a cost-saving step during a recession, Philadelphia-area residents are paying a lot more to bring home the groceries than they were a year ago. Locally, the cost of food at home was up 5.4 percent over the 12 months that ended in November… Nationally, the price increase for food at home was even steeper – 7 percent in the 12 months that ended in November.”

Welfare as We Knew It (Editorial, New York Times)
There were more than 690,000 youngsters who didn’t have enough to eat last year. There were 783,000 meal-skipping seniors among the 36 million Americans found to be chronically lacking adequate food, according to government data. This year, the hunger struggle has worsened. The number of citizens turning to food stamps — a clear measure of fast-rising poverty — reached a record 31.6 million in September, up more than four million in a year… It’s important that the most hungry, poor and direly troubled Americans not be denied a proper place in line with the financial moguls, auto executives and others pleading for taxpayer help. Most immediately, a temporary increase in food-stamp benefits is needed. It fits logically in the next stimulus package, for each dollar spent on food stamps generates $1.84 in economic activity.

Beyond that, the workfare program’s contingency fund for extending the poor emergency help during recessions seems certain to run out of money next year. Congress must deal with that. And there already are sensible calls to repair workfare as we know it, by allowing more cash assistance and easing mandates for work, at least until there’s work again.
The magnitude of this problem is unbelievable.  More than TEN PERCENT of the population is on food stamps.  Something is seriously wrong with our economic system.

The Right To Food (by Cernig at Crooks and Liars)
“By a vote of 180 in favour to 1 against (United States) and no abstentions, [Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural)] also approved a resolution on the right to food, by which the Assembly would “consider it intolerable” that more than 6 million children still died every year from hunger-related illness before their fifth birthday, and that the number of undernourished people had grown to about 923 million worldwide, at the same time that the planet could produce enough food to feed 12 billion people, or twice the world’s present population…” The Bush administration, speaking for the U.S.A., therefore must consider it tolerable that 6 million children die every day – children who could be fed if we weren’t wasting billions on stealth fighters, littoral combat boondoggles and non-effective defense against non-existant ballistic missiles from Iran…

How much better an economic stimulus – both for America and the world - it would be to mobilize American might for good instead of destruction, Dubya and his fellow travellers remain silent upon.

A tiny bit of good news: Shuttered bakery reopens, rehires workers (CNN, thanks to Susie at Suburban Guerilla)
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
• Archway bakery suddenly closed doors in October, throwing some 300 out of work
• Lance snack food company steps in, buys Archway at bankruptcy auction
• New owner gives each laid-off worker a prepaid $1,500 debit card
• Company rehires 60 workers, says more will regain jobs if orders keep coming in
Most of Archway’s cookies aren’t very good, but their winter cookies are wonderful.  The cashew nougats are my favorites.  Give them a try of you see them in the grocery store.

The House that Jack Built (by Stirling Newberry at The Agonist)
This is the house that Jack bought.
This is the mortgage that paid for the house that Jack bought.
This is the fraud, that the mortgage processor committed to get the loan, that paid for the house that Jack bought.
This is the bank, that dished off the loan, that was obtained by fraud, to pay for the house that Jack bought.
Click through for much, much more.

Doubts grow on whether Madoff acted alone in fraud (AFP)
As a probe intensifies into Bernard Madoff, doubts are growing on whether the now-infamous Wall Street investment manager could have committed a record fraud of $50 billion on his own. In a criminal complaint filed against the 70-year-old Madoff, prosecutors said Madoff stated “in substance, that he had personally traded and lost money for institutional clients and that it was all his fault.” But many members of the financial community are skeptical that Madoff could have single-handedly maintained accounts for the fictitious investment scheme involving tens of billions of dollars and a multitude of clients.

The Elie Wiesel Foundation for Humanity
We are deeply saddened and distressed that we, along with many others, have been the victims of what may be one of the largest investment frauds in history. We are writing to inform you that the Elie Wiesel Foundation for Humanity had $15.2 million under management with Bernard Madoff Investment Securities. This represented substantially all of the Foundation’s assets.

Hoocoodanode, part a zillion (by Paul Krugman)
[There is an informative] Times piece on the global savings glut, the housing bubble, and the sum of all fears. But I don’t think the piece accurately conveys the state of the debate circa, say, the summer of 2005. The piece says this: “In hindsight, many economists say, the United States should have recognized that borrowing from abroad for consumption and deficit spending at home was not a formula for economic success. Actually, a number of economists said this, not in hindsight, but as it was happening: people like Dean Baker, Calculated Risk, and yes, yours truly (I was reading Dean and CR). “These days,” I wrote in August 2005, “Americans make a living selling each other houses, paid for with money borrowed from the Chinese. Somehow, that doesn’t seem like a sustainable lifestyle.”

So it wasn’t that people failed to notice the problem. Instead, what happened was active — and often angry — denial… The answer, in short, to the question of why key players didn’t see the problem coming is that they didn’t want to know.

Bret Baier to be Named Host of Special Report
Fox News will name Bret Baier as the new anchor of Special Report, replacing the retiring Brit Hume. Baier becomes anchor of the show after the New Year. He had been Hume’s primary fill-in. Chris Wallace and Jim Angle will be filling in on Special Report until January 5 when Baier takes over.

Lessons From ’92 Offer Hope to GOP (Capital Journal, Wall Street Journal)
A young and popular Democratic president is preparing to take over the White House, while a lame-duck Republican named Bush heads for the exits. Slumping Republicans are in despair; they’ve seen Democrats win majorities of almost 80 seats in the House and 15 in the Senate. A snapshot of today’s political landscape? Yes. But it’s also a precise description of the predicament Republicans faced at the end of 1992, when Bill Clinton, not Barack Obama, was preparing to take over the presidency. As low as the GOP was after that 1992 election, within two years it had roared back to take control of the House for the first time in half a century. The point is simple: Tattered as Republicans look today, it’s easy to forget that they’ve been here before, and not so long ago, and recovered fairly quickly.

GOP power struggle starts (Washington Times)
A power struggle that will determine the future leadership of the Republican Party has broken into the open as dissatisfied Republican leaders pushed for a meeting early next month that they hope will be the first step toward ending Washington-based control of the party.

Jeb Bush poised for Florida Senate run (Politico)
Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush – the son of one president and the brother of another – has been working the phones since Sen. Mel Martinez (R-Fla.) announced earlier this month that he won’t seek reelection in 2010. Sources say Bush hasn’t made up his mind yet about running for Martinez’ seat yet, but that he’s getting green lights from would-be contributors and blessings from Republican Party leaders. Strategists and political observers take it as a sign that Bush will run. 

Third of top aides become lobbyists (USA Today)
WASHINGTON — More than a third of top congressional staffers who left their public service jobs this year went to work for private lobbying firms or other groups seeking to influence the government, according to a USA TODAY analysis. Under an ethics law passed last year, the House and Senate for the first time must list the names of departing staffers earning $127,000 or more per year. So far this year, 32 of the 193 top staffers who left government registered as lobbyists and another 42 went to work for consulting firms, law offices, interest groups and trade associations, the analysis showed.

Bush rewards top aides with appointments to boards and commissions. (Think Progress)
In his last days in office, President Bush is busy doling out “presents to some of his top aides.” Not Medals of Freedom to hang around their necks. Rather, they’re key spots on governmental boards and commissions. Condoleezza Rice “got a spot on the John F. Kennedy Center’s board of trustees until September 2014. The position should guarantee her good seats at the performing arts venue for the next six years.” Carlos Gutierrez and Barry Jackson, a former Rove aide, will be appointed by Bush to the board of trustees of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. “The Christmas Eve appointments will allow them to serve far beyond Jan. 20, the end of Mr. Bush’s term in office.”

Flashback: Perino Pledged That Pardons Would Be Granted Through The Pardon Attorney (Think Progress)
[Wednesday], the White House moved quickly to take the rare action of revoking President Bush’s pardon of Isaac Toussie after media reports revealed a number of improprieties in the case. Individuals seeking a pardon from the president are instructed to do so through an application that can be found on the Department of Justice website. The Pardon Attorney, Ronald L. Rodgers, then reviews the applications and makes a recommendation to the president. But White House Press Secretary Dana Perino told reporters [Wednesday] that Rodgers “was not involved in the decision about Toussie.”

Bush signs law protecting retirement savings for gay couples. (Think Progress)
Yesterday, Bush signed into law the Worker, Retiree and Employer Recovery Act of 2008 (WRERA), requiring employers to allow employees to roll their retirement plans over to nonspouse partners. The Human Rights Campaign hailed the bill for allowing gay couples to share benefits.
How’s THAT for a surprise?  It makes me wonder if there isn’t something else that’s seriously wrong with this act.

Tennessee coal sludge disaster ‘shows that the term clean coal is an oxymoron.’ (Think Progress)
Monday, more than 500 million gallons of toxic coal sludge burst through a retention wall in eastern Tennessee, causing massive property and environmental damage and leaving residents holding their breath over possible long-term consequences. Environmentalists said the spill was more than 30 times larger than the Exxon Valdez oil spill. The incident underscored the false nature of the “clean coal” propaganda. In an interview with NBC Nightly News, Elliott Negin of the Union of Concerned Scientists explained: “This disaster shows that the term ‘clean coal’ is an oxymoron. It’s akin to saying ‘safe cigarette.’ Clean coal doesn’t exist.”
Click through to watch the video.

Media Matters for America headlines

• NBC’s Guthrie, Todd suggested report shows Obama actions at odds with “hands-off” pledge, ignoring contrary evidence

• Media run with unsourced assertion by Sun-Times columnist of “rumbles” that Emanuel “is reportedly on 21 different taped conversations”

• Fortune’s Easton misrepresented debate over Employee Free Choice Act

• CNN global warming misinformation makes its way to The Radio Factor

• On Fox, Barnes, Krauthammer echoed conservative claim that CRA played key role in subprime crisis

Nepal media protest against Maoist union attack
KATHMANDU (AFP) – Nepalese newspapers ran blank editorials on Tuesday to protest against a violent attack on a prominent publisher by Maoist-affiliated trade unionists.

NYC man admits he helped air Hezbollah TV
NEW YORK – The owner of a satellite TV company pleaded guilty Tuesday to providing material aid to a terrorist organization by letting customers receive broadcasts from Hezbollah’s television station.

Verizon Wins $33 Million in Suit Over Domain Names
The company has been awarded $33.2 million in a lawsuit against an Internet services company that it claimed had registered hundreds of domain names with Verizon trademarks.

Spy trick hides messages in plain sight
In a move likely to thrill conspiracy theorists and government spooks, scientists from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute are testing the limits of illicit messages hidden inside everyday communications, such as photographs, videos and newspapers.

Print news is fading, but the content lives on
While the Internet is growing as the place where people go for news, the revenue simply isn’t catching up fast enough. The less obvious part of the Internet overtaking newspapers as the main source for national and international news is that much of the seed content–the original reporting that breaks national and international news and is subsequently refactored by legions of bloggers–comes from the reporters and editors working at the financially strapped newspapers and national and local television outlets. New publishing entities, such as Politico, the nonprofit ProPublica, the Huffington Post, and numerous blogs are making original contributions to national and international news, and some are trying to make money while they’re at it.

As the financial pressures mount–the outlook for 2009 is dismal–and the cost cutting continues, we can only hope that the original news reporting by top-flight journalists is not a major casualty.

Newser: Brilliant But Toxic (by John Duncan at Garcia Interactive)
Aggregation sites are a brilliant innovation that takes advantage of market data every journalist has known for decades about human behavior. But so are Ponzi schemes…and the brilliance of their design doesn’t make them any less toxic for the people who lose out on them.

A danger to journalism (by Jeff Jarvis)
The more I think about it, the angrier I get at Gatehouse for its dangerous and hypocritical crusade against links. Links are the bloodstream of the web, carrying its oxygen. Links are how original journalism will get audience, traffic, branding, attention, credit, and monetization. Links are a gift and a courtesy. Links are the means to better-informed communities. Links tie people together with each other and the information they need. Links are necessary. Links are good.

But Gatehouse (like the AP before it and the French often) is fighting links from Boston.com. That’s a case of cutting off its nose to spite its face: Gatehouse is turning away traffic and audience. Suicide. But it’s also attempted murder: If on the very slight chance that an equally clueless judge lets this suit proceed, it could put a chill on linking just when we need it most. That’s what’s dangerous. That is irresponsible on Gatehouse’s part.

NYT Co. November Revenues Down 13.9%
The New York Times Company announced today that in November total company revenues from continuing operations decreased 13.9% compared with the same month a year ago. Advertising revenues decreased 20.9% and circulation revenues increased 4.2%.

The New York Times to do an Obama Book
The New York Times is set to publish a a heavily-illustrated book covering Barack Obama’s life, which includes the inaugural address and a 32-page photo essay by 12 New York Times staff photographers, with an introduction by NYT executive editor Bill Keller and essays from Times staff and contributors including Frank Rich, Thomas Friedman, Paul Krugman, Maureen Dowd, David Brooks, and Gail Collins

Washington Post, Baltimore Sun to Begin Sharing Some News Content 
Editors from the Washington Post and Baltimore Sun said yesterday that they have agreed to begin sharing certain stories, photos, and other news content. The deal comes as both newspapers, like the rest of the industry, struggle to retain readers and cut costs as the economics of the business shift.

Newspapers to Sell Buildings, But Who’s Buying?
With revenue plunging as readers and advertisers flee to the Web, many newspaper companies have turned to selling off their buildings to raise money or save on costs. But now that option may be drying up too, as frozen credit markets make commercial real estate deals scarce.

USA Today Launches iPhone-Friendly News Application
While there are other news apps for the iPhone, the USA Today app definitely has some features which make it stand out from the pack. The application has a very Apple-esque look and feel and self-customizes itself to give you your local weather (presumably based off of your GPS/IP address information). Most of the other content is nationally focused, but local content is also available. The application also has a slew of sharing features that let users share stories via email or text message. There is even integration with the Twitterific app to enable users to send a Twitter message with a link to an interesting story.

USA Today Will Be Sold On Amazon’s Kindle (Paid Content)
Gannett flagship USA Today is the latest paper to be sold through Amazon’s Kindle. The top-selling U.S. paper has yet to show up in the Kindle Store but Amazon told Kindle subscribers on Christmas morning that they’ll be able to download the Dec. 26 edition for free… [T]he first issue for sale will be Dec. 29.  We’re checking on the subscription and single-issue prices. Single Kindle copies tend to go for 75 cents while monthly costs vary: the New York Times, published daily, is $13.99 a month, while the Wall Street Journal (six days) and the Washington Post (daily) run $9.99. Publishers get the bulk of the revenue share with Amazon.

Often requested by Kindle users, USAT is only the 21st U.S. paper and the 28th paper overall to show up in the device store. Some publishers, including the NYT, have talked about their surprise at the service’s success but it’s hard to gauge just how meaningful that it. Amazon also has received considerable publicity from the likes of Martha Stewart raving about reading the Wall Street Journal on her Kindle (no ink to rub off) and others who talk about substituting print editions for Kindle subscriptions. (I don’t subscribe to any Kindle newspaper editions, preferring to keep my print subscriptions and download single issues while traveling.)

Turning Page, E-Books Start to Take Hold
Thanks in part to the popularity of Amazon.com’s wireless Kindle device, the e-book has started to take hold.

Penthouse Magazine Firm Planning to Offer Shares
FriendFinder, which owns Penthouse magazine, is trying to sell up to $460 million in stock to investors in one of the most challenging markets ever for initial public offerings.

Sirius Stock Sale to Address Debt Woes
Sirius XM Radio plans to issue 108.1 million shares of common stock in exchange for convertible notes, part of the company’s efforts to reduce debt. Sirius XM, facing about $1 billion in loan repayments in 2009, has $193.6 million in convertible bonds maturing in February.

Customize your own NPR podcast playlist
Still can’t decide among the hundreds of podcasts that National Public Radio makes available over the Internet?

Fearless mouse Despereaux stars in 2 video games
For kids who enjoyed watching the brave adventures of the big-eared mouse in Universal Pictures’ The Tale of Despereaux, there are two video game choices starring this heroic rodent.
I find it ironic that in films, we laud bravery in standing out from the crowd.  In real life, though, most people try to squash anyone who stands out from the crowd.

Nintendo says to offer videos on Wii
TOKYO (AFP) – Nintendo Co. said Thursday it will start offering videos through its blockbuster Wii game console, the latest new feature for the Japanese entertainment giant.

CBS Peaks in Bleak Season
CBS is in the black. Following its 12th consecutive weekly victory in total viewers, CBS became the first major broadcast network this season to move into positive year-to-year territory since premiere week. Through Dec. 21, CBS is up 1% from last year in viewership. NBC, ABC and Fox are each down 9%.

Some Positive Signs for Katie Couric in Ratings
After two years of relentlessly bad ratings, Katie Couric finally has something she can smile about. The CBS Evening News anchor remains in third place behind NBC and ABC. But the average of 7.4 million people who watched her newscast last week was better than any week since February 2007.

Science Groups Protest CNN Cuts
Four of the world’s largest science and environmental journalism groups issued their first-ever joint statement today in a letter sent to CNN protesting the network’s decision to cut its entire science team this month.

Tina Fey Is Entertainer of the Year
Tina Fey is the entertainer of the year? You betcha. Fey was voted The Associated Press’ Entertainer of the Year, an annual honor chosen by newspaper editors and broadcast producers across the country. Fey was selected as the performer who had the greatest impact on culture and entertainment in 2008.

Wi-fi TV shows on iPhone give Joost a boost
Web video service Joost is looking to the iPhone for a big comeback.

EU’s new digital library is back online
The European Union’s first large-scale digital library, Europeana, was online again Tuesday, a month after it crashed after being overwhelmed by readers’ interest.

There’s Lots of Tech Help, Yes, on the Internet
Instead of getting on the phone, here’s how to get online and start crowdsourcing your tech support needs.

Take your job search online
Unemployment is at a 15-year high. So, if you’re looking for a job, you’re not alone. Unfortunately, the competition makes landing a job more difficult. You must be savvy. You’ll find plenty of help online.

Facebook Joins MySpace In Banning Project Playlist (Paid Content)
Facebook resisted a few days longer than MySpace but finally has given in to the RIAA’s demands that the Project Playlist app be removed for copyright violation. It’s been a real take-one-step-forward and two-steps-back few days for Project Playlist, which also scored a big win by signing a licensing deal with Sony BMG. The RIAA sued Project Playlist back in April and yet the company has been able to increase its funding and attract top talent since then.

Broadway’s Marketing Turns Interactive
To fill more seats, theater producers are stepping up their online presence in an effort to spread word of mouth among Internet users.
They ought to take a cue from the Metropolitan Opera, and start doing satellite transmissions of their performances to theaters and/or to cable companies that can make the performances available through pay per view.  Why aren’t concerts done that way, too?  And music festivals.  I’d love to see some Jazz & Heritage Festival performances, but no way will I put up with the crowds.

Web Advertisers Gain the Upper Hand on Formats
As growth in online advertising slows, some Internet companies are easing the restrictions they impose on the categories and formats of advertising they will accept. Web sites have started letting marketers create bigger, more intrusive ads that take up more space on the page.

NBC Sacks 8-way Superbowl Ad (Agency Spy, Media Bistro)
NBC representatives say the eight-way superbowl ad deal with Los Angeles-based ad shop Cesario Migliozzi will not happen, according to Adweek. The so-called spot would cost each advertiser an estimated $395,000 — covering the $3 million for NBC’s ad space and an additional $160,000 for creative… To us, this is another example of how TV advertising is a ginormous waste of money. Yeah, it’s the superbowl, but dropping $395,000 to share ad space with seven brands — each with its own message — well let’s just say we wouldn’t envy the agency charged with making all of them happy. And doing it on budget.

FedEx Pulls Super Bowl Ad
FedEx said it would not run a Super Bowl ad for the first time in 12 years. Director of advertising Steve Pacheco posted a statement on the company Web site citing “unprecedented economic waters” as the reason FedEx is opting not to buy a spot. The average ad is running about $3 million this year.

Need a coupon for converter to digital TV? Better get it now
Have you converted? If you haven’t, you might want to start hustling. The USA becomes an all-digital TV market on Feb. 17. When it happens at midnight more than 70 million analog TVs that use antennas to receive over-the-air signals will need help to keep going.

Some stations to reach fewer viewers with digital
WASHINGTON – Nearly a fifth of the nation’s full-power television stations will no longer reach at least 2 percent of viewers now covered by their existing analog signals after they switch to digital broadcasts in February, federal regulators say.

Deutsche Telekom says it will cooperate with Vodafone in Internet venture
BERLIN (AFP) – German telecommunications group Deutsche Telekom is to join forces with British rival Vodafone to develop a fiber optic network for high-speed Internet access, a senior Deutsche Telekom official said.

Notebook shipments overtake desktops in new study
NEW YORK – Shipments of notebook computers edged passed desktop sales in the third quarter for the first time, according to data from the research firm iSupply.

“Netbook” A Major Tech Trend Of 2008
“Netbook” is a relatively new category of notebook computer noted for being smaller, less expensive and more energy efficient than typical notebook or laptop PCs. It’s one of the major technology trends of 2008.

Pressure mounts for Microsoft to deliver with Windows 7
Nearly two years after introducing Vista, Microsoft is grappling with an unanticipated phenomenon: The latest version of its flagship Windows computer operating system remains a rarity in corporate settings.

Chinese hackers to face up to seven years in jail: report
BEIJING (AFP) – Hackers in China could face up to seven years in jail according to a draft law, as the country moves to fight rampant computer data theft, state media said Tuesday.

Royal Philips Sheds Old Businesses for New Directions
The Dutch industrial giant is moving away from home electronics and toward the next generation of light bulbs and hospital scanning and monitoring equipment.

Chaos Theory Simplified: Just Follow the Bouncing Droplet
Two researchers have created a strikingly simple model of chaotic behavior, in which variations in initial conditions become so tangled and magnified by the system’s dynamics that the outcome appears to be unpredictably random. The team, then based at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (M.I.T.), did this by bouncing a tiny droplet on a soap film, using an inexpensive speaker to drive the miniature trampoline.

Nanowires Can Now Be Controlled Down To Single Atom Level
Nanoscience researchers at Lund University in Sweden have shown that they can control the growth and crystal structure of nanowires down to the single atom level.

Scientists Create New Means to Study Disease Origins
Availability of rat stem cells may help link genes to human disorders

Scientists May Isolate Stem Cells From Rats, Other Mammals
Achievement would be a real advance since these cells more closely mimic those of humans

Hobbyists are trying genetic engineering at home
SAN FRANCISCO – The Apple computer was invented in a garage. Same with the Google search engine. Now, tinkerers are working at home with the basic building blocks of life itself.

Genes Seem to Affect Tissues Differently
TUESDAY, Dec. 23 (HealthDay News) — The same gene acting very differently in different tissues may contribute to certain human traits, including how likely a person is to get a disease, a new report says.