HALF THE STORY: Don Surber notes, quoting a correspondent: … Well, that's half the numbers.  Filling in the other half (which, to Surber's credit, is linked from his post), we see that Bush is at 45% job approval and 54% disapproval, while Pelosi is at 43% favorable and 39% unfavorable.

Get serious, Democrats  —  DEMOCRATS in Congress plan to restore pay-as-you-go budget rules.  The rules preclude tax cuts, unless paid for by other tax increases or spending cuts.  This is mostly a good idea — but unless Democrats get serious about repealing Bush's tax cuts for the rich …

Late Nite FDL: Spocko vs. The Rat  —  Evenin', fellow firedogs!  Tonight I'm going to attempt to get us all up to speed about a situation that I suspect we're going to be hearing a lot about in the near future.  This story was brought to my attention by ¡El Gato Negro!.  —  Where to begin?

Army asks dead to sign up for another hitch … WASHINGTON (AP) — The Army said Friday it would apologize to the families of about 275 officers killed or wounded in action who were mistakenly sent letters urging them to return to active duty.  —  The letters were sent a few days after Christmas …

Behind Negroponte's Move  —  The Director of National Intelligence resigns to take a job as Condi Rice's deputy.  Is it a loss for intelligence or a gain at State?  —  Will it create more problems than it solves?  That's the question Washington is pondering in the wake of a personnel whipsaw at the top of the Bush Administration.

Al-Qaeda, Islamic Courts gather the new Somali Jihad  —  Zawahiri, Islamist Courts lay the groundwork for the insurgency  —  While the Islamic Courts repeatedly denied any connection to al-Qaeda, the evidence to the contrary is overwhelming.  Hassan Dahir Aweys, the 'spiritual leader' …

Images of Hanging Make Hussein a Martyr to Many  —  In the week since Saddam Hussein was hanged in an execution steeped in sectarian overtones, his public image in the Arab world, formerly that of a convicted dictator, has undergone a resurgence of admiration and awe.

A New Commander, in Step With the White House on Iraq  —  The selection of Lt. Gen. David H. Petraeus to serve as the senior American commander in Iraq signals an important turn in United States strategy.  —  As a supporter of increased forces in Iraq, General Petraeus is expected …

Iraqi Premier Announces Baghdad Security Plan  —  BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) — Iraq's prime minister said Saturday that Iraqi forces would launch a new effort — with U.S. troops in a supporting role — to wrest control of Baghdad's neighborhoods from militias and other sectarian killers.

Safe as Milk?  —  The Food and Drug Administration's assessment that food from cloned animals is safe to eat is a victory for biotech companies and a loss for everyone else.  Like many decisions on the cutting edge of agricultural technology, it was hurried along in a way that is more sensitive …

CNN ANCHOR: "IT MIGHT NOT BE BAD" IF I HURRICANE WERE TO "CLEAN THE STREETS OUT" IN NYC...  BECK: OK.  Yesterday and when I heard the final — the final words of the hurricane chief, and he said, you know, this is coming, I thought exactly of the words that I read about, starting I think in the 1950s …

"Media Matters"; by Jamison Foser  —  This Week:  —  For coverage of Democrats' historic day in Congress, NBC interviews ... John McCain  —  On November 12, 2006, the first Sunday after an election in which Democrats rode anti-war sentiment to take control of both houses of Congress in a landslide …

Live From AEI: Holy Joe and St. McCain Say "Surge!"  —  Just got back from AEI, and boy, they really need air conditioning!  No, really- by the end of the chat I and everyone else in the room were about to fall over from heat exhaustion.  I wonder if Joe always has that effect...

Cleric gunned down in Gaza after plea for calm  —  GAZA (Reuters) - Unidentified gunmen shot dead a Muslim cleric after he delivered a sermon in the Gaza Strip on Friday calling for an end to fierce factional fighting between Hamas and Fatah, hospital officials and local residents said.