The AC-130 gunship is capable of firing thousands of rounds per second.  —  (CBS/AP) A U.S. Air Force gunship has conducted a strike against suspected members of al Qaeda in Somalia, CBS News national security correspondent David Martin reports exclusively.  —  The targets included …

Exclusive: Bush Picks a Replacement for Harriet Miers  —  In a signal that he could be open to working more closely with congressional Democrats rather than stonewalling, President Bush plans to name the widely respected Republican lawyer Fred F. Fielding as White House counsel this week, party sources tell TIME.

Authorities: Miami package was harmless  —  MIAMI - The Port of Miami was hit by its second terrorism scare in two days Monday when a package that was to be loaded onto a cruise ship tested positive for plastic explosives.  Authorities later determined it was just a box of sprinkler parts.

Lieberman on Surge: What's "The Worst that Could Happen"?  —  [UPDATE: Welcome Atrios, C&L readers.]  —  Over the weekend, I caught a snippet of CSPAN's coverage of the McCain/Lieberman "surge" party at the American Enterprise Institute.  It was after all the speeches, with the Senators kibitzing with reporters as the hour ran down.

Investments in the Red  —  Investors normally don't like to hear that their investments are "in the red," but there's a new exception for Republican investors who want their investing strategy to support their political point of view.  From the New York Times comes this story (also online here) …

New Saddam Execution Video  —  A video showing Saddam Hussein shortly after he was executed has emerged on the internet.  The video and images from it are shown below.  The first uncut, uncensored, unedited video showing Saddam Hussein executed caused quite a stir.

I got an A in Phallus 101  —  The list of the 12 most bizarre college courses in the U.S. includes offerings such as 'The Phallus' and 'Queer Musicology.'  —  THE "DIRTY DOZEN" list of "America's Most Bizarre and Politically Correct College Courses" is out — and Los Angeles-area institutions …

Left Behind  —  I'm afraid I'm going to get cranky about this: The Democrats who oppose the so-called "surge" are right.  But they have to be careful not to sound like ill-informed dilettantes when talking about it.  The latest to make a fool of himself is Paul Krugman of the New York Times …

The War Against Global Jihadism  —  President Bush has said that the war against global jihadism is more than a military conflict; it is the decisive ideological struggle of the 21st century.  We are still in the early years of the struggle.  The civilized world will either rise to the challenge …

Step 1.  —  Fill in your contact information below to send a letter to your members of Congress who have not already signed.  —  Please take a moment to send a letter your representatives and urge them to co-sign the Brownback-Durbin letter in the Senate and the Lee-Shays letter in the House …

The universe gives up its deepest secret  —  It is the invisible material that makes up most of the cosmos.  Now, scientists have created the first image of dark matter  —  One of the greatest mysteries of the universe is about to be unravelled with the first detailed …

Rep. Keith Ellison's Excellent Opportunity  —  To: Congressman Keith Ellison, Fifth District, Minnesota  —  You have been elected to serve the Fifth District of Minnesota in the United States House of Representatives.  This is a crucially important opportunity, not only for all of your …

The Smart Surge: Diplomacy  —  The odds are that this week President Bush will announce a "surge" of up to 20,000 additional U.S. troops into Iraq.  Will this deliver a "win"?  Probably not.  But it will distract us from facing the deep-seated regional issues that must be resolved.

Til we meet again  —  So today's the last day of this humble blog's existence—though I hear there might be some fireworks here tomorrow (and of course I'll keep all the archives available).  Thanks to everyone who's stopped by in the past week to pay respects, offer condolences, ask me to keep at it, or just say hello.

Obama's Big Splash  —  People captured Sen. Barack Obama's (D-IL) trip to a Hawaiian beach New Year's Day.  His photo appears next to those of Penelope Cruz and Hugh Jackman.