White House Gears Up to Sell Plan for Troop Increase in Iraq  —  The White House is planning an aggressive effort to sell Congress and the American public on President Bush's new strategy for Iraq, beginning with a prime-time address to the nation on Wednesday night, followed Thursday …

Schwarzenegger Proposes Universal Health Coverage  —  California Plan Could Cost State $12 Billion  —  Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) on Monday proposed a system of universal health insurance for Californians that would make the nation's most populous state the third to guarantee medical coverage for all its residents.

U.S. Strike in Somalia Targets Al-Qaeda Figure  —  A U.S. Air Force AC-130 gunship attacked suspected al-Qaeda members in southern Somalia on Sunday, and U.S. sources said the operation may have hit a senior terrorist figure.  —  The strike took place near the Kenyan border, according to a senior officer at the Pentagon.

DeMint endorses Romney for president  —  COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Sen. Jim DeMint has endorsed former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney in the 2008 presidential race, according to a letter the South Carolina senator is sending to state Republicans.  —  The endorsement letter …

Democratic War Plan  —  Democratic War Plan here.  Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid on how the Democrats plan to execute their war plan here.  —  "We have a platform we didn't have before, Leader Pelosi and I, and we're going to ... focus attention on this war in many different ways," said Reid.

Now that I have your attention  —  I love it!  First day of Swampitude and the left-wing blogosphere—which is overpopulated by illiberal leftists and reactionary progressives—is already attacking me: 24 mostly mingy comments about my Left Behind post, many of which seem to be steaming off …

RED STAR OVER VENEZUELA  —  Venezuelan dictator Hugo Chavez has signalled his true intentions with more clarity than ever today, announcing that he would expropriate:  —  1. All the phone lines  —  2. All the electricity  —  As this happened, a provincial governor from Bolivar state …

The holy blitz rolls on  —  The Christian right is a "deeply anti-democratic movement" that gains force by exploiting Americans' fears, argues Chris Hedges.  Salon talks with the former New York Times reporter about his fearless new book, "American Fascists."  —  Pastor Rod Parsley of the World Harvest Church

ACLU sues state police  —  PROVIDENCE — The Rhode Island Affiliate of the American Civil Liberties Union yesterday filed a federal lawsuit against the state police, alleging racial profiling and violation of the constitutional rights of 14 Guatemalan nationals during a July traffic stop …

ROSIE BLOWS UP AT 'LIAR' BABS  —  THE tension between "The View" creator Barbara Walters and co-host Rosie O'Donnell, sparked by O'Donnell's feud with Donald Trump, boiled over yesterday morning when the portly comic called Walters "a [bleeping] liar."  —  The fight started around 8:30 a.m …

THE STARTING GATE  —  Evan Bayh was uncharacteristically dispirited when I met him in the Russell Senate Office Building on a quiet Wednesday before Christmas.  For Bayh, who is fifty-one and was first elected to the Senate from Indiana in 1998, December will be recalled as a low moment in an otherwise high-achieving life.

WORLD EXCLUSIVE: Mexican Gunmen Involved in Arizona Border Incident Actually Uniformed Mexican Force  —  The incursion into U.S. territory last week by "Mexican gunmen" was not a chance confrontation between the Arizona National Guard and untrained illegal immigrants, but a deliberate …

After five years of torture, Bisher is slowly slipping into madness  —  False allegations from MI5 put my clients in Guantánamo Bay and the British government has failed them abysmally  —  G Brent Mickum  —  The day after tomorrow marks the confluence of two ignominious anniversaries.

Geraldo wants to whoop up on Olbermann  —  So here's one I missed over the holidays — Geraldo Rivera coming to town and threatening to beat up on Keith Olbermann.  —  Apparently Geraldo was visiting with 104.1 FM's Monsters just before Christmas, when they asked him about the time he made …

Michelle Malkin's credibility, R.I.P.  —  It's time for warbloggers to find a new conspiracy theory to promote because their most recent one, which involved accusing the Associated Press of manufacturing a source in Iraq and colluding with the insurgents, blew up in their faces.