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.

Romney Raises $6.5 Million in One-Day Blitz  —  Former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney raised $6.5 million for his presidential exploratory committee yesterday, sending a powerful message to his potential opponents about the seriousness of his bid for the Republican nomination.

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.

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 …

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 …

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

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.

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.