On Reflection  —  George Bush will address us tonight, and show us the way forward.  The general outline has been floated: Up to 20,000 more troops, ready to move in by the end of the month.  Hammer time for Baghdad and Anbar, already underway with 80 insurgents killed on Haifa Street since Saturday.

Democrats Plan Symbolic Votes Against Bush's Iraq Troop Plan  —  Democratic leaders said Tuesday that they intended to hold symbolic votes in the House and Senate on President Bush's plan to send more troops to Baghdad, forcing Republicans to take a stand on the proposal and seeking to isolate …

"Tell Me How This Ends"  —  From the artiicle Iraq Will Be Petraeus' Knot to Untie in the Washington Post, January 7: … The article does not answer Petraeus' question; it is only a short bio of the General.  We are left to wonder what will happen to Iraq or any number of countries …

Did the 9/11 Commission receive all the documents it requested?  Davis Releases Berger Report  —  Washington, D.C. - Oversight and Government Reform Committee Ranking Member Tom Davis (R-VA) released the following statement today on a committee report that sheds important new light …

With Iraq Speech, Bush to Pull Away From His Generals  —  When President Bush goes before the American people tonight to outline his new strategy for Iraq, he will be doing something he has avoided since the invasion of Iraq in March 2003: ordering his top military brass to take action they initially resisted and advised against.

Senator's condition upgraded after brain surgery  —  WASHINGTON (AP) — Sen. Tim Johnson's condition has been upgraded from critical to fair, four weeks after he was hospitalized for a brain hemorrhage, his office said Tuesday.  —  The South Dakota Democrat, who was rushed to the hospital December 13 …

U.S. and Iraqis Hit Insurgents in All-Day Fight  —  More than 1,000 American and Iraqi troops, backed by Apache attack helicopters and fighter jets, battled insurgents all day Tuesday and late into the night in downtown Baghdad, in one of the most dramatic operations in the capital since the invasion nearly four years ago.

Late Nite FDL: Blather, Rinse, Repeat (The Five Stages of Blogging)  —  (This illustration is a Demotivator from www.despair.com.)  —  Groan.  Add the name of Joe Klein to the long list of Pompous Old Bores Who Should Know Better (like Tom DeLay) who have decided that hey …

Democrats to challenge Bush's Iraq plan  —  WASHINGTON - President Bush is telling lawmakers he will send thousands more U.S. troops to Iraq's two most troubled regions, in a plan that Democrats are resisting as a major escalation of a 31/2-year-old war.  On Tuesday, Senate Armed Services …

Venezuelan Plan Shakes Investors  —  Verizon Communications had been looking to lighten its exposure to Latin America for some time when it struck a deal in April to sell investments in three properties in Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic and Venezuela.  —  Now, it probably wishes it had disconnected its Latin lines even sooner.

Time is Up  —  I was in NY these past few days for a quiet holiday period.  I flew out of town on Saturday, January 6th. 72 degrees in New York.  On January 6th.  People walking along Central Park in t-shirts.  —  There is no winter in the East right now.  No snowfall in NY in December for the first time since 1877.