Official: First wave of troops to Iraq by Jan. 31  —  Kennedy says Hill must act on surge; move may spark constitutional debate  —  WASHINGTON - A first wave of additional U.S. troops will go into Iraq before the end of the month under President Bush's new plan, a senior defense official said Tuesday.

The Latest On Jamil Hussein  —  I've been in touch with Bill Costlow (the CPATT (Civilian Police Assistance Training Team) representative) since he has been back in-country and I have a few interesting developments on this story.  —  First, the AP story: … But guess what Bill just confirmed?

Congressional Limitations and Requirements for Military Deployments and Funding  —  The 110th Congress has an important responsibility to shape the country's national security policy in order to make Americans safer and advance U.S. national security interests more effectively.

Bush Judicial Nominees Ask to Withdraw … WASHINGTON (AP) — In a concession to the Senate's new Democratic majority, four of President Bush's appeals court appointees have asked to have their nominations withdrawn, Republican officials said Tuesday.  —  These officials said that William Haynes …

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 …

WE TURN THE FLOOR OVER TO SENATOR MCCAIN  —  We have disagreed strongly with Senator John McCain on several issues, but have also applauded his unwavering support for a strong national defense and for vigorous prosecution of the global war on terror.  When the Senator's staff requested …

Press Briefing by Tony Snow  —  White House Conference Center Briefing Room  —  MR. SNOW: Good afternoon.  A couple notes, and then I'll be happy to take questions.  The President's schedule today: Normal morning briefings; he's consulting with members of Congress, and continuing to work on the speech for tomorrow night.

Live from Macworld 2007: Steve Jobs keynote  —  The game is on!  Keep refreshing this page for a steady stream of updates.  The keynote should get rolling sometime after 9am PST.  —  7:54am - We're here, standing in line waiting to get in.  People have been camped out since 9pm last night …

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.

OTA Color of my Blogroll - Woman Honor Thyself  —  I would like to try something different on Open Trackback Tuesdays: I will pick a blogger from my blogroll and, using the colors of that blogger's weblog, find photographic matches for those colors.  An example will illustrate this much better.

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.