Military Expands Domestic Surveillance  —  The Pentagon has been using a little-known power to obtain banking and credit records of hundreds of Americans and others suspected of terrorism or espionage inside the United States, part of an aggressive expansion by the military into domestic intelligence gathering.

In hindsight, Sunni jihadis not sure killing Shiites was such a good idea; Update: Mahdi Army lowers its profile  —  They were hugely outnumbered, but they made a deal with the devil and now the bill's come due. … That conversation happened in October; Abu Omar has long since disappeared …

House GOP Shows Its Fractiousness In the Minority  —  House Republican leaders, who confidently predicted they would drive a wedge through the new Democratic majority, have found their own party splintering, with Republican lawmakers siding with Democrats in droves on the House's opening legislative blitz.

Video: Barney Frank throws a fit ... on the House floor  —  The Republican arguing with power-hungry Barney Frank is Patrick McHenry.  McHenry rose to offer an amendment that would exempt American Samoa from the stem-cell bill — a clear dig at the fact that Samoa, which is home to StarKist factories …

NAMES & FACES  —  It all started with a simple video rental.  Who knows where it will end?  —  Potomac Video store clerk Charles Williamson, 28, posted a message on his blog, Freelance Genius, Dec. 23 that described how he set up a movie rental account for MSNBC host Tucker Carlson at the MacArthur Boulevard store the day before.

Boxer comments to Rice draw fire from the right  —  Senator says she won't apologize for 'strong message'  —  Was Sen. Barbara Boxer's heated confrontation this week with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice a case of "vicious" feminine politics — as some critics have suggested — or merely the politics of frank talk in tough times?

Deletions in Army Manual Raise Wiretapping Concerns  —  Deep into an updated Army manual, the deletion of 10 words has left some national security experts wondering whether government lawyers are again asserting the executive branch's right to wiretap Americans without a court warrant.

Steve Kagen: My Favorite New Member  —  I saw this link on Drudge.  Yes, I actually look at that once a day.  Maybe twice.  —  http://www.valleyscene.com/coverstory.h tml  —  Before the midterm election, I had the pleasure of meeting Dr. Steve Kagen at a fundraiser for his campaign.

NO, TODAY'S DEMONSTRATION in Madrid -taking place as I type this- doesn't mean that people have finally grown a spine (I found no link in English yet, probably because it's still ongoing).  —  After Zapatero's controversial initiative to negotiate with the Basque terrorist group …

Bush Lashes Out at Opponents on Iraq Plan  —  President Bush fought back at lawmakers opposing his new plan for Iraq today, charging that simply being against the strategy without suggesting alternatives was "irresponsible."  He challenged them to come up with a better plan.

A Skeptic's Case For the Surge  —  President Bush's plan for a surge of American troops in Iraq has run into a brick wall of congressional opposition.  Critics rightly argue that it may well be too little, way too late.  But for a skeptical Congress and nation, it is still the right thing to try …

Bush set for climate change U-turn  —  Downing Street says that belated US recognition of global warming could lead to a post-Kyoto agreement on curbing emissions  —  Gaby Hinsliff, Juliette Jowit and Paul Harris  —  George Bush is preparing to make a historic shift in his position …

On Iraq, U.S. Turns to Onetime Dissenters  —  Timothy M. Carney went to Baghdad in April 2003 to run Iraq's Ministry of Industry and Minerals.  Unlike many of his compatriots in the Green Zone, the rangy, retired American ambassador wasn't fazed by chaos.  He'd been in Saigon during the Tet Offensive …