Romney speaks up for sons' decisions  —  BETTENDORF, Iowa - Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney on Wednesday defended his five sons' decision not to enlist in the military, saying they're showing their support for the country by "helping me get elected."

DAILY KOS CO-AUTHOR FINED $30K FOR UNETHICAL STOCK TOUT  —  Prominent liberal blogger Jerome Armstrong has agreed to pay nearly $30,000 in fines in a settlement with the Securities and Exchange Commission over allegations that Armstrong touted the stock of a software company …

SERIOUS....I don't know Anne-Marie Slaughter.  Here's what I mean by this: not just that I've never met her, but that I don't even know much of anything about her views, what she's written, or, when you get right down to it, what kind of foreign policy she prefers.

Ho-Hum: Yet Another False Media-Reported Massacre In Iraq  —  On Sunday, Reuters reported that the scene of a large massacre had been discovered near Baquba: … Why did the police have such a hard time providing an indication of how the 60 people had been killed?  Probably because there were no bodies to examine.

INSTAPUNDIT IS SIX YEARS OLD TODAY: Here's what it looked like that first week.

If You Were a Terrorist, How Would You Attack?  —  The TSA recently announced that most airplane carry-on restrictions will stay in place for at least another year, until new X-ray technology has been fully installed.  Surprisingly, one item that will now be permitted on board is a lighter.

Airman Who Alleged Rape Faces Court-Martial  —  She Ties Her Prosecution to Refusal to Testify Against Airmen She Says Attacked Her  —  A female airman says she faces a court-martial next month because she refused to testify against three male airmen she accused of rape.

Iraq Timeline: The Broken Record on "the Next Few Months"  —  The Bush administration as well as supporters and some critics of the Bush Iraq strategy have told Americans time and again during the past four years that the "next few months" in Iraq will be the "decisive, critical period" …

Sources: Republicans will vote Jan. 19  —  S.C. Republican Party chairman Katon Dawson is expected to announce Thursday that the 2008 S.C. presidential primary will be Jan. 19, sources close to the party and campaigns told The State.  —  Dawson will be in Concord, N.H., on Thursday …

Roadside bomb attacks in Iraq reach an all-time high  —  Roadside bomb attacks on American troops in Iraq reached an all-time high last month, accounting for more than one third of all combat deaths.  —  The increase in the number of casualties caused by the explosive devices comes at the height of the …

Democratic Leaders Move the Goalposts on Iraq  —  It appears that today is a watershed day with regard to US policy in Iraq.  Democratic leaders now acknowledge that the surge is working.  The only catch is, they say it's no surprise, they've known it for a while, and it's nothing significant.

First Father: Tough Times on Sidelines  —  There are times in the life of George Herbert Walker Bush, the 41st president of the United States and father of the 43rd, that people, perfect strangers, come up to him and say the harshest things — words intended to comfort but words that wind up only causing pain.