In Paul They Trust (The Feds May Differ)  —  The ardent supporters of Rep. Ron Paul, the iconoclastic Texas libertarian whose campaign for the presidency is threatening to upend the battle for the Republican nomination, got word yesterday of a new source of outrage and motivation …

Mingling With The Women to Help Her Man  —  Politics and Judi Giuliani have not always gone well together.  —  In recent months, as her husband's presidential campaign heated up, Giuliani was pilloried in the New York press as a social climber.  A Vanity Fair profile accused her of demanding …

Petraeus Helping Pick New Generals  —  The Army has summoned the top U.S. commander in Iraq back to Washington to preside over a board that will pick some of the next generation of Army leaders, an unusual decision that officials say represents a vote of confidence in Gen. David H. Petraeus's conduct …

CBS "Mystified" by Dan Rather's "Bizarre Allegations", Files Motion to Dismiss  —  Today, in New York Supreme Court, in response to Dan Rather's civil lawsuit, CBS filed a lengthy 30-page motion to dismiss the case.  —  CBS executives also released a statement today, noting that they are …

In Name Count, Garcias Are Catching Up to Joneses  —  Step aside Moore and Taylor.  Welcome Garcia and Rodriguez.  —  Smith remains the most common surname in the United States, according to a new analysis released yesterday by the Census Bureau.  But for the first time, two Hispanic surnames …

Don't Hand Over the Internet to the U.N.  —  I'm no tech head, but I think I know a thing or three about the Internet and how it works.  And as far as I can tell, it works pretty well.  —  More than 1.4 billion people around the world seem to be emailing each other a lot …

Appeals court: No Jan. 15 primary  —  LANSING — A divided Michigan Court of Appeals refused Friday to overturn a lower court ruling that effectively bars the state from holding its presidential primary on Jan. 15.  —  By a 2-1 margin, the appeals panel sided with an Ingham County Circuit Court judge …

LOU FOR PRESIDENT?  —  The name of longtime CNN commentator Lou Dobbs has entered speculation as a possible independent candidate for president.  At age 62, he never has engaged in politics, but is reported by people who know him as pondering a presidential run.

Anti-Romney calls still swathed in mystery  —  It likely was inevitable.  —  But that didn't make the news of phone calls attacking Mitt Romney and invoking his Mormon faith any less explosive.  —  It's become the newest "Whodunit?" in the political universe, as the press …

Did CNN Plant The Audience, Too?  —  Actually, there are suggestions at some prominent Democrat sites that CNN didn't just plant questions, but perhaps in the administration of the debate, they created a situation where Hillary Clinton had a decided advantage.  It's mentioned at DailyKos but the best information is here.

Chávez's Vision Shares Wealth and Centers Power  —  In two weeks, Venezuela seems likely to start an extraordinary experiment in centralized, oil-fueled socialism.  By law, the workday would be cut to six hours.  Street vendors, homemakers and maids would have state-mandated pensions.

Does Marrying Bill Clinton Qualify Someone To Be President?  —  If a CEO of a fortune 500 company were to retire, would anyone seriously consider his wife to be an adequate replacement simply because she was married to him when he ran the company?  What about a Super Bowl winning football team?

Costume flap imperils immigration post  —  WASHINGTON - Just when it appeared Julie Myers had cleared every hurdle in her quest to officially become the nation's top immigration official, a dreadlocked wig and a prisoner's outfit could cost her the job.  —  Myers, director of Immigration …

Dolly creator Prof Ian Wilmut shuns cloning  —  The scientist who created Dolly the sheep, a breakthrough that provoked headlines around the world a decade ago, is to abandon the cloning technique he pioneered to create her.  —  Prof Ian Wilmut's decision to turn his back on "therapeutic cloning" …

Reid to Keep Senate in Session to Prevent Recess Appointments  —  Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) has decided to keep the chamber in session over the Thanksgiving break to block President Bush from making any unsavory recess appointments while Senators are out of town.