Praise for Liberal Fascism  —  Charles Murray declares: “'It is my argument that American liberalism is a totalitarian political religion,' Jonah Goldberg writes near the beginning of Liberal Fascism.  My first reaction was that he is engaging in partisan hyperbole.  That turned out to be wrong.

Hillary Edges Out Oprah as Most Admired Woman in '07  —  PRINCETON, NJ — For the sixth year in a row, President George W. Bush is the most admired man and Sen. Hillary Clinton the most admired woman in Gallup's annual survey.  But neither winner had a very decisive win this year …

Andrew Sullivan: Tenaciously Behind the Curve  —  Via Memeorandum, I discovered that Andrew Sullivan is recommending the equally clueless Juan Cole's “Top Ten Myths about Iraq 2007″: … Sullivan then quotes Cole: “Among the primary effects of the ‘surge’ has been to turn Baghdad …

Tsunami aid ‘spent on politics’  —  THREE years after Australians donated $400 million to rebuild Asian lives devastated by the 2004 tsunami, aid groups are under attack for spending much of the money on social and political engineering.  —  A survey by The Australian of the contributions …

Obama ups the ante in Iowa  —  MASON CITY, Iowa — One week before Iowans gather for the first-in-the-nation caucus, Sen. Barack Obama said Wednesday that his message of change has already been “vindicated."  —  Obama made the declaration at the outset of a critical final push in Iowa …

Huckabee still gives paid speeches  —  Breaking with tradition for presidential candidates, Mike Huckabee is continuing to accept paid speaking engagements in the thick of his insurgent presidential campaign, although churches get a break from his usual fee of up to $25,000.

A Fresh Look at Hezbollah  —  I haven't written much about Lebanon lately, partly because I've been working in Iraq, but also because Lebanon has been in a holding pattern for the past year.  There isn't much new to say about the same-old same-old.  —  But Andrew Exum published a perceptive piece …

At 60% of Total, Texas is Bucking Execution Trend  —  This year's death penalty bombshells — a de facto national moratorium, a state abolition and the smallest number of executions in more than a decade — have masked what may be the most significant and lasting development.

Favorite quotes of 2007  —  One of the few things I dislike more than end-of-the-year “looking back” lists is the incessant chatter and worthless speculation over the upcoming primaries.  But that chatter and speculation is inundating everything.  Thus, I offer some of my favorite quotes of 2007:

Goodbye, Cruel Jews  —  I did not come to this site to fight in the Jew Wars.  —  I came to join with MSOC, in her words, to rage against the lying of the right, against injustice and cruelty.  Instead, I found injustice, cruelty and hate directed at me.  —  I left, then, earlier this year …

Would you, could you, vote McCain?  —  Here's some straight talk about John McCain from New Hampshire voters, via the Boston Globe.  The voters' main concerns: He's a Ted Kennedy shamnesty supporter and he's too old:  —  The Manchester Union Leader attacks Romney as a Johnny-come-lately …

Diversity Training Backfires  —  Employers pay a lot of money for diversity training and sexual harassment training, but often the training backfires and blows up in the face of the employer that paid for it.  In Hartman v. Pena (1995), the Federal Aviation Administration got sued …

The Villainy of Non-Rape  —  Remember, intellectual sophistication and penetration is best indexed by the depth of perversity: … Here's hoping Columbia snap this one up.  Cupid Stunt.

Solar cheaper than coal and falling  —  Let me be the last in the greenosphere to note that Nanosolar has shipped its first panels, and it's no exaggeration to say that this moment will likely be seen as a historical turning point.  —  For a taste of the breathless anticipation around Nanosolar …