memeorandum: Edwards Campaign May Have Expected Union Group Plan (David D. Kirkpatrick/New York Times)

Holiday Cheer Gives Way to Final Primary Push in Iowa — DES MOINES — After a 48-hour lull for Christmas, the Democratic and Republican presidential campaigns roared back to life on Wednesday with a barrage of new advertisements, closing campaign arguments and more than a few attacks …

Carrie Budoff Brown / The Politico:
Obama ups the ante in Iowa

Discussion: Washington Post, The Swamp and TPM Election Central

Robert Pear / New York Times:

U.S. Ruling Backs Benefit Cut at 65 in Retiree Plans — WASHINGTON — The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission said Wednesday that employers could reduce or eliminate health benefits for retirees when they turn 65 and become eligible for Medicare. — The policy, set forth in a new regulation …

Discussion: Firedoglake, Rox Populi, naked capitalism, Big Brass Blog, Seeing the Forest and Booman Tribune

Jennifer Steinhauer / New York Times:

Bridging 4 Decades, a Large, Close-Knit Brood — Before Senator John McCain steps in front of an audience at a presidential debate, his daughter Meghan makes sure his nose is properly powdered. And from the campaign bus, Ms. McCain blogs about New Hampshire through the prism of politics and fashion …

Discussion: Washington Times

Ron Claiborne / ABCNEWS:

McCain Still Dogged by Immigration Issue — Arizona Senator Faces Questions on Campaign Trail About His Immigration Position — When Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., campaigns in Iowa this week, sooner or later, he will surely be asked at a town hall event about one issue that has bedeviled him for months: illegal immigration.

Discussion: Lonewacko

Wall Street Journal:

Pace of Decline In Home Prices Sets a Record — A closely watched gauge of U.S. home prices shows they are falling sharply across most of the nation, as a deepening slump in the housing market threatens to damp consumer spending. — Home prices in 10 major metropolitan areas in October …

Discussion: Concurring Opinions, SCSUScholars and Calculated Risk

Stephen Bernard / Associated Press: October Home Prices Post Record Decline

David D. Kirkpatrick / New York Times:

Edwards Campaign May Have Expected Union Group Plan — DES MOINES — In the final days before the Iowa caucuses on Jan. 3, John Edwards has stepped up his criticism of outside organizations that spend money to influence elections, repeatedly disavowing a labor group that is blanketing Iowa with commercials supporting his candidacy.

David Roberts / Gristmill:

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 …

The Australian:

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 …

Discussion: Australian Politics, Secular Blasphemy, Interested-Participant, JammieWearingFool and Hot Air

Karl / protein wisdom:

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 …

Discussion: Associated Press and Liberty Street

James Taranto / Opinion Journal:

Best of the Web — Today's Video on WSJ.com: Filmmakers Maureen and James Tusty tell James Freeman about Estonia's “singing revolution. “ — Phony Libertarian — Rep. Ron Paul, by far the most popular sideshow act in the 2008 presidential circus, is supposedly a libertarian.

Discussion: Hullabaloo, LewRockwell.com Blog and The Colossus of Rhodey

Michael Barbaro / New York Times:

Major Retailers Feel the Squeeze From Consumers — As the nation's merchants began poring — or weeping — over holiday sales receipts Wednesday, a surprising pattern emerged: even brands that for years have inspired the undying devotion of shoppers felt the pinch of tightening wallets.

Discussion: Washington Monthly

Allison Lampert / canada.com:

Iran behind flood of weapons to Taliban, MacKay charges — Outside help makes it tough to cut supply lines, minister says — KANDAHAR AIR FIELD, Afghanistan - Canada has challenged the Iranian government over concerns that weapons and bomb-making equipment are slipping across the border …

Discussion: Pat Dollard

Hans Bader / OpenMarket.org:

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 …

Discussion: The Volokh Conspiracy, Blue Crab Boulevard and Discriminations

Chris Bowers / Open Left:

The Greatest Story Not Being Told — The introduction to 1968: The Year That Rocked The World, by Mark Kurlansky, contains the following passage describing the breadth of the cultural chasm between Boomers and their parents (page xix, emphasis mine): … Yesterday, I gave that book to my father for Christmas.

Discussion: Eschaton