Volcker Tapped for Advisory Role  —  Ex-Fed Chief to Lead New Economic Panel of Outside Experts Who Will Brief Obama  —  President-elect Barack Obama will appoint former Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker on Wednesday to be the chairman of a new White House advisory board tasked with helping …

Barack Obama chafes inside the ‘bubble’  —  Barack Obama wants his BlackBerry back - or at least some good way to communicate better with people outside the immediate circle of the president-elect.  —  And Obama isn't too impressed with the way that automakers have conducted themselves …

State justice confirms he yelled “Tyrant!” at Mukasey before AG collapsed  —  Richard Sanders, a justice on the Washington State Supreme Court, has never been one to shy from controversy or blunt language.  And last week, as he sat at a Federalist Society dinner and listened …

Obama's Picks  —  According to the latest news reports, President-elect Obama will nominate a national security team next week that is stunning in its moderation.  The headliners-Bob Gates staying at Defense, Hillary Clinton becoming Secretary of State, retired General Jim Jones taking …

Freedom Fighter in Life Becomes Potent Symbol in Death  —  One of the first scenes in “Milk” is of a pick-up in a New York subway station.  It's 1970, and an insurance executive in a suit and tie catches sight of a beautiful, scruffy younger man — the phrase “angel-headed hipster” comes to mind — and banters with him on the stairs.

“Unlikely” Or Lesbian?  —  Every now and again, someone gets the fame they deserve.  Rachel Maddow is photographed by Roger Erickson for the Out 100 this year, the magazine's tally of the 100 gay people who made the biggest impact in America in 2008.  From Julia Baird's profile in Newsweek:

Dr. Dobson: 'We Won't Be Silenced'  —  Washington Post columnist says the Republican Party must ditch God in order to survive.  —  So, Kathleen Parker has determined that getting rid of social conservatives and shelving the values they fight for is the solution to what ails the Republican Party ("Giving Up on God," Nov. 19).

Fed Aid Sets Off a Rush to Refinance  —  The Federal Reserve's attempt to stabilize the housing market set off a chain reaction across the U.S. on Tuesday, dropping interest rates and quickly spurring a burst of refinancing activity by borrowers eager to lower their mortgage costs.

Giant Stimulus Plan Proposed for Europe  —  BRUSSELS — Seeking to revive the region's rapidly deteriorating economy, the European Commission on Wednesday proposed a stimulus package totaling 200 billion euros, or $256.22 billion.  —  The commission, the executive arm of the European Union …

Why churches fear gay marriage  —  For author Richard Rodriguez, no one is talking about the real issues behind Proposition 8.  —  While conservative churches are busy trying to whip up another round of culture wars over same-sex marriage, Rodriguez says the real reason for their panic lies elsewhere …

German Auto Industry Facing the Abyss  —  More than 1.5 million workers in Germany depend on the automobile industry for their jobs.  But that industry is now facing one of its worst crises ever.  Respected giants BMW and Mercedes are particularly exposed as sales plummet.

Obama Chief of Staff Hopes to Exploit the Economic Crisis to Expand the Growth of Government:  —  In earlier posts (e.g. - here and here) I have emphasized the risk that the combination of economic crisis and unified Democratic control of Congress and the White House would lead to a vast expansion of government.

White House Prods Allies to Oppose Limits on Greenhouse Gases  —  As the Bush administration prepares to issue its ruling on whether to limit greenhouse gases, it's sending out a message to some of its allies: Tell us how much you don't want us to regulate emissions linked to global warming.

Obama team denies it will delay 'Don't Ask' repeal  —  Gay service members see need to build support  —  A member of Barack Obama's transition team is denying media reports that the president-elect has decided to delay efforts to repeal “Don't Ask, Don't Tell” until 2010.

The Russia-Venezuela maneuvers in the Caribbean: 15 Minutes on Latin America  —  Just in time for the US holiday weekend, Russia and Venezuela are conducting joint military excercises in the Caribbean: … Following the APEC summit in Peru, where he signed agreements involving the transportation of gas …

For Biden, No Portfolio but the Role of a Counselor  —  WASHINGTON — The day before Joseph R. Biden Jr.'s birthday last week, Barack Obama surprised him after lunch with candlelighted cupcakes.  Within hours, the photograph of the president-elect and his running mate, smiling over the dessert, was on the evening news.

Americans' Food Stamp Use Nears All-Time High  —  Fueled by rising unemployment and food prices, the number of Americans on food stamps is poised to exceed 30 million for the first time this month, surpassing the historic high set in 2005 after Hurricane Katrina.

Beware Rumsfeld's Snow Job  —  The former defense secretary's revisionist op-ed.  —  Donald Rumsfeld is writing his memoirs, and if his op-ed in the Nov. 23 New York Times is any preview, it should be a classic of self-serving revisionism.  —  On the surface, the former defense secretary's piece seems …

MINNESOTA SENATE RECOUNT, UPDATE VIII  —  The Franken campaign and its allies such as Minnesota Secretary of State Mark Ritchie and Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman are now focusing on rejected absentee ballots.  In today's Star Tribune Kevin Duchschere shows that Ritchie is now improvising …

Lieberman: Obama ‘about perfect’ in Cabinet picks  —  HARTFORD, Conn. - Connecticut Sen. Joe Lieberman took another step Tuesday toward mending his relationship with Democrats, saying that Barack Obama's actions since winning the presidency have been “just about perfect.”

While We're on the Subject of Holder  —  ... I think occasional excerpts from the House Committee on Government Reform's lengthy and enlightening report on the Clinton pardons should be required reading — given not only President-elect Obama's decision to nominate Holder for AG but the assertions …