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 …

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.

Joe Klein's extreme revisionism  —  Joe Klein, this week's Time Magazine, on George Bush's legacy: … Joe Klein, Face the Nation, May 4, 2003, with Bob Schieffer — 3 days after Bush's Mission Accomplished speech: … I'm glad that many people, including some journalists …

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 …

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 improvising …

“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:

Michelle Obama's ‘Mommy’ Stamp  —  When Michelle Obama took to describing her new role as mom in chief, my first reaction was to wince at her words.  My second reaction was to identify with them.  —  I was okay, actually, with what Obama said.  But I worried: Did she have to say it out loud, quite so explicitly?

So Who Picked Up the Tab?  —  More questions are being raised about the doubtful ethics of Representative Charles Rangel of New York, the chairman of the tax-writing House Ways and Means Committee.  The latest sniff of scandal — a breakfast meeting with a donor seeking tax protection …

Feds warn of terror plotting against NYC subways  —  Featured Topics: - Barack Obama - Presidential Transition  —  WASHINGTON - Federal authorities are warning law enforcement personnel of a possible terror plot against the New York City subway and train systems during the holiday season …

Obama's Foreign Policy: Buying in at the Bottom  —  In the spring of 1977, Menachem Begin was elected prime minister of Israel and surprised everyone by choosing as his foreign minister not someone from his own Likud Party, but a star of the opposing Labor Party, Moshe Dayan.

Robert Gates: Should We Want Him to Stay?  —  Bob Gates is keeping his Pentagon perch (which has been quite clear for some time).  —  I had moved close to the view that Gates should go.  My thinking at the time was that Gates played a vital role “Out-Cheneying Cheney” …

Send Bill Clinton to the Senate  —  Amid the blizzard of résumés blanketing Washington as the Obama era dawns, there is a superbly qualified candidate for full employment whose name has been overlooked.  We refer, of course, to William Jefferson Clinton, America's 42nd chief executive and commander in chief.

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.

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.

Democrats may play hardball in Pennsylvania  —  MSNBC's Chris Matthews could be in the mix of candidates hoping to win Republican Sen. Arlen Specter's seat in 2010.  —  Reporting from Washington — The Northeast's dwindling cast of Senate Republicans has Democrats circling Arlen Specter's seat …

State of New Jersey Is Insolvent  —  The state of New Jersey is insolvent.  Bankrupt might be a better word.  New Jersey is $60 billion in the hole on pension funding and the Governor is planning on skipping payments in a “pension payment holiday” until 2012 so as to not increase property taxes.