Dubya's New Digs  —  First couple drops $2.07 million on 1.13 acre Dallas spread  —  This is the Texas home that George W. Bush has purchased for his fast-approaching post-White House years.  The home, on a Dallas cul-de-sac, sits on 1.13 acres and offers 8501 square feet of living space, according to city appraisal records.

Democrats: Obama Needs Hands-On Economic Approach  —  WASHINGTON — Democrats are growing impatient with President-elect Barack Obama's refusal to inject himself in the major economic crises confronting the country.  Obama has sidestepped some policy questions by saying there is only one president at a time.

Next on Obama's Dance Card, Mother Nature  —  The Obama transition team, moving along smartly to fill Cabinet posts, is planning to trot out nominees as early as next week for three jobs much watched by enviros: the secretaries of energy and the interior and the administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency.

Donor: Obama suggested Jakarta visit  —  Barack Obama told a group of donors in California early last year that his first international trip would be to Muslim Indonesia, a supporter who was present recalled today.  —  Obama promised during the campaign to convene a Muslim summit …

The fringe movement to keep Barack Obama from becoming president.  —  If you want to stop Barack Obama from becoming president, there's still time.  But you have to act right now.  Go to RallyCongress.com, and you can be the 126,000th-odd American to demand “proof of citizenship” from the president-elect.

Happiness Can Spread Among People Like a Contagion, Study Indicates  —  Happiness is contagious, spreading among friends, neighbors, siblings and spouses like the flu, according to a large study that for the first time shows how emotion can ripple through clusters of people who may not even know each other.

Cuba Tightens Restrictions on Bloggers  —  As Cuba approaches the 50th anniversary of its revolution this New Year's Day, the island's Communist government appears to be taking a harder line against a budding group of Cuban Internet bloggers pushing for greater freedoms.

WARREN ENDORSES HANNITY'S WARMONGERING.... Pastor Rick Warren has a reputation for being far more stable and grounded than religious right leaders and TV preachers like Pat Robertson, but it's worth remembering that he's not exactly a moderate.  —  Last night, on Fox News …

Matthews: It's ‘Really Hard’ to ‘Salute Sarah Palin’  —  On Thursday night's “Hardball,” Chris Matthews actually praised Sarah Palin for her ability to draw a crowd and even pegged her as the early frontrunner for the GOP nod in 2012, “Who's gonna beat her?”

Tangled Web: Rangel son got campaign cash  —  Between 2004 and 2007, Rep. Charles Rangel steered nearly $80,000 in campaign cash to an Internet company run by his son - paying lavishly for a pair of political Web sites so poorly designed an expert estimated one should have cost no more than $100 to create.

Alito jabs at Biden over long-ago plagiarism  —  WASHINGTON (AP) — His Supreme Court confirmation hearings three years old, Justice Samuel Alito apparently still harbors some hard feelings toward one Democratic questioner at the time.  —  Alito made several joking references …

DC Statehood  —  Many DC license plates are emblazoned with the slogan “taxation without representation” and it seems the DC Council wants president Obama to put those plates on his car.  —  I'd like to see that, too.  What I'd like even better is for congress to use its power to admit …

McCain Campaign Spent $110,000 on Palin's Stylists  —  Gov. Sarah Palin's traveling makeup artist was paid $68,400 and her hair stylist received more than $42,000 for roughly two months of work, according to a new campaign finance report filed with the Federal Election Commission.

A Balanced Strategy  —  Reprogramming the Pentagon for a New Age  —  Summary: The Pentagon has to do more than modernize its conventional forces; it must also focus on today's unconventional conflicts — and tomorrow's.  —  Robert M. Gates is U.S. Secretary of Defense.

Bernanke Says U.S. Must Step Up Foreclosure Efforts  —  A A A  —  Dec. 4 (Bloomberg) — Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke urged using more taxpayer funds for new efforts to prevent home foreclosures, saying the private sector is incapable of coping with the crisis on its own.

The War on Zzzzzmas: Dobbs' schtick grows groaningly irrelevant  —  John Amato's virtual online magazine...OK, It's a blog!  — Home- Archives  — Tags Directory  — Contact Us- Donate- FAQ  — Advertising- Commenting- General Problems- Media Problems- Supported Browsers- User Registration

Missing ballots stall Minnesota Senate recount  —  MINNEAPOLIS, Minnesota (CNN) — A missing envelope containing about 130 ballots has stalled the recount in Minnesota's U.S. Senate race between incumbent Republican Sen. Norm Coleman and Democrat Al Franken.

Gulf Oil CEO says gas could hit $1 next year  —  Gulf Oil CEO Joe Petrowski said on Wednesday that the price of oil could sink to $20 per barrel, and there is a chance gasoline prices could drop as low as $1 per gallon by early next year.  —  Speaking at a South Shore Chamber of Commerce breakfast …

US retail sales figures confirm bleak outlook for consumers  —  The US consumer is in full-scale retreat, retailers confirmed today, as dire sales figures confirmed a bleak outlook for the peak shopping season.  —  Major retailers such as Macy's, Abercrombie & Fitch and GAP reported sales declines of more than 10% in November.