Official History Spotlights Iraq Rebuilding Blunders  —  BAGHDAD — An unpublished 513-page federal history of the American-led reconstruction of Iraq depicts an effort crippled before the invasion by Pentagon planners who were hostile to the idea of rebuilding a foreign country …

The Fed Who Blew the Whistle  —  Is he a hero or a criminal?  —  Nigel Parry / CPI for Newsweek  —  From the magazine issue dated Dec 22, 2008  —  Thomas M. Tamm was entrusted with some of the government's most important secrets.  He had a Sensitive Compartmented Information security clearance, a level above Top Secret.

Palin's church damaged in suspicious fire  —  ANCHORAGE, ALASKA — Gov. Sarah Palin's home church has been badly damaged in an arson fire.  —  Damages to the Wasilla Bible Church were estimated at $1 million, authorities said today.  No one was injured in the fire, which was intentionally set while people …

Two Cheers for Rod Blagojevich  —  ROD BLAGOJEVICH is the perfect holiday treat for a country fighting off depression.  He gift-wraps the ugliness of corruption in the mirthful garb of farce.  From a safe distance outside Illinois, it's hard not to laugh at the “culture of Chicago,” …

Bush makes farewell visit to Iraq  —  BAGHDAD (Reuters) - President George W. Bush made an unannounced farewell visit to Baghdad on Sunday, just weeks before he leaves office and bequeaths the unpopular Iraq war to President-elect Barack Obama.  —  Slipping out of the White House over the weekend …

Which state is the most crooked—Illinois or Louisiana?  —  With the unmasking of Gov. Rod Blagojevich as a kleptocrat of Paraguayan proportion, Illinois now has a real chance—its first in more than a generation—to defeat Louisiana in the NCAA finals of American political corruption.

A Champion of Wall Street Reaps Benefits  —  “We are not going to rest until we change the rules, change the laws and make sure New York remains No. 1 for decades on into the future.”  —  WASHINGTON — As the financial crisis jolted the nation in September, Senator Charles E. Schumer was consumed.

Why We Don't Need World Government to Solve the World's Problems: The recent upsurge of concern over global warming and the financial crisis has reinvigorated advocates of world government, who claim that it is the only way to solve global problems that cross state boundaries.

Pressure builds on Obama to release his Blagojevich contacts  —  In case you're wondering about that list President-elect Obama promised a few days ago to release in “a few days” detailing all of his office's contacts with accused Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich about the vacant U.S. Senate seat …

Howard wants U.S. to pursue Nichols death penalty  —  Fulton County District Attorney Paul Howard said Saturday that courthouse killer Brian Nichols may get the death penalty yet — from a federal court jury.  —  Howard, whose prosecution sought and failed to get death for Nichols …

SO DIFFERENT?  —  Since the story broke a few days ago, I've been extremely interested in the arrest of Bernard Madoff, former Nasdaq chief, whose investment business has been revealed as a massive scam with loses of as much as $50 billion.  Since I'm in the news business a lurid story …

Our Sen. Kennedy?  Tipsville . . .  Is Chris Kennedy, the son of the late, great U.S. Sen. Robert F. Kennedy, a possible entrant on the list to fill Presidentelect Barack Obama's Senate seat?  —  •  • To wit: Sneed hears Kennedy's name has been wafted into the inner circle of Lt. Gov. Pat Quinn …