Obama Picks Arne Duncan for Education Post  —  President-elect Barack Obama will name Arne Duncan, the superintendent of schools in Chicago, to be his Secretary of Education, a senior Democratic official and a second person close to the decision said.  —  Mr. Duncan is a Harvard graduate whose friendship …

Shoe Thrower Being Tortured?  —  While Tweety fussed about the propriety of Al Zaida's shoe throw just now, very credible reports started to come in from Arabic sources that Muntader Al Zaida is in very bad shape:  —  Raed in the Middle reports: … From Roads to Iraq:

Sarah Palin: Blagojevich's nerve?  —  Sarah Palin, Republican governor of Alaska, says she has wondered how long Rod Blagojevich, Democratic governor of Illinois, thought he might “get away with” an alleged scheme to sell the Senate seat of President-elect Barack Obama of Illinois.

Caroline Kennedy Is Seeking Seat Held by Clinton  —  ALBANY — Caroline Kennedy, the deeply private daughter of America's most storied political dynasty, will seek the United States Senate seat in New York being vacated by Hillary Rodham Clinton.  —  Ms. Kennedy ended weeks of silence …

OBAMA'S PRESS CONFERENCE  —  At today's press conference, Barack Obama introduced his environmental team.  He then took some questions.  The only news that has come out of the event was Obama's exchange with a reporter who asked him whether Rahm Emanuel was in contact with Governor Blagojevich.

The Bulge  —  Goering, Hitler and Guderian survey plans for Wacht Am Rhein, a.k.a. The Battle of the Bulge, October 1944.  —  It began at dawn on Dec. 16, 1944, 64 years ago today, with rapid assaults through the Ardennes forest, as the Germans blitzed one last time, hoping to split the Allied armies and take Antwerp.

On Making Mitch McConnell Wet His Pants  —  User B.R. writes in: … B.R. raises several interesting points, but they ultimately point back to one thing: Harry Reid has been exceptionally ineffective as the Democrats' majority leader.  —  The number of cloture votes skyrocketed …

Biden TIME  —  Outgoing newsmag bureau chief Jay Carney to be assistant to the vice president and his director of communications.

Gay penguins expelled from zoo colony for stealing eggs are given their own to look after following animal rights protest … A pair of gay penguins thrown out of their zoo colony for repeatedly stealing eggs have been given some of their own to look after following a protest by animal rights groups.

Kidnapping Negotiator Is Now a Victim in Mexico  —  MEXICO CITY — An American security consultant who has helped negotiate the release of scores of kidnapping victims in Latin America was himself kidnapped last week in northern Mexico after delivering a seminar there on how to avoid that fate, officials said Monday.

The Future of the Internet III  —  A survey of internet leaders, activists and analysts shows they expect major tech advances as the phone becomes a primary device for online access, voice-recognition improves, artificial and virtual reality become more embedded in everyday life, and the architecture of the internet itself improves.

In Bush vs. Flying Shoes, Viral Video is the Winner  —  President Bush has had to overcome many obstacles during the past 8 years, but nobody ever expected him to have to avoid an international crisis involving flying shoes.  And yet, this is the exact situation he faced on Saturday …

Transcript: Cheney Defends Hard Line Tactics  —  In Exclusive Interview With ABC News, Vice President Dick Cheney Opens Up About His Hard Line Tactics  —  KARL: Did you authorize the tactics that were used against Khalid Sheikh Mohammed?  —  CHENEY: I was aware of the program, certainly …

Gitmo Lawyers Are the Latest in Radical Chic  —  How about some pro bono work for the government?  —  Within the ranks of our leading law schools, law firms and legal centers, it would be hard to find a cause more popular than the detainees of Guantanamo Bay.  Every lawyer wants his own detainee or detainee group.

It's official: Barack Obama elected 44th president  —  Featured Topics: - Barack Obama - Presidential Transition  —  RICHMOND, Va. - As 13 electors cast ballots Monday for the nation's first black president in the Confederacy's old Capitol, Henry Marsh emotionally recalled the smartest man he ever knew …

Orwell in Bailoutland  —  Oh, FireDogLake: … Did we all follow that one?  Failing to funnel billions to a failing business is a form of authoritarian punishment.  As an alternative, we're offered the proposition that we “want affordable, safe, fuel-efficient, environmentally sound cars built …

Bankruptcy Is the Perfect Remedy for Detroit  —  Washington hates the idea because it would lose leverage.  —  While Washington tries to arrange a bailout, the Detroit Three auto makers and their union, the United Auto Workers, keep insisting that bankruptcy would be the kiss of death.

Cheney: Obama ‘not likely to cede authority’  —  Vice President Dick Cheney said Monday that President-elect Barack Obama will “appreciate” the expansions of executive power achieved during the Bush administration and is unlikely to cede authority back to Congress.

Reid Announces Anticipated Committee Chairmanships For 111th Congress  —  Washington, DC— Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid today announced that he has made his recommendations to the Senate Democratic Steering and Outreach Committee regarding Committee Chairmanships for the 111th Congress.

Résumé Long on Politics, but Short on Public Office  —  She has not held a full-time job in years, has not run for even the lowliest office, and has promoted such noncontroversial causes as patriotism, poetry and public service.  Yet Caroline Kennedy's decision to ask Gov. David …