Kennedy comes out for gay marriage  —  Caroline Kennedy is finally sharing some of her political opinions with the people she's campaigning to represent — casting herself in the liberal tradition of uncle Ted Kennedy, bucking Barack Obama by supporting same-sex marriage and disavowing Hillary Clinton's 2002 vote for the Iraq invasion.

'Karl Rove's IT guru' Mike Connell dies in plane crash  —  A top level Republican IT consultant who was set to testify in a case alleging GOP election tampering in Ohio died in a plane crash late Friday night.  —  Michael Connell — founder of Ohio-based New Media Communications …

White House Philosophy Stoked Mortgage Bonfire  —  “We can put light where there's darkness, and hope where there's despondency in this country.  And part of it is working together as a nation to encourage folks to own their own home.”  — President Bush, Oct. 15, 2002

“The search for knowledge, truth and a greater understanding of the world around us”  —  In the latest weekly address, President-elect Barack Obama took a bold stand for making decisions based on science and facts rather than ideology as he introduced leading members of his science and technology team.

Franken expects to defeat Coleman by 35-50 votes  —  Al Franken's campaign is as close to declaring victory as it has throughout the weeks-long recount in the Minnesota Senate race.  —  Franken's campaign attorney Marc Elias said he expects Franken to be leading Sen. Norm Coleman (R-Minn.) …

If criminal penalties are removed, what will deter lawbreaking by political officials?  —  (updated below - Update II - Update III)  —  The Washington Post's Ruth Marcus today perfectly expresses the consensus view of establishment Washington regarding the exemption which political elites …

The Cost of Conservatism, in Trillions  —  Let's engage in a back of the envelope exercise for a moment: the cost of conservatism to America.  Right wingers want to de-emphasize the costs, and pump up the virtues.  They want to account for every penny of liberal projects but declare that conservative projects have no price.

Jerry Brown asks California Supreme Court to void gay-marriage ban  —  The state attorney general, who had earlier vowed to defend Prop. 8, offers a novel legal theory for why it should be overturned.  The action surprises some legal experts.  —  Reporting from San Francisco and Los Angeles …

Let them eat caviar: Milan poor to get seized delicacy for Christmas  —  Beluga caviar seized by Italian customs officers is to be distributed to poor people in Milan as a Christmas gift.  —  About 40kg (88lb) of caviar was confiscated in November after two couriers travelling from Poland were stopped with the hidden cargo.

Could We Uncover Watergate Today?  —  The death last week of W. Mark Felt — Bob Woodward's secret source, indelibly dubbed “Deep Throat,” who played such a crucial role in this newspaper's Watergate reporting — coincided with the appearance of Richard M. Nixon, as played by Frank Langella, on local movie screens.

A Chance for Consensus on Iraq  —  After our visit to Iraq this month, it is clear that what was once unthinkable there is now taking place: A stable, safe and free Iraq is emerging.  Violence has fallen to the lowest level since the first months of the war.

Document drop: The story behind Change.gov  —  I've obtained documents sent to a reader in response to his FOIA request regarding the creation of Barack Obama's Change.gov website.  It gives you the rest of the story.  You'll recall last month that I blogged several questions about the propriety …

The Saturday Cartoons  —  Here's Mark Fiore with a timely version of 'Twas The Night Before Christmas — “Corruption Christmas.”  —  Click on the screenshot above or go here to see it.  —  Our friends at Headzup show us Dick Cheney admitting to war crimes on national television: