Transition Team Releases Review of Contacts  —  Today the Obama Transition Team released the review of Obama Transition staff contacts with Governor Blagojevich and his office.  Download a PDF of the memo.

Seattle refuses to use salt; roads “snow packed” by design  —  To hear the city's spin, Seattle's road crews are making “great progress” in clearing the ice-caked streets.  —  But it turns out “plowed streets” in Seattle actually means “snow-packed,” as in there's snow and ice left on major arterials by design.

When a Woman Isnt in the Mood: Part I  —  Given our preoccupation with politics and economics, it is easy to forget that for most of us micro issues still play a greater role in our lives.  So here are some thoughts that, as heretical as they might sound, have been found extremely helpful …

Why Obama Really Might Decriminalize Marijuana  —  The stoner community is clamoring to say it: “Yes we cannabis!”  Turns out, with several drug-war veterans close to the president-elect's ear, insiders think reform could come in Obama's second term — or sooner.

Rick Warren — Out of the Closet!  —  Rick Warren, the pastor who will deliver the invocation next month for Barack Obama, apparently is doing a little image-adjusting in West Hollywood.  —  We got this pic, taken yesterday at Out of the Closet thrift store.

Exclusive: Cheney's admissions to the CIA leak prosecutor and FBI  —  Vice President Dick Cheney, according to a still-highly confidential FBI report, admitted to federal investigators that he rewrote talking points for the press in July 2003 that made it much more likely that the role …

Bush pardons man who helped Israel during wartime  —  Featured Topics: - Barack Obama - Presidential Transition  —  WASHINGTON - In a gesture of forgiveness for a decades-old offense, President George W. Bush on Tuesday granted a pardon posthumously to a man who broke the law to supply aircraft …

THERE IS NOTHING ANYONE CAN DO ABOUT IT.  —  Over at BoingBoing, Clay Shirky engages in a bit of self-congratulatory schadenfreude for predicting the collapse of the newspaper business model back in 1993.  And no doubt: He was prescient.  But like a lot of folks (many of them named Jeff Jarvis) …

Joe the Plumber Laughs at CNN Anchor Who Insists He's Fair, He's Not Pro-Obama  —  Just before 8 am Eastern time on the Tuesday edition of CNN's American Morning, anchor John Roberts interview Joe “the Plumber” Wurzelbacher, and something unusual happened.  After a battery of questions …

Flood of sludge breaks TVA dike  —  Collapse poses risk of toxic ash  —  HARRIMAN, Tenn. — Millions of yards of ashy sludge broke through a dike at TVA's Kingston coal-fired plant Monday, covering hundreds of acres, knocking one home off its foundation and putting environmentalists on edge …

Conservative Snobs Are Wrong About Palin  —  I know Maggie Thatcher.  The two women have a lot in common.  —  Being listed in fourth place for Time magazine's “Person of the Year,” as Sarah Palin was for 2008, sounds a little like being awarded the Order of Purity (Fourth Class).

Child porn investigation catches California lawyer  —  (CNN) — A lawyer who served in the Clinton administration and more recently was an adviser to California's lieutenant governor pleaded guilty to a child porn charge in a San Diego federal court Monday.  —  Wade Rowland Sanders admitted …

Quirky Festivus holiday gains followers  —  Those who celebrate Festivus display a pole instead of a tree and air grievances instead of exchanging gifts.  —  JBURNETT@MIAMIHERALD.COM  —  Alexandra Casuso was only 11 years old when Festivus made its TV debut on Seinfeld in 1997 …

Lone Star State to pick up 3 seats  —  Texas will lose some influence in Washington when President George W. Bush leaves the White House, but a new study finds that the Lone Star state will be the big winner in the upcoming congressional reapportionment.  —  The study, from the firm Election …

O, MY BOD!  IT'S BEACH BARACK  —  NEXT PREZ HEATS UP HAWAII  —  Just call him “Ab"-bama.  —  Buff-bodied President-elect Barack Obama put his chiseled frame on full display - as seen on Page 1 - during a stroll in Hawaii while on vacation with his family.

Friedman Would Be Roiled as Chicago Disciples Rue Repudiation  —  A A A  —  Dec. 23 (Bloomberg) — John Cochrane was steaming as word of U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson's plan to buy $700 billion in troubled mortgage assets rippled across the University of Chicago in September.

NPR Rewrites Rathergate History to Cover Up Fraud  —  National Public Radio does their best to rewrite history in this shockingly disingenuous piece on the Rathergate affair, told from Dan Rather's perspective as he openly states (and NPR doesn't challenge) that the memos in his infamous 60 Minutes II piece …

Obama Transition Names More National Security Staff  —  Today, President-elect Barack Obama and Vice President-elect Joe Biden announced the nomination of key members of their national security team, including James B. Steinberg for Deputy Secretary of State, and Jacob Lew for Deputy Secretary of State …