Israeli Attack Kills Scores Across Gaza  —  GAZA CITY — The Israeli Air Force on Saturday launched a massive attack on Hamas targets throughout Gaza in retaliation for the recent heavy rocket fire from the area, hitting mostly security headquarters, training compounds and weapons storage facilities …

Phila. man shot because family talked during movie  —  A South Philadelphia man enraged because a father and son were talking during a Christmas showing of The Curious Case of Benjamin Button took care of the situation when he pulled a .380-caliber gun and shot the father, police said.

Politico reviews the year in American “political journalism”  —  Politico's media reporter, Michael Calderone, does an unintentionally superb job of conveying the vapid, wretched soul of the American political media, with his list of what he calls — without any irony at all — “The Top Ten Political Scoops of 2008”:

More Caroline: Spoke to Hillary, won't run if not selected  —  Caroline Kennedy made a little more news on NY1 tonight, telling host Dominic Carter that she finally spoke to Hillary Clinton — who didn't initially take her call — and that, if she's not selected, she won't run for the seat.

Obama's Down Payment  —  A Stimulus Must Aim for Long-Term Results  —  When President-elect Barack Obama takes office, he will face what may well be the bleakest economic outlook since World War II.  Economic forecasts have been revised significantly downward over the past several months …

Bill Kristol's Year Up at ‘NYT’: Will He Get Axed?  —  NEW YORK Exactly one year ago this weekend the Huffington Post broke the news that, as Jim Morrison might have put it, the Kristol Ship was about to sail at The New York Times.  Much uproar ensued across the blogosphere.

There's No Pain-Free Cure for Recession  —  Belt-tightening is required by all, including government.  —  As recession fears cause the nation to embrace greater state control of the economy and unimaginable federal deficits, one searches in vain for debate worthy of the moment.

Theodore Roosevelt Was No Conservative  —  There's a reason he left the GOP to lead the Progressive Party.  —  We know that Barack Obama and his allies identify themselves as “progressives,” and that they aim to implement the big-government liberalism that originated in America's Progressive Era and was consummated in the New Deal.

18 certificate: Why websites could get cinema-style age ratings to tackle offensive online activity … Offensive or indecent websites will be branded with cinema-style age certificates in a Government crackdown on dangerous online activity.  —  In a bid to limit the ease to which ‘unacceptable’ material …

The Net-Zero Gas Tax  —  A once-in-a-generation chance.  —  Americans have a deep and understandable aversion to gasoline taxes.  In a culture more single-mindedly devoted to individual freedom than any other, tampering with access to the open road is met with visceral opposition.

The Politics of Fat  —  A hefty problem for the left.  —  On December 15, the city council of Binghamton, New York—every member a proud progressive—unanimously passed an ordinance making it a crime to discriminate against fat people.  The next day, David Paterson, the famously progressive governor …