Reid: Senate won't seat Blagojevich pick  —  Then Governor-elect Rod Blagojevich introduces his board of advisors, including Roland Burris (to the governor's left) in November 2002.  (Tribune file photo / Chuck Berman)  —  U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nevada) …

A Fatah Friend Writes: I'm Supporting the Israeli Air Force  —  It's a strange world, but there you have it.  I've been talking to friends of mine, former Palestinian Authority intelligence officials (ejected from power by the Hamas coup), and they tell me that not only are they rooting …

McKinney relief boat rammed by Israeli navy  —  A boat carrying international peace activists, including former Georgia congresswoman Cynthia McKinney, and medical supplies to the embattled Gaza Strip sailed back into a Lebanese port on Tuesday after being turned back and damaged by the Israeli navy, organizers of the trip said.

‘Magic Negro’ flap might help Saltsman  —  The controversy surrounding a comedy CD distributed by Republican National Committee chair candidate Chip Saltsman has not torpedoed his bid and might have inadvertently helped it.  —  Four days after news broke that the former Tennessee GOP chairman …

Hamas Knows One Big Thing  —  If only it were a parable, the endless confrontation between Israel and its enemies would be the case of the hedgehog and the fox.  The fox, said the Greek poet Archilochus, knows many things, while the hedgehog knows one big thing.

ZBIG SMACKS DOWN MORNIN' JOE  —  Zbig to Joe: “You have a such stunningly superficial knowledge of what went on it's almost embarrassing to listen to you.”

Canvassing Board nudges Franken's lead up to 50  —  The State Canvassing Board today made changes to a handful of withdrawn challenges in the U.S. Senate recount battle and gave DFL challenger Al Franken a net gain of four votes, nudging his unofficial lead to 50.

From the left, a call to end the current Dutch notion of tolerance  —  AMSTERDAM: Two years ago, the Dutch could quietly congratulate themselves on having brought what seemed to be a fair measure of consensus and reason to the meanest intersection in their national political life …

2008 Weblog Awards Finalists  —  Here is a complete list of the finalists for The 2008 Weblog Awards.  Finalists badges (hosted by Imageshack) will be available Wednesday.  Voting is scheduled to begin on January 5, 2009.  —  Please note that the names of the Technorati Autority categories have changed …

Add Up the Damage  —  Does anyone know where George W. Bush is?  —  You don't hear much from him anymore.  The last image most of us remember is of the president ducking a pair of size 10s that were hurled at him in Baghdad.  —  We're still at war in Iraq and Afghanistan.