Israel, Hamas, and moral idiocy  —  Much of the world's response is a false moral equivalence that simply encourages the terrorists.  —  Israel's decision to take military action against Hamas rocket attacks targeting its civilian population has been long in coming.

Davis said thanks, but no thanks  —  WASHINGTON — Rep. Danny K. Davis (D-Ill.) would like to replace President-elect Barack Obama in the Senate.  The appointment was dangled before him last Wednesday.  He turned it down.  We discussed why when we talked Tuesday night …

Gonzales Defends Role in Antiterror Policies  —  WASHINGTON — Alberto Gonzales, who has kept a low profile since resigning as attorney general nearly 16 months ago, said he is writing a book to set the record straight about his controversial tenure as a senior official in the Bush administration.

Moving Day for the Obamas  —  Even in a town where the hotels are swamped for the inauguration, it turns out to be easy to get a room if you're the one being inaugurated.  —  President-elect Barack Obama and his family will move to Washington this weekend in time for his daughters to start school, aides said Tuesday.

Arab youths open fire on Israelis working at mall in Denmark  —  A group of Arab youths opened fire Wednesday evening on a number of Israelis working at a mall in the Danish city of Odenza, some 200 kilometers north of Copenhagen.  —  The Israelis, who were operating a stall in the shopping center, were lightly wounded in their legs.

HAMAS H.Q. BOMBED; POWER LINE, TOO  —  Talk about disproportionate response.  Just an hour or so after Power Line posted a series of videos from the Israeli Defense Forces—videos that, as Scott discovered, YouTube had pulled—we experienced a Denial-of-Service attack from a cabal …

Village Voice Lays Off Nat Hentoff and 2 Others  —  The troubled Village Voice laid off three employees Tuesday, including Nat Hentoff, the prominent columnist who has worked for the paper since 1958, contributing opinionated columns about jazz, civil liberties and politics.

Let Detroit Build Profitable Cars  —  UAW chief Ron Gettelfinger doesn't seem to get the picture.  Let's help him.  —  In the continuing battle over Detroit, UAW chief Ron Gettelfinger doesn't seem to get the picture.  Let's help him.  —  With shareholders virtually wiped …

Nobody Goes There Anymore, It's Too Crowded  —  I think trying to build housing in shopping malls is a potentially promising idea.  It's a reminder that I've been meaning for a while to write a post about separating the idea of “walkable urbanism” from the idea of “living in a city.”

Re: The Sense of Proportion  —  I want to add two cents to the much needed efforts of Ramesh and Victor (see, e.g., here and here) to correct the perversion of the concept of proportionality.  I noted this trend back in the summer of 2006, when it was applied to Israel's military operations against Hezbollah in southern Lebanon.

Lobbyist Sues Times, Citing Report of McCain Ties  —  WASHINGTON — A Washington lobbyist sued The New York Times and several of its reporters and editors Tuesday, charging that the newspaper had falsely created an impression that she had engaged in an improper romantic relationship with Senator John McCain.