Why Israel Is Bombing Gaza  —  When demands are made of Israel to halt its military activities in Gaza, a brief historical reminder is in order.  —  In September 2005, Israel vacated Gaza, dismantled all the settlements in the Gaza Strip and did not leave a shred of a presence there.

Burris and Blago: What Happens Now?  —  digg it  —  The NYT says that Danny Davis was initially offered Barack Obama's Senate seat on December 24, but he turned it down on Friday the 26th.  He did, however, recommend Roland Burris for the position.  Blagojevich made the offer on Sunday, and Burris accepted:

At Midnight, U.S. Leaves Republican Palace, Green Zone to Iraqis  —  The walls of the majestic Republican Palace in Baghdad's Green Zone have been stripped bare.  The vaults that secured American cash and classified documents are gone, and the cement blast walls that protected the front entrance were taken down this week.

SILVER NOW TAKES SHINE TO CAROLINE  —  Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, who last week sharply questioned whether Caroline Kennedy should be appointed to the US Senate, said yesterday he's rethinking his views because he believes Gov. Paterson may soon pick her.

South Carolina Governor Relents on Jobless Funds  —  COLUMBIA, S.C. — Just hours before the unemployment benefits fund was to run out in South Carolina, the state with the nation's third-highest jobless rate, Gov. Mark Sanford relented Wednesday and agreed to apply for a $146 million federal loan …

Palin says Johnston is no dropout  —  HIGH SCHOOL: She says father of her grandson has a job and takes correspondence classes.  —  khopkins@adn.com  —  Gov. Sarah Palin spent part of Wednesday countering what she considers inaccurate descriptions of how much education her daughter's fiance has …

Americans Closely Divided Over Israel's Gaza Attacks  —  Americans, while far more sympathetic to Israel than the Palestinians, are closely divided over whether the Jewish state should be taking military action against militants in the Gaza Strip.  —  Forty-four percent (44%) …

Man of the Year: Geert Wilders  —  It's a safe bet that Geert Wilders won't be Time magazine's Man of the Year any time soon.  If anything, the unusually coiffed Dutch MP is a favorite hate figure of the Western media, which has spent years vilifying him as a “reactionary,” a …

Wall Street's Final '08 Toll: $6.9 Trillion Wiped Out  —  Racked by Crisis, Markets End Year on Slight Upswing  —  After months of tortuous trading, Wall Street rang out its worst year since the Great Depression yesterday, leaving shareholders $6.9 trillion the poorer.

The Champions Of 2008  —  Your pick for best Mental Health Break Of The Year: two dogs and a soldier.  —  The Malkin Award Winner for 2008: Ben Stein, writing in National Review.  —  The Moore Award Winner for 2008: P. Z. Myers, Pharyngula.  —  The Poseur Of The Year is Alisa Shvarts, from perezhilton.com.

Minnesota Recount Almost Over — But Coleman Could Keep A Franken Win Bottled Up For Weeks  —  Al Franken could be declared the winner of the Minnesota recount as soon as Monday, but due to the peculiarities of Minnesota election law, Sen. Norm Coleman (R-MN) could keep the seat bottled …