REALLY A MYSTERY  —  From an observer up on the Hill ...  And from a career intel professional ...  I used to do a lot of intelligence reporting.  But I haven't really done any to speak of in a few years.  So I'm coming at this cold.  But I feel instinctively suspicious of the congressional reaction to this appointment.

Senate Democrats put off plans to seat Franken  —  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid yielded to Republican threats and agreed on Monday not to immediately seat fellow Democrat Al Franken, whose razor-close victory in Minnesota faces legal challenges.

Hamas: Israel has legitimised the killing of its children  —  Fighting intensified on the northern outskirts of Gaza City yesterday as a Hamas leader warned that the Islamists would kill Jewish children anywhere in the world in revenge for Israel's devastating assault.

NBC BANS COULTER FOR LIFE; CUT FROM ‘TODAY’ SHOW OVER BOOK'S CLAIMS, NO MORE CABLE  —  The nation's top selling conservative author has been banned from appearing on NBC, insiders tell the DRUDGE REPORT.  —  Banned for life!  —  “We are just not going to have her on any more, it's over,” a top network source explains.

Pelosi's power move leaves House Republicans fuming  —  House Democrats are poised to approve new rules that will significantly increase their authority while taking the bullets out of the few legislative weapons Republicans have in the lower chamber.  —  Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) …

NRSC chair encourages King candidacy  —  National Republican Senatorial Committee Chairman John Cornyn met today with Rep. Peter King (R-N.Y.), and intends on supporting him as the congressman strongly considers a run for the Senate in New York.  —  “Senator Cornyn believes Peter King would be a very formidable candidate.

Ex-Detainee of U.S. Describes a 6-Year Ordeal  —  LAHORE, Pakistan — When Muhammad Saad Iqbal arrived home here in August after more than six years in American custody, including five at the military prison at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, he had difficulty walking, his left ear was severely infected …

Iran's Postmodern Beast in Gaza  —  Israel has just embarked on a land invasion of the Gaza Strip after a week of aerial bombing.  Gaza is bordered by Egypt, and was under Egyptian military control from 1949 through 1967.  And yet in a startling rebuke to geography and recent history …

Hamas opens hospital for gunmen  —  Hamas has set up an independent hospital in the Gaza Strip to treat its operatives wounded in fighting with the IDF - and, according to Israeli estimates, it is pilfering a significant portion of the medicine allowed into the Strip, senior defense officials told The Jerusalem Post on Monday.

Steele, Blackwell take limelight at RNC forum  —  Members to vote for new chairman  —  Former Maryland Lt. Gov. Michael S. Steele, an accomplished speaker, and former Ohio Secretary of State Ken Blackwell, not well known for dazzling performances, each repeatedly drew sustained applause …

Cars launched at synagogue  —  TOULOUSE - ATTACKERS launched two cars packed with petrol bombs at a synagogue in France's south-western city of Toulouse on Monday night, causing damage but no casualties, officials said.  —  One car was set on fire and pushed by the other until it hit the door …

Five Reasons Why India Can't ‘Do A Gaza’ On Pakistan  —  Israel has far fewer restrictions.  —  Over the last week, many Americans (and not a few Indians) have asked me why India does not “do a Gaza” on Pakistan, referring, of course, to an emulation of Israel's punitive use of force …

How the U.N. Perpetuates the ‘Refugee’ Problem  —  Nowhere on earth do terrorists get so much help from the Free World.  —  Israel's assault on Hamas is just the latest in a long chain of military clashes, the scripts of which are always the same.  On one side, there is the Israeli army.

Senate bid by Jeb Bush iffy, friends say  —  Republican excitement over the prospect of Jeb Bush running for U.S. Senate has given way to increasing speculation that the former governor will stay out of the race.  —  Bush declined to comment for this article but was expected to make an announcement perhaps as early as this week.

What is with CNN ?  KEEPING THEM (CNN) honest: guess what CNN did!  CNN put Gov Sarah Palin in same category as John Edwards, Elliott Spitzer, Gov Blago and more!!  —  Wait until you read this one about CNN!! (and yes, I will continue to defend women who are gratuitously insulted!  I hope you will, too.

If She Says She Wants “Equality, Not Sameness,” She's Lying.  —  My ladylike nature is to tread lightly, so this post on gay marriage raised the idea that gay marriage would annihilate gender differences but then dropped it as if it were merely a suggestion.  Not so Robert Stacy McCain:

Biden on economy: 'We're at war'  —  Vice-president-elect Joe Biden likened the country's economic crisis to the attacks of 9/11 Monday in a private meeting on Capitol Hill.  —  “We're at war,” Biden told congressional leaders of both parties during their sit-down with Barack Obama in the Capitol …