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.

40 Palestinians killed in IDF strike on UN school  —  Israel Defense Forces tank fire killed up to 40 Palestinians at a United Nations school in the Gaza Strip on Tuesday, medical sources at two hospitals said.  —  The attack brought the Palestinian death toll to nearly 600 in Israel's 11 …

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.

Levi Johnston quits oil field job  —  PUBLIC SCRUTINY: Rules say he needs diploma for apprenticeship.  —  wloy@adn.com  —  Levi Johnston, the boyfriend of Gov. Sarah Palin's daughter Bristol, has quit his North Slope oil field job over questions about his eligibility to work …

Richardson, Obama Teams Trade Blame  —  Weeks before President-elect Barack Obama chose New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson to head the Commerce Department, a small group of volunteers with ethics, tax and investigative expertise — most of them lawyers — scoured his background looking for embarrassing facts or political problems.

Obama Pitches Stimulus Plan  —  GOP Asked to Help Design Bill; $300 Billion in Tax Cuts Sought  —  President-elect Barack Obama arrived on Capitol Hill yesterday and immediately set to work reassuring skeptical Republicans about his massive economic stimulus package …

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.) …

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.

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 …

Latinos push Obama on vacant post  —  READ  —  After the withdrawal of Bill Richardson's name as an Obama administration Cabinet nominee, Hispanic leaders say they expect the president-elect to name another Latino to head the Commerce Department.  —  An Obama transition team source …

Respectfully, Hume Torch Is Passed  —  Bret Baier, who took over Fox's Washington newscast last night, dutifully declares that he will gradually put his own “stamp” on the program.  —  Yet in praising the decade-old show that Brit Hume built from scratch — with its heavy focus on politics and punditry …

The Obama stimulus package should be spent on transformative investments, not bridges and buildings.  —  The incoming Obama administration and Congress are planning a huge fiscal stimulus package.  They hope that such a stimulus will catalyze an economic turnaround and be a cornerstone of a “New New Deal.”

Obama names gay man as director of Office of Management and Administration  —  Brad Kiley has been named as the director of the Office of Management and Administration by President-elect Barack Obama.  Kiley, who is openly gay, is currently the director of operations for the Obama-Biden Transition Project …

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.

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 …

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 …

Doing It With Twitter  —  Incumbent RNC Chairman Mike Duncan tries to hold onto his job and explain the future of conservatism: … Not only is this, as Steve Benen says, weirdly inadequate to the size of the conservative predicament, it just doesn't make any sense.  I love Twitter.

SUV Sales Surge  —  I guess I'm not all that surprised by a surge in SUV sales now that gas prices have dropped.  Supply and demand, that's how it works—or how it's supposed to work—right?  Still, I didn't think we'd put a hand back on the stove so soon after getting burned.  —  The details:

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.