An Unnecessary War  —  I know from personal involvement that the devastating invasion of Gaza by Israel could easily have been avoided.  —  After visiting Sderot last April and seeing the serious psychological damage caused by the rockets that had fallen in that area, my wife, Rosalynn …

MO-Senate: Bond to Retire  —  Missouri Sen. Kit Bond (R) will retire in 2010, a decision that hands Democrats a prime pickup opportunity in a state where the party has made strides in recent years.  —  “In 1972, I became Missouri's youngest Governor,” Bond said this morning in an address to the Missouri General Assembly.

Obama Presses for Action on the Economy  —  WASHINGTON — President-elect Barack Obama on Thursday urged Congress to act quickly to pass sweeping economic stimulus measures, including a tax cut and an infusion of as much as $800 billion, or face the likelihood that “this recession could linger for years.”

Palin: Media goes easy on Kennedy  —  Gov. Sarah Palin (R-Alaska) believes Caroline Kennedy is getting softer press treatment in her pursuit of the New York Senate seat than Palin did as the GOP vice presidential nominee because of Kennedy's social class.  —  “I've been interested …

Obama serves Reid taste of Chicago Way  —  So the Chicago Way hauled off and slapped the U.S. Senate in the face—one of those backhands with the knuckles to unsuspecting lips—and guess who blinked?  —  It wasn't Chicago.  —  It was the Senate.  —  Get used to it, America.

BART Cop Needs to Be Held without Bail  —  I have yet to see any widespread nationwide coverage on the New Year's execution style murder of Oscar Grant by a Bay Area Rapid Transit - BART - police officer.  Somebody told me that they saw 5 minutes of coverage on CNN last night.

Obama, Spider-Man on the same comic-book page  —  In a growing world of Barack Obama collectibles, one item soon may be swinging above the rest.  —  On Jan. 14, Marvel Comics is releasing a special issue of Amazing Spider-Man #583 with Obama depicted on the cover.

Barack Obama asks longtime University of Chicago professor Cass Sunstein to join his administration  —  Law scholar will handle regulation issues, transition official says  —  WASHINGTON — Cass Sunstein, a longtime University of Chicago legal scholar and prominent author …

Panel urges impeachment of Blagojevich  —  The special Illinois House panel investigating Gov. Rod Blagojevich issued a draft report today recommending impeachment, putting lawmakers on a path toward removing the two-term Democrat from office.  —  “The citizens of this state must have confidence …

Updated Senate Phone List Erases Norm Coleman  —  The Democratic Senate leadership is doing everything it can to pretend that Norm Coleman doesn't exist.  It shut down his Capitol Hill office earlier this week, and a Senate source provides Mother Jones with a copy of an updated phone list …

Congress asks judge to keep Bush records at WH  —  Featured Topics: - Barack Obama - Presidential Transition  —  WASHINGTON - The new Congress on Thursday asked a federal judge to force the Bush White House to keep documents on the controversial firings of nine federal prosecutors instead of turning them over to the National Archives.

Obama Digs In for His BlackBerry  —  WASHINGTON — President-elect Barack Obama has yet to relent, but he conceded that he might be losing the battle to keep his independent lifeline to the outside world.  —  “I'm still clinging to my BlackBerry,” Mr. Obama said Wednesday.  “They're going to pry it out of my hands.”

Americans miffed at Howard bumping Obama  —  John Howard's decision to stay at the luxurious Blair House mansion in Washington DC has sparked a firestorm of protest in the US.  —  Outraged American taxpayers are demanding the former Australian prime minister book a hotel or stay at the Australian embassy.

Obama's ‘first mistakes’ mount  —  Team Obama has made its first mistake — again.  —  When Gov. Bill Richardson withdrew his nomination as commerce secretary earlier this week, NBC's Andrea Mitchell declared it “the Obama team's first misstep.”  —  But Mitchell had been scooped.

Conyers: Obama Should Not Nominate Sanjay Gupta  —  Rep. John Conyers has written a letter to Democratic colleagues urging them to join him in publicly opposing the nomination of Dr. Sanjay Gupta for Surgeon General.  —  Conyers, the veteran Judiciary Committee chairman, writes that Gupta …

Why Obama Will ‘Own’ the Recession  —  For eight decades, Democrats have successfully blamed Republican Herbert Hoover for the decade-long Great Depression.  That, even though Franklin Roosevelt's New Deal failed to restore prosperity or dramatically lower unemployment, and his tax increases in 1937 snuffed out a nascent recovery.

A SOLUTION TO A PROBLEM THAT DOESN'T EXIST.... You've got to be kidding. … These guys aren't pushing a bill to get rid of the Fairness Doctrine, because it's already gone.  They're pushing a bill to prevent anyone from trying to bring it back — despite the fact that there is no meaningful effort to do so.

Hamas executes ‘collaborators’, restricts Fatah movement  —  Since the aerial attack on Gaza began, Hamas has sought to suppress individuals it believes endanger the group's fight against Israel and its hold on power in the Strip, as well as public morale.  Prime targets include Fatah members …