Israel Is Committing War Crimes  —  Hamas's violations are no justification for Israel's actions.  —  Israel's current assault on the Gaza Strip cannot be justified by self-defense.  Rather, it involves serious violations of international law, including war crimes.

5 Somali pirates drown with ransom share  —  MOGADISHU, Somalia - Five of the pirates who hijacked a Saudi supertanker drowned with their share of a $3 million ransom, a relative said Saturday, the day after the bundle of cash was apparently dropped by parachute onto the deck of the ship.

Burris may return to D.C. to demand seat  —  Roland Burris may return to Washington next week to demand that he be accepted as the legitimate Senate appointee to replace President-elect Barack Obama and be sworn into office, according to a Burris adviser.  —  If Burris' appointment is not accepted …

Romer and Bernstein on stimulus  —  Is this enough?  —  OK, Christina Romer and Jared Bernstein have put out the official (?) Obama estimates of what the American Recovery and Reinvestment Plan would accomplish.  The figure above summarizes the key result.

'Alan Colmes, You're a Great American'  —  J$P Video!  Alan signs off the last Hannity & Colmes:

We still don't know how or why Bush made the key decisions of his administration.  —  As George W. Bush once noted, “You never know what your history is going to be like until long after you're gone.”  What I think he was trying to say is that, over time, historians may evolve toward …

The Final Straw  —  It seems that the conservative airbrushers have decided that poor George W. Bush's fantastically successful presidency was derailed by an act of God.  Yes, that's right.  Until Hurricane Katrina, Bush was headed to Mt Rushmore.  It's just so darned unfair.  —  That's ridiculous, of course.

‘Atlas Shrugged’: From Fiction to Fact in 52 Years  —  Some years ago when I worked at the libertarian Cato Institute, we used to label any new hire who had not yet read “Atlas Shrugged” a “virgin.”  Being conversant in Ayn Rand's classic novel about the economic carnage caused …

Obama Attorney General Pick Eric Holder Facing Increasing Criticism  —  Eric H. Holder Jr. is facing increasing resistance to his bid to become the next attorney general, emerging from President-elect Barack Obama's Cabinet nominees as the prime target of Senate Republicans …

Bill Moyers on Israel/Gaza  —  (updated below - Update II)  —  On his PBS Journal Show last night, Bill Moyers delivered a poignant essay on Israel/Gaza (video below).  The whole segment is worth watching — it begins with coverage of a mostly ignored anti-war march this week in Washington …

At Defining Moment for G.O.P., a Diverse Choice of Leadership  —  WASHINGTON — As the nation is on the verge of inaugurating its first black president, the Republican Party is facing a telling choice: whether to elect its first black chairman.  —  The contest for Republican Party chairman comes …