Why Two Bush Appointees Are Refusing to Leave  —  The Mess Condi Left for Hillary by Mort Zuckerman  —  Blogs and Stories  —  Two U.S. attorneys appointed by Dubya are refusing to leave the Justice Department when Obama takes office.  Their explanation: they've got too many corrupt Democrats to prosecute!

Exit Bush, Shoes Flying  —  Except for Richard Nixon, no president since Harry Truman has left office more unloved than George W. Bush.  Truman's rehabilitation took decades.  Bush's will come sooner.  Indeed, it has already begun.  The chief revisionist?  Barack Obama.

Obama On The Employee Free Choice Act  —  Here's a transcribed portion of President-elect Barack Obama's interview yesterday with the Washington Post:

Provocation of The Day: Coleman Could Still Win  —  In some ways, Al Franken's 225 vote lead the Minnesota Senate race is an illusory number.  That's his margin after the state canvassing board completed its recount.  Why isn't he in the Senate?  —  Thank Gov. Rod Blagojevich.

NO DANCING!  —  SEN. John McCain might regret choosing Sarah Palin as his running mate, but an even worse decision will deprive his fellow Americans of what would have been the best season of “Dancing With the Stars” ever.  Our impeccably placed source says, “Just before Thanksgiving …

“Iranian Unit” Destroyed, Hamas was Suprised  —  (IsraelNN.com) The so-called “Iranian Unit” of Hamas has been destroyed, according to Gaza sources cited Thursday by the Haaretz daily.  The sources said most of the unit's 100 members were killed in fighting in the Zeytun neighborhood of Gaza City.

California controller to suspend tax refunds, welfare checks  —  John Chiang announces that his office will suspend $3.7 billion in payments owed to Californians starting Feb. 1, as a result of the state's cash crisis.  Student grants are also affected.  —  Reporting from Sacramento …

Report Finds Major U.S. Companies Have Offshore Tax Havens  —  A majority of America's largest publicly traded companies and the U.S. government's largest federal contractors — including some receiving millions in federal bailout money — use multiple subsidiaries in offshore tax havens …

Rescue of Banks Hints at Nationalization  —  WASHINGTON — Last fall, as Federal Reserve and Treasury Department officials rode to the rescue of one financial institution after another, they took great pains to avoid doing anything that smacked of nationalizing banks.  —  They may no longer have that luxury.

Tom Hanks Says Mormon Supporters of Proposition 8 ‘Un-American’  —  LOS ANGELES —  Tom Hanks Says Mormon Supporters of Prop-8 “Un-American”  —  Tom Hanks, Executive Producer for HBO's controversial polygamist series “Big Love,” made his feelings toward the Mormon Church's involvement …

Federal tax dollars are going to clowns... literally.  CLOWNS.  —  Yes, literally clowns.  And not just just any clowns.  Clowns who teach middle schoolers sex education!  —  The good folks at the AIDS Taskforce of Greater Cleveland were kind enough to send this info to me touting the work …

It's over: Bush staffers make exits  —  The president will be the president until 12 noon Tuesday, but most of his employees will be gone by the close of business Friday.  —  They'll turn in their BlackBerrys, laptops, building passes and gym keys.  —  And by the time the weekend is out …

Governor's lawyers quit impeachment trial  —  The legal team that has represented embattled Gov. Rod Blagojevich in impeachment proceedings in Springfield has stepped down in protest before the governor's trial in the Illinois Senate, the Tribune has learned.

This Miracle Brought to You by America's Unions  —  They're calling it a miracle—the successful landing of a US Airways jet in the Hudson and subsequent rescue of all 155 passengers.  They're detailing the heroism of all involved, starting with the pilot and including cabin crew, ferry crews, and first responders.

Our world may be a giant hologram  —  DRIVING through the countryside south of Hanover, it would be easy to miss the GEO600 experiment.  From the outside, it doesn't look much: in the corner of a field stands an assortment of boxy temporary buildings, from which two long trenches emerge …

Obama Pledges Reform of Social Security, Medicare Programs  —  President-Elect Says He'll Reshape Social Security, Medicare Programs  —  President-elect Barack Obama pledged yesterday to shape a new Social Security and Medicare “bargain” with the American people, saying …

Perino Mocks Newsweek and Obama's Guantanamo Posturing in Farewell Breakfast with Reporters  —  Ahead of her final White House press briefing, press secretary Dana Perino spoke with reporters at a breakfast in Washington hosted by the Christian Science Monitor.

Secret List of U.S. Military Bases to Replace Gitmo  —  Pendleton, Leavenworth, Miramar Included as Possible New Home for 250 Detainees  —  The U.S. military has prepared a list of U.S. military bases that could be used to house as many as 250 detainees currently being held at the U.S. Naval base …

Poll Finds Disapproval of Bush Unwavering  —  President Bush prepares to leave office with no evidence that public opinion toward him is softening during his final days in power, according to the latest New York Times/CBS News poll.  —  When asked about Mr. Bush's performance over the last eight years …

Senators urge Obama to buy F-22s  —  Senators are pressing President-elect Obama to allow the Air Force to continue buying F-22 Raptor fighter jets.  —  Deciding whether to buy more F-22s after the final aircraft on order is delivered at the end of 2011 is one of the first strategic …

An Economy of Faith and Trust  —  Once there was just Newtonian physics and the world seemed neat and mechanical.  Then quantum physics came along and revealed that deep down things are much weirder than they seem.  Something similar is now happening with public policy.

Circuit City to close 567 remaining US stores  —  Bankrupt Circuit City Stores Inc., unable to work out a sale of the company, said Friday it will go out of business — closing its 567 U.S. stores and cutting 30,000 jobs.  —  The nation's second-biggest consumer electronics retailer …

Dawson pledges to becomes Obama's and Democrats' ‘worst nightmare’  —  For all the talk of a new era of cooperation in Washington, candidates for chairman of the RNC — the ultimate partisan job, after all — are having none of it.  —  In this new video, South Carolina GOP chair Katon Dawson …

AP Top News at 3:33 p.m. EST  —  WASHINGTON (AP) — President-elect Barack Obama is preparing to prohibit the use of waterboarding and harsh interrogation techniques by ordering the CIA to follow military rules for questioning prisoners, according to two U.S. officials familiar with drafts of the plans.