Obama orders review of crashers  —  President Obama has ordered a full review into how a Virginia couple managed to make their way into the White House for last week's state dinner without an invitation, even getting so far as to meet the president in the official receiving line, according to a White House official.

­An open letter to graduate students and young scientists in fields related to climate research from Dr. Judith Curry regarding hacked CRU emails  —  I have known Dr. Judith Curry, Chair of the School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences at the Georgia Institute of Technology, for many years.

Justice Department Says Acorn Can Be Paid for Pre-Ban Contracts  —  WASHINGTON — The Justice Department has concluded that the Obama administration can lawfully pay the community group Acorn for services provided under contracts signed before Congress banned the government from providing money to the group.

Rashomon in the desert  —  Dubai or not Dubai — that is the question.  Dubai's sorta-kinda default (a state-owned enterprise seeking a rescheduling of its debts) is, by itself, not that big of a deal.  But who else looks like Dubai?  What kind of omen is this for the next stage in the financial crisis?

Weekly Tracking Poll: New Feature Paints Ugly 2010 Picture  —  Research 2000 for Daily Kos. 11/22/2009-11/25/2009.  All adults.  MoE 2% (Last weeks results in parentheses):  —  FAVORABLEUNFAVORABLENET CHANGE  —  PRESIDENT OBAMA  —  53 (55)  —  40 (39)  —3  —  PELOSI:  —  41 (40)

Top 20 Unfortunate Lessons Girls Learn From ‘Twilight’  —  From a male point of view, the only redeeming feature of the Twilight books and movies is the ammunition they provide against female claims of innate moral superiority over men.  —  Whenever a woman criticizes a man's lust, aggression …

Next stop for Nader: US Senate from Connecticut?  —  WEST HARTFORD, Conn. — Ralph Nader says he wants to gauge the level of grass-roots support before deciding whether to make a bid to represent Connecticut in the Senate.  —  The 75-year-old consumer advocate and Connecticut native said Friday that he is …

Kill the Bills.  Do Health Reform Right.  —  The United States has the best health care in the world — but because of its inefficiencies, also the most expensive.  The fundamental problem with the 2,074-page Senate health-care bill (as with its 2,014-page House counterpart) …

Tiger Woods taken to hospital in ‘serious’ condition after car accident  —  Professional golfer Tiger Woods was seriously injured in a car accident outside his Isleworth home early this morning.  —  View Tiger Woods involved in car accident in a larger map (ORLANDO SENTINEL / November 27, 2009)

Secrecy in science is a corrosive force  —  With no disrespect to sausages and laws, Bismarck's most famous aphorism clearly requires updating.  “Scientific research” is bidding furiously to make the global shortlist of things one should not see being made.  —  Understandably so.

Prosecuting American ‘War Crimes’  —  The International Criminal Court claims jurisdiction over U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan.  —  Printer  —  Friendly  —  The Hague  —  Secretary of State Hillary Clinton expressed “great regret” in August that the U.S. is not a signatory to the International Criminal Court (ICC).

Joy Behar's Moral Quandary: 'Isn't it a Little Racist to Call it Black Friday?'  —  There's nothing like tuning into an episode of “The View” for a little exploration of social sensitivities in the modern American culture.  —  In keeping with that tradition, on Black Friday …

He Can't Take Another Bow  —  An icon of a White House that is coming to seem amateurish.  —  Printer  —  Friendly  —  This week, two points in an emerging pointillist picture of a White House leaking support—not the support of voters, though polls there show steady decline …

New group tries to convince Cheney to run in 2012  —  Washington (CNN) - A new group wants former Vice President Dick Cheney back in the White House.  —  The organization - “Draft Dick Cheney 2012” - launched on Friday, and unveiled their new Web site.  Their aim: To convince …

Sen. Jeff Sessions challenges double standard on judicial filibuster  —  Legal scholars have long debated whether the filibuster may be used to keep judicial nominees off the bench.  For practical purposes, that question was answered on May 23, 2005.  That night, while forging a settlement …