New York State Senate Votes Down Gay Marriage Bill  —  ALBANY — The State Senate defeated a bill on Wednesday that would legalize same-sex marriage, after an emotional debate that touched on civil rights, family and history.  The vote means that the bill, pushed by Gov. David A. Paterson …

Rogers's unwanted new guest: Scrutiny  —  Social secretary's managerial style faces criticism in wake of her first state dinner  —  On the night of the Obamas' first state dinner, White House social secretary Desirée Rogers glided past the rope line of press and photographers at 6:53 p.m. …

McCain challenges Obama in private meeting  —  Washington (CNN) - Hours before he was set to address the nation on his new Afghanistan strategy, President Obama and members of his war council spent about an hour briefing senior members of Congress at a White House meeting that multiple sources described as businesslike and sobering.

But where does it end?  —  The war that President Barack Obama laid out at West Point Tuesday night—its rationale, strategy, tactics, and resources—is different, in ways large and small, from the war that George W. Bush fought (and didn't fight) in Afghanistan.

Tiger comments on current events  —  I have let my family down and I regret those transgressions with all of my heart.  I have not been true to my values and the behavior my family deserves.  I am not without faults and I am far short of perfect.  I am dealing with my behavior and personal failings behind closed doors with my family.

If you give away the public option, what do you get?  —  Most of the energy in the Senate right now is being directed into a mad rush for compromise proposals on the public option.  This reflects the sense that the right compromise on the public option is a compromised public option.

CLIMATE CHANGE ‘FRAUD’  —  THE scientific consensus that mankind has caused climate change was rocked yesterday as a leading academic called it a “load of hot air underpinned by fraud”.  —  Professor Ian Plimer condemned the climate change lobby as “climate comrades” keeping the “gravy train” going.

Franken fallout has GOP fuming  —  Republican senators feel burned by Al Franken — and not by his old jokes.  —  The Republicans are steamed at Franken because partisans on the left are using a measure he sponsored to paint them as rapist sympathizers — and because Franken isn't doing much to stop them.

Decline of the West  —  Ten years ago, in the final pages of a collection of his selected writings, Cornel West gave readers a look at the work he had in progress, or at least in mind, for the years ahead.  One would be “a major treatment of African-American literature and modern Greek literature.”

Lou Dobbs Explodes: ‘Who The Hell Does This President Think He Is!?!’  —  Birther Lou Dobbs and climate denier Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-OK) are concerned that President Barack Obama is trying to turn America into a monarchy.  Appearing on Dobbs' radio show on Tuesday, Inhofe argued President Obama …

HuckPAC Resignation  —  As I mentioned this morning, I resigned my position as Arkansas coordinator for HuckPAC today where I served in a volunteer capacity.  My departure was with a heavy heart but was done after serious prayer and consideration.  Some have asked about the timing.

‘Family Ties’ mom: ‘I am a lesbian’  —  Meredith Baxter says she has been dating women for the past seven years  —  For seven years, actress Meredith Baxter has been hiding a secret.  —  Now Baxter, who played the devoted hippie mom constantly butting heads with her conservative kids on “Family Ties,” is making a public admission.

Searching in Vain for the Obama Magic  —  Never before has a speech by President Barack Obama felt as false as his Tuesday address announcing America's new strategy for Afghanistan.  It seemed like a campaign speech combined with Bush rhetoric — and left both dreamers and realists feeling distraught.

Senator Moves to Hold Up Bernanke Confirmation  —  WASHINGTON — Senator Bernard Sanders of Vermont said on Wednesday that he would try to block the Senate from confirming Ben S. Bernanke to a second term as chairman of the Federal Reserve.  —  The move is unlikely to derail Mr. Bernanke's reappointment …

Rrrowl!  Beware Cougar's Young Niece, the Cheetah  —  The cheetah is most often a just-one-of-the-guys girl.  That's her cover.  In nature, a cheetah will lurk in the high grass and use her spots as camouflage.  —  I called up an accomplished and self-described cougar named Angela …

WashTimes cutting staff up to 40 percent  —  Jonathan Slevin, acting publisher and president of the Washington Times, outlined a new plan for the beleaguered newspaper and spoke of “significant staff reductions” at a meeting this afternoon.  —  Staff are receiving notices at the meeting …

Watch Out, Times!  Murdoch Plans $15 M. N.Y.C. Edition  —  “Good journalism is an expensive commodity,” said Rupert Murdoch at a Federal Trade Commission conference in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday, Dec. 1.  —  We'll say!  —  Mr. Murdoch is ready to roll out a budget of $15 million …

Tycoon, Contractor, Soldier, Spy  —  Erik Prince, recently outed as a participant in a C.I.A. assassination program, has gained notoriety as head of the military-contracting juggernaut Blackwater, a company dogged by a grand-jury investigation, bribery accusations, and the voluntary-manslaughter trial …

This I Believe  —  Let me start with the bottom line and then tell you how I got there: I can't agree with President Obama's decision to escalate in Afghanistan.  I'd prefer a minimalist approach, working with tribal leaders the way we did to overthrow the Taliban regime in the first place.

THERE ARE 39 OTHER GOP SENATORS.... NBC News announced the line-up for this week's “Meet the Press.”  Take a wild guess who'll be on. … I especially loved the “Exclusive!” with the exclamation point, as if this were a rare, special occurrence.  —  For those keeping score at home …