Mean Street: The Sham of a Mockery of an Obama Jobs Summit  —  What is it about Thursday's White House “jobs summit” that rubs me the wrong way?  —  All presidents engage in these sorts of elaborate PR stunts.  Why not just dismiss it as another meaningless piece of Washington political theater?

Mr. President, here's how to lift our economy  —  Today's White House jobs summit comes too late for millions of Americans who through no fault of their own have lost their jobs, their homes, their savings and, in many cases, the self-esteem and self-respect that come from work.

Black Caucus Seeks to Ease Radio's Woes  —  WASHINGTON — The radio business has nothing to do with the plan to overhaul the nation's system for regulating banks and other financial institutions.  —  Except, it turns out, in Congress.  —  One of most intriguing mysteries here in recent weeks …

Comcast Gets NBC From G.E. in Deal That Reshapes TV  —  After nearly nine months of negotiations, Comcast, the nation's largest cable operator, finally reached an agreement on Thursday to acquire NBC Universal from the General Electric Company.  —  The deal valued NBC Universal at about $30 billion.

A Wartime President  —  Obama's commitment in Afghanistan means losing old friends and winning uncomfortable new ones.  —  Printer  —  Friendly  —  When it comes to President Barack Obama's long-awaited decision to send more troops to Afghanistan, there are three main points to consider …

Mall of America officials backtrack on banning non-English speaking reporters from Palin's book event.  —  On Dec. 7, former Alaska governor Sarah Palin will be at the Mall of America to sign copies of her new book.  In advance of her visit, mall officials sent out a message to reporters: If you don't speak English, stay away.

Boxer: Hackers should face criminal probe over ‘Climategate’  —  Leaked e-mails allegedly undermining climate change science should be treated as a criminal matter, Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) said Wednesday afternoon.  —  Boxer, the top Democrat on the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee …

Huffington Post Suffers ClimateGate Panic Attack  —  Your humble correspondent has been checking the Huffington Post Green section every day since the ClimateGate scandal exploded.  After all, that Green section is pretty much predicated on the theory that the earth is warming dangerously and that Man is the cause of it.

Researcher: NASA hiding climate data  —  The fight over global warming science is about to cross the Atlantic with a U.S. researcher poised to sue NASA, demanding release of the same kind of climate data that has landed a leading British center in hot water over charges it skewed its data.

Q & A: Mike Huckabee  —  Mike Huckabee wants pastors to be more graphic about Christmas.  The former Southern Baptist pastor says that the church has sanitized the holiday and should tell it like it happened.  The former governor of Arkansas recently finished his 64-city book tour for his book …

It's Just a Texas-Governor Thing  —  “Now I think you're on to a better subject,” declared Gov. Rick Perry aboard a private plane as the topic turned to Texas.  With relish, the longest-serving governor in the state's history recounted its uninhabitable past.

Coleman's re-emergence builds buzz  —  Former GOP Sen. Norm Coleman is gradually returning to the spotlight after months of near silence, a move that some insiders in Washington and Minnesota view as a precursor to a 2010 gubernatorial bid.  —  Five months after the conclusion of his bitter …

Bill Ayers dumps Obama  —  To hear the right-wing crowd, you would think Bill Ayers and President Barack Obama were joined at the hip.  —  Who could forget Sarah Palin's charge that Obama was “palin' around with terrorists”?  —  Well, goodbye to all that.

All men watch porn, scientists find  —  Scientists at the University of Montreal launched a search for men who had never looked at pornography - but couldn't find any.  —  Researchers were conducting a study comparing the views of men in their 20s who had never been exposed to pornography with regular users.

Washington Times cuts in staff, coverage cue new era  —  The Washington Times, which gained a strong foothold in a politically obsessed city as a conservative alternative to much of the mainstream media, is about to become a drastically smaller newspaper.  —  Nearly three decades …

Election 2010: Arkansas Senate Race  —  Senator Blanche Lambert Lincoln has found herself right in the middle of the national debate over health care, and that's a tough spot as she prepares to face Arkansas voters in 2010.  —  As she did in September, Lincoln trails four possible Republican challengers …

Rep. Waxman Advocates Media Bailout  —  Rep. Henry Waxman trekked from Capitol Hill to Federal Trade Commission headquarters today to deliver a message to journalists and news consumers: All of you need to reach a consensus about working with the government in order to bail out the struggling news industry.

Unbelievable update: The crappiest NYTimes column on Obamacare just got crappier; Update: Kristof's disingenuous non-response  —  Scroll for updates...Kristof non-responds...holes remain...  Today, I did something that Pulitzer Prize-winning NYTimes columnist Nick Kristof apparently didn't do …

Anderson Cooper's Ratings Plummet  —  Anderson Cooper is fading in the ratings.  —  The respected CNN anchor has seen his numbers slip significantly through the past year.  His 10 p.m. show, “Anderson Cooper 360,” has declined 62% in total viewers and 70% in adults 25-54 from November 2008, according to Nielsen figures.

White House: July 2011 Is Locked In for Afghanistan Withdrawal  —  Posted by Chip Reid During the Senate Armed Services hearing today, Defense Secretary Robert Gates was pressed by Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C. on whether the July 2011 date for beginning to withdrawal troops is “locked in.”

Afghanistan: Can Obama Sell America on This War?  —  President Obama speaks at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point on Dec. 1  —  “If I did not think that the security of the United States and the safety of the American people were at stake in Afghanistan,” Barack Obama said …