High Premiums in Senate Democrats' Health Plan  —  WASHINGTON — Senate Democrats have provided few details about their latest health care proposal, but this much seems clear: Anyone who wants to buy the same health benefits as members of Congress, or to buy coverage through Medicare …

Jenny Sanford: ‘I am now filing for divorce’  —  S.C. First Lady Jenny Sanford issued a statement this morning saying that she is filing for divorce from embattled Gov. Mark Sanford, who disclosed this summer that he had had an extramarital affair with a woman from Argentina.  —  Jenny Sanford's statement says:

Baucus gave girlfriend $14K raise  —  Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.), chairman of the powerful Senate Finance Committee, gave a nearly $14,000 pay raise to a female staffer in 2008, at the time he was becoming romantically involved with her, and later that year took her on a taxpayer-funded trip …

The new socialism  —  In the 1970s and early '80s, having seized control of the U.N. apparatus (by power of numbers), Third World countries decided to cash in.  OPEC was pulling off the greatest wealth transfer from rich to poor in history.  Why not them?  So in grand U.N. declarations …

Snubbed Norwegians replace absent Obama at event with ... cardboard cutout; Update: Photo added  —  Wait 'til you hear what the event was. … Presumably this means they stuck a cardboard cutout next to the entrance, but I've been cracking myself up imagining that they put it in a seat …

Failed health talks set up another working weekend for Senate  —  A final effort to avoid a weekend of votes fell apart Thursday evening when Senate Democratic and Republican leaders failed to reach agreement to consider an omnibus spending bill on Friday.  —  Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid …

Are Democrats Sunk?  —  A friend of mine from Virgina forwarded an email to me today from the NRCC.  It started like this: … I laughed it off, but he wasn't having any: … Comments?  Is lefty obsession with the public option going to torpedo Dems in 2010?

For feds, more get 6-figure salaries  —  The number of federal workers earning six-figure salaries has exploded during the recession, according to a USA TODAY analysis of federal salary data.  —  Federal employees making salaries of $100,000 or more jumped from 14% to 19% of civil servants during …

Blackwater Guards Tied to Secret Raids by the C.I.A.  —  WASHINGTON — Private security guards from Blackwater Worldwide participated in some of the C.I.A.'s most sensitive activities — clandestine raids with agency officers against people suspected of being insurgents in Iraq and Afghanistan …

Why is Ta-Nehisi Coates shouting an obscenity at me?  —  He writes: … The link on “F**kin' Althouse” goes to this post of mine: … My post links to Coates calling out Glenn Beck for sounding like a sexist.  It's phrased to imply that Coates probably wouldn't call out a liberal for sexism …

Many See the VAT Option as a Cure for Deficits  —  Runaway federal deficits have thrust a politically unsavory savior into the spotlight: a nationwide tax on goods and services.  —  Members of Congress, like their constituents, are squeamish about such ideas, instead suggesting spending cuts or higher taxes on the rich.

John McCain, critic-in-chief  —  Barack Obama began his presidency with an open hand toward the man he had just defeated in a race that was at times bitter.  —  “There are few Americans who understand this need for common purpose and common effort better than John McCain,” …

IPCC and the “Trick”  —  Much recent attention has been paid to the email about the “trick” and the effort to “hide the decline”.  Climate scientists have complained that this email has been taken “out of context”.  In this case, I'm not sure that it's in their interests that this email …

Spanking and the 2008 election … More here.The most interesting part of the study is that this is apparently a new divide in American politics.

Sarah Palin plans to be key player in 2010  —  Everyone should be unsuccessful so successfully: From a losing vice presidential candidacy, Sarah Palin has bounced back as a best-selling author with plans to be a major player in next year's elections.  —  “It has been spectacular,” …

Bernie Madoff, the $19 Billion Con, Makes New Friends Behind Bars  —  A Year After His Arrest, Inmate No. 61727-054 Settles In — Only 1,795 Months to Go  —  BUTNER, N.C. — Bernard L. Madoff's life of country clubs and luxury homes ended when federal agents arrested him at his Manhattan penthouse apartment exactly one year ago.

Election 2010: Illinois Senate Election  —  2010 Illinois Senate: Giannoulias 42%, Kirk 39%  —  Democratic State Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias has now crept past Republican Congressman Mark Kirk in Illinois' 2010 race for the U.S. Senate, and other Democratic hopefuls are closing the gap.

Unemployment plan would change rules on bank bailouts  —  Executive pay, other limits may be lifted  —  The Obama administration plans to channel money from the government's massive financial bailout program to small businesses as part of an effort to limit the political and economic damage of high unemployment.

CAIR Attorney Demands Ban and Seizure of all Christmas Cards sent to Rifqa Bary (Bumped)  —  In a stunning development in the ongoing legal saga of Muslim-turned-Christian convert Rifqa Bary, the parents' attorney, Omar Tarazi, filed a motion with the Franklin County courts last week moving …

Hatch: College football playoff bill could pass the Senate  —  The college football playoffs bill that appears to be stalled in the House could pass the Senate if the lower chamber voted it through, said Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) on Thursday.  —  Hatch, who is a staunch opponent …

Bernanke's Unfinished Mission  —  Ben Bernanke, the Federal Reserve chairman, recently had some downbeat things to say about our economic prospects.  The economy, he warned, “confronts some formidable headwinds.”  All we can expect, he said, is “modest economic growth next year …