The God That Fails  —  During the middle third of the 20th century, Americans had impressive faith in their own institutions.  It was not because these institutions always worked well.  The Congress and the Federal Reserve exacerbated the Great Depression.

Napolitano's ‘no drama’ competence shows her potential  —  Most Americans got their first prolonged look at Janet Napolitano, the secretary of homeland security, last weekend.  After a passenger on a Northwest Airlines flight from Amsterdam ignited a concealed fuse as the plane approached Detroit …

Mayo Clinic in Arizona to Stop Treating Some Medicare Patients  —  Dec. 31 (Bloomberg) — The Mayo Clinic, praised by President Barack Obama as a national model for efficient health care, will stop accepting Medicare patients as of tomorrow at one of its primary-care clinics in Arizona, saying the U.S. government pays too little.

A terrorist war Obama has denied  —  Janet Napolitano — former Arizona governor, now overmatched secretary of homeland security — will forever be remembered for having said of the attempt to bring down an airliner over Detroit: “The system worked.”  The attacker's concerned father …

CIA caught in dirty and secretive war against al-Qaeda on Afghan border  —  The deaths of seven CIA agents in Khost province have brought into the limelight the secretive and dirty war being fought by America's intelligence agencies — and the Taleban and al-Qaeda — in the border regions of Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Judge Drops Charges From Blackwater Deaths in Iraq  —  BAGHDAD — Iraqis on Friday reacted with disbelief, anger and bitter resignation to news that criminal charges in the United States had been dismissed against Blackwater Worldwide security guards who opened fire on unarmed Iraqi civilians in 2007.

GOP poised for comeback in midterm elections  —  Republicans could have a big year, but they need to win 40 House and 11 Senate seats to regain control of Congress.  That's a tall order.  —  Sens. Christopher Dodd of Connecticut, left, and Harry Reid of Nevada are among the Democrats who face challenging reelection votes this year.

Obama Palin Shoe Shining Email Could Get Colorado State Worker In Trouble  —  WHAT'S YOUR REACTION?  —  DENVER (AP) — A Colorado state employee could be disciplined for sending an e-mail showing President Barack Obama shining the shoes of former Republican vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin.

Crowds in Times Square Celebrate 2010  —  Hundreds of thousands of revelers welcomed the new year in New York City's Times Square, despite the rain, slushy streets and heightened security, capping worldwide celebrations that often emphasized the hopes for a more peaceful tomorrow.

THEY NEVER LEARN.... In late October, the White House released extensive visitors logs, prompting some thorough reviews of who's stepped foot in 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.  —  Far-right activists thought they'd hit the mother lode when they started going through the list of names.

TSA nominee misled Congress about accessing confidential records  —  The White House nominee to lead the Transportation Security Administration gave Congress misleading information about incidents in which he inappropriately accessed a federal database, possibly in violation of privacy laws …

A Note about the Armoured Vehicles from China to Iran // Available in 3 languages: ENGLISH, FARSI, CHINESE  —  (the information about the armoured vehicles in this text has been confirmed by multiple sources):  —  Finally, with the arrival of the first shipment of armoured vehicles …

GOP banks on repeal push for 2010  —  Republicans hope a push to repeal the Democrats' health care bill will inspire voters to turn out for them in the 2010 elections — even though some of them admit that it has no realistic chance of working.  —  “We have to repeal very substantial parts …

Chinese New Year  —  It's the season when pundits traditionally make predictions about the year ahead.  Mine concerns international economics: I predict that 2010 will be the year of China.  And not in a good way.  —  Actually, the biggest problems with China involve climate change.