Mystery Missile Launch Seen off Calif. Coast  —  Military Mum on Nature of “Big Missile” Rising Out of Pacific - a Possible Show of U.S. Military Might  —  (CBS) A mysterious missile launch off the southern California coast was caught by CBS affiliate KCBS's cameras Monday night …

It doesn't take much to get deleted from the world of Sarah Palin.  —  Sarah Palin is fighting elites: the GOP establishment, know-it-alls like Karl Rove, the mainstream media, the Federal Reserve.  What unites all fronts in this battle is her conviction that people who claim to know the truth, or what's best for you, do not.

For Indonesia and Obama, 4th Time's the Charm  —  JAKARTA, Indonesia — It is the presidential homecoming that wasn't meant to be.  —  Enlarge This Image  —  President Obama during a news conference with President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono of Indonesia on Tuesday in Jakarta.

Bush: “I probably won't even vote for McCain”  —  George W. Bush's bombastic return to the world stage has reminded me of my favourite Bush anecdote, which for various reasons we couldn't publish at the time.  Some of the witnesses still dine out on it.  —  The venue was the Oval Office.

Ted Rall Book Excerpt: Let's Kill Some Christians and Tea Partiers  —  Ted Rall has a new book out titled The Anti-American Manifesto.  In it he makes an explicit call for a violent socialist revolution from within.  In case you think this is all a big joke, here's an excerpt from the book:

Alvin Greene mulls presidential bid  —  'Maybe.  I'll have to see,' Alvin Greene said about running for president.  —  Alvin Greene might run for president.  —  Greene, the unlikely Democratic Senate nominee in South Carolina who lost overwhelmingly to Republican Sen. Jim DeMint last week …

Cantor, Republicans signal Obama tax proposal is dead in the water  —  The Obama administration's hopes of reaching a tax deal with Republicans that would decouple rates on the rich from the middle class appear dead.  —  House GOP Whip Eric Cantor (Va.) threw cold water on the proposed plan …

Absentee ballot count gets under way  —  From Sean Cockerham at the Alaska Division of Elections office in Anchorage-  —  We've got our first numbers, showing Joe Miller making small gains on Lisa Murkowski.  But they are from only three Anchorage districts, including ones where the military vote is heavy.

Presidential Power Rankings  —  The Hotline assesses which potential White House contenders are most likely to win the 2012 Republican presidential nomination.  —  Welcome to The Hotline's inaugural edition of Presidential Power Rankings.  —  Who is best positioned to win the 2012 Republican presidential nomination?

Dems' leadership race turns bitter as Clyburn slams Hoyer's tactics  —  Rep. James Clyburn said Rep. Steny Hoyer's tactics are breaking with tradition and making Democrats uncomfortable.  —  The comments are the first hint of bitterness between Clyburn (S.C.) and Hoyer (Md.) …

Progressives don't really get progress, but the American people do  —  Progressives claim to have a monopoly on progress - designed by intellectuals who ‘know better’ and brought about by a big, beneficent government.  But Americans voted in last week's elections that this brand …

Republicans May Yet Have Upper Hand in Senate  —  On paper, the numbers tell you the Democrats held on to a majority in the Senate last week.  —  In reality, things won't be quite that neat.  In fact, on some issues the Republicans actually may have a functional majority …

Extreme divide on terror issues  —  The intense focus on the differences between President Barack Obama and House Republicans on government spending and tax cuts has eclipsed the yawning gulf that separates Obama and the incoming House leadership on counterterrorism policy …

A Spirited Talk with President Bush  —  BEGIN TRANSCRIPT  —  RUSH: We are happy, as we always have been, to welcome back to the program President George W. Bush.  Mr. Bush, welcome back, and thank you for giving us some time today, sir.  —  PRESIDENT BUSH: Rush, thank you.

My Application for Peter Thiel  —  Via Twitter, I see that one of the questions Peter Thiel asks applicants to his fellowship program (which unlike some of his philanthropic endeavors sounds to me like a totally good idea) is “Tell us one thing about the world that you strongly believe is true, but that most people think is not true.”

LIFESTYLES OF THE RICH, THE FAMOUS, AND THE NEW JERSEY GOVERNORS.... New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R), a media darling and favorite of many Republican activists, has a penchant for complaining about wasteful government spending and public employees who abuse the system and fail to respect the taxpayers footing the bills.

Kaiser Health Tracking Poll — November 2010  —  The November 2010 tracking poll was conducted in the days following the mid-term election that resulted in major gains for Republicans, including a shift in control of the House of Representatives.  The survey attempts to gauge …

Cigna CEO: Don't repeal U.S. health law  —  (Reuters) - Repealing the new U.S. healthcare law would be a waste of time, but there is room to improve it, the chief executive of health insurer Cigna Corp (CI.N) said on Tuesday.  —  “I don't think it's in our society's best interest to expend energy …

On Xmas shopping spree at crafts village, Michelle runs out of cash  —  Indrani Basu, TNN, Nov 9, 2010, 12.32am IST  —  NEW DELHI: While her husband talked trade, Michelle Obama did what most women love to do — shop.  The First Lady, who has quite a reputation as a fashionista and is known …

Despite Campaign Rhetoric, Joe Manchin Backtracks, Sides With Anti-Coal Party Bosses In Washington Just One Week After Election  —  Despite his repeated campaign rhetoric of putting West Virginia ahead of his party leaders' narrow partisan agenda in Washington, liberal Governor Joe Manchin …

DADT Repeal and the McConnell Way  —  Looks like Republicans aren't going to back down on their threat to filibuster a defense appropriations bill unless it's stripped of Don't Ask Don't Tell repeal legislation, and it looks like Democrats are going to cave.  —  Just as a pure political spectacle here, this is a thing to behold.