Amid Deficit Fears, Obama Freezes Pay  —  WASHINGTON — President Obama on Monday announced a two-year pay freeze for civilian federal workers as he sought to address concerns over high annual deficits and appealed to Republicans to find a common approach to restoring the nation's economic and fiscal health.

Serious Questions about the Obama Administration's Incompetence in the Wikileaks Fiasco  —  We all applaud the successful thwarting of the Christmas-Tree Bomber and hope our government continues to do all it can to keep us safe.  However, the latest round of publications …

Nuclear scientist killed in Tehran was Iran's top Stuxnet expert  —  World Exclusive from DEBKAfile's intelligence sources:  —  Prof. Majid Shahriari, who died when his car was attacked in North Tehran Monday, Nov. 29, headed the team Iran established for combating the Stuxnet virus rampaging through its nuclear and military networks.

In Which I Become a Conservative  —  Ross Douthat, an Atlantic alumnus, contends in the NY Times that the recent controversy over “enhanced” TSA procedures illustrates the dominance of partisan reflex in today's politics.  Liberals complained about excessive state power when Bush and Cheney were in charge …

Netflix Partner Says Comcast ‘Toll’ Threatens Online Video Delivery  —  Updated  —  Level 3 Communications, a central partner in the Netflix online movie service, accused Comcast on Monday of charging a new fee that puts Internet video companies at a competitive disadvantage.

Liberal groups blast Obama pay-freeze proposal, release alternative plan  —  Representatives of three liberal advocacy groups on Monday blasted President Obama's proposed two-year freeze on federal civilian worker pay.  —  John Irons of the Economic Policy Institute, Tamara Draut of Demos …

Palin not seen as electable  —  Sarah Palin might think she could get elected President in 2012, but few Americans agree.  Only 28% of voters in the country think that Palin is capable of defeating Barack Obama while 60% think she is not and 12% aren't sure.

Justices turn aside another challenge over Obama's citizenship  —  Washington (CNN) — The Supreme Court has again cast aside an appeal that raised doubts about President Barack Obama's U.S. citizenship, a grass-roots legal issue that has gained little legal or political footing, but continues to persist in the courts.

What happens when Medicare controls costs too well  —  There's one school of thought that says Congress is incapable of controlling costs in Medicare, and then there's, well, this: … One of the dirty little secrets of the health-care system is that Medicare has done a much better job controlling costs …

PRECEDENT AND PROLOGUE  —  Momentous Supreme Court cases tend to move quickly into the slipstream of the Court's history.  In the first ten years after Brown v. Board of Education, the 1954 decision that ended the doctrine of separate but equal in public education, the Justices cited the case more than twenty-five times.

WikiLeaked: John Kerry calls for Israel to cede Golan Heights and East Jerusalem  —  On a February trip to the Middle East, Senate Foreign Relations Committee chairman John Kerry (D-MA) told Qatari leaders that the Golan Heights should be returned to Syria, that a Palestinian capital …

The Spanish Prisoner  —  The best thing about the Irish right now is that there are so few of them.  By itself, Ireland can't do all that much damage to Europe's prospects.  The same can be said of Greece and of Portugal, which is widely regarded as the next potential domino.  —  But then there's Spain.

‘The criminalization of politics’  —  THERE IS LITTLE DOUBT that former House majority leader Tom DeLay (R-Tex.) schemed to get around a Texas law prohibiting corporate contributions to political campaigns.  Mr. DeLay's state political action committee accepted $190,000 in (legal) corporate contributions.

Of WikiLeaks and the Pentagon Papers  —  In connection with the latest WikiLeaks flap, commenter Brett Bellmore asks rhetorically, “Do you think America would be better off if the Pentagon Papers hadn't been leaked?”  —  Yes!  Hell, yes!  Much better off.  —  The Pentagon Papers leak didn't end the Vietnam War.

China ‘ready to abandon North Korea’  —  Leaked dispatches show Beijing is frustrated with military actions of ‘spoiled child’ and increasingly favours reunified Korea  —  China has signalled its readiness to accept Korean reunification and is privately distancing itself from the North Korean regime …

Former New Mexico Gov. Gary E. Johnson tests Florida waters for presidential bid  —  TALLAHASSEE — A self-made millionaire Republican is campaigning in Florida on a platform of spending cuts and less government.  —  It's not Rick Scott, anymore.  —  This is Gary E. Johnson …

APNewsBreak: NJ must pay $271M for killing tunnel  —  TRENTON, N.J. - New Jersey owes the federal government more than $271 million after canceling a rail tunnel connecting the state with New York, according to a debt notice obtained Monday by The Associated Press.

Smithsonian Christmas-Season Exhibit Features Ant-Covered Jesus, Naked Brothers Kissing, Genitalia, and Ellen DeGeneres Grabbing Her Breasts  —  WARNING: This story contains graphic photographs of items on display in an exhibit at the Smithsonian Institution's National Portrait Gallery.

Latino leaders swirl around idea of Tequila Party  —  Latino leaders in Nevada and nationwide are quietly debating whether to sever their traditional Democratic ties and form an independent grass-roots political group.  —  The idea, born of frustration over the party's inaction on immigration reform …