WikiLeaks Ready to Release Giant ‘Insurance’ File if Shut Down  —  Julian Assange, the WikiLeaks founder, has circulated across the internet an encrypted “poison pill” cache of uncensored documents suspected to include files on BP and Guantanamo Bay.  —  One of the files identified this weekend …

G.O.P. Leader Sees Outline of Tax Deal  —  After thwarting efforts to raise taxes on America's top earners, Sen. Mitch McConnell, the Republican leader, predicted Sunday that Congress would retain the expiring Bush-era tax cuts for a limited number of years and might also extend unemployment benefits …

WikiLeaks cables: Barack Obama is a bigger danger  —  WikiLeaks harms the US.  But the president's refusal to acknowledge the threats we face is a bigger danger  —  WikiLeaks has yet again flooded the internet with thousands of classified American documents, this time state department cables.

Tension grows between Calif. Muslims, FBI after informant infiltrates mosque  —  IRVINE, CALIF. - Before the sun rose, the informant donned a white Islamic robe.  A tiny camera was sewn into a button, and a microphone was buried in a device attached to his keys.

Terrorism and Fear  —  Apparently the National Park Service is trying to think of ways to bring a higher level of security to the Washington Monument in order to protect it against terrorist attacks.  But Bruce Schneier has a different idea.  He thinks we should just shut it down:

Hugo Chavez blames massive flooding on capitalism as 70,000 remain homeless in Venezuela  —  Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez said he knows what's been causing the floods that have killed 32 people in his country and left 70,000 homeless: “criminal capitalism.”

Not Crass, Class  —  Karl Smith sort of takes issue with my point about how Social Security is a favorite target of the Beltway crowd, because it's not important to anyone they know.  “I doubt anyone thinks about it in such crass terms,” he writes.  —  Actually, there's more crassness …

Mounting Debts by States Stoke Fears of Crisis  —  The State of Illinois is still paying off billions in bills that it got from schools and social service providers last year.  Arizona recently stopped paying for certain organ transplants for people in its Medicaid program.

Examiner Sunday Reflections by Glenn Harlan Reynolds: Obama presidency turns government up to 11  —  President Obama's term so far has been compared to many fictional and non-fictional characters: Chauncey Gardener of “Being There” is frequently invoked, along with the self-invented charmer Don Draper from …

Dem: We could have let economy fall and been in majority for 40 years  —  Retiring Rep. Brian Baird (D-Wash.) said that Democrats wisely passed the 2008 financial rescue bill, but it cost them politically.  —  Addressing the economic collapse of 2008 and the subsequent passage …

GOP: Doc fix can break health reform  —  Congressional Republicans are hoping to put Democrats in a no-win new year's jam: defund a big chunk of their health care overhaul or slash Medicare payments instead.  —  Despite rampant repeal rhetoric, Republicans have so far struggled to dismantle any part of health reform.

What if the Secrets Stayed Secret?  —  I READ the Monday New York Times with what can only be described as a sinking feeling.  —  Here on display, based on yet another WikiLeaks release, was the breathtaking disclosure of American diplomats' highly sensitive internal communications about friends and enemies.

Expressing gratitude  —  This is Israel's hour of need and nations across the world did not disappoint.  —  Talkbacks (9)  — Facebook  — Twitter  —  Over these last few painful, shocking days, there has been a shining light through the dark, ashfilled skies elicited by the rampant fires …