Hawaii's Governor Takes On ‘Birthers’  —  HONOLULU — Hawaii Gov. Neil Abercrombie, who befriended President Obama's parents when they were university students here, has been in office for less than three weeks.  But he is so incensed over the “birthers” — conspiracy theorists who assert …

Smiling Dems will soon cry ‘Washington is broken’  —  “Washington, right now, is broken,” said Vice President Biden in February.  “I've never seen it this dysfunctional.”  —  Back then, Biden was just one of many who complained that partisan rancor and gamesmanship had brought the functioning …

G.O.P. to Open House to Electronic Devices  —  WASHINGTON — The iPad is coming to Capitol Hill.  —  Tucked into new rules proposed by the incoming House Republican majority is one that could fling the chamber — for good or ill — into the 21st century: Members may use an electronic device …

Kamala Harris: Democrats' anti-Palin  —  It's easy to understand why Kamala Harris, California's next attorney general, is being called the future of the Democratic Party, a rising political star in the mold of one of her big supporters — President Barack Obama.

The Digital Story of the Nativity  —  Via Eneas.

Xmas joy mixed with threats for Mideast Christians  —  BAGHDAD (AFP) - Christians in the Middle East prepared on Friday to celebrate Christmas, some in fear of attacks against their community, as in Iraq, and others in the most discreet way possible, as in Saudi Arabia.

Grande Conservative Blogress Diva 2011  —  After extensive consultations with our committee, we have determined that the following blogresses, divas all, are the nominees for the coveted honor of Grande Conservative Blogress Diva 2011, the tiara commonly known as the “Ethel” …

Year in Review: Five Women on Top in Pop Culture … At year's end we've got a rich crop of uppity women — real and imagined — who left their deep prints on popular culture in 2010.  Some are famous, some are obscure.  Some are not widely known by name but known for what they did.

Scrooge, George Bailey and ‘Vows’: Our Warring Views on True Love … Maybe it's because I've been chewing over last Sunday's “Vows” brouhaha in the New York Times at the same time I've been scouring store shelves and trimming trees, but something in the combo leads me observe …

Actually, Huck, It's Palin Who Gets It  —  Two names frequently bandied about as potential 2012 Republican presidential candidates engaged in a minor but revealing squabble this week.  —  During what I assume was an action-packed episode of “Sarah Palin's Alaska” on TLC …

Republicans Labor to Avoid ‘Labor’  —  Congress is off for the Christmas holidays, but when lawmakers come back some will be laboring on a newly renamed committee.  —  It's the Education and the Workforce Committee, previously known in the just-concluded Congress as the Education and Labor Committee.

“Expect more extreme taxes thanks to global warming, say scientists”  —  The excuse will be: “Global Warming causes Global Freezing.”  —  ejderha  —  The reason I don't is because the “normal” scientific approach is to publish all your data and a detailed explanation of your method.