TRENDING: CNN 2012 Poll: Obama and Palin going in different directions?  —  Washington (CNN) - As the start of the next presidential campaign nears, a new national poll suggests that President Barack Obama's tax-cut compromise with congressional Republicans did not hurt his standing among Democrats …

N.J. Gov. Christie, vacationing during snowstorm, pushes back on criticism  —  New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie's office is pushing back against complaints that both he and the lieutenant governor were vacationing during a blizzard that blanketed the state with snow.

How WikiLeaks Just Set Back Democracy in Zimbabwe  —  Last year, early on Christmas Eve morning, representatives from the U.S., United Kingdom, Netherlands, and the European Union arrived for a meeting with Zimbabwean opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai.  Appointed prime minister earlier …

Biggest conservative names bidding goodbye to CPAC  —  Participation of homosexuals, financial mismanagement cited  —  Two of the nation's premier moral issues organizations, the Family Research Council and Concerned Women for America, are refusing to attend the Conservative Political Action Conference …

Wall Street Execs Whine To Politico About Their Hurt Feelings  —  WHAT'S YOUR REACTION? … This morning's Politico features another piece ("Obama and Wall St.: Still Venus and Mars") in a continuing series that present Wall Street people whining about all those times White House higher-ups …

Latest Right-Wing Freak-Out: Obama Wants To Give Manhattan Back To Native Americans  —  The good news is that the right-wing isn't talking about President Obama being a secret Muslim right now.  The bad news is that they're now concerned that he's going to use his honorary status …

As gay becomes bourgeois  —  With 'don't ask, don't tell' repealed and gays seeking marriage equality, the homosexual bourgeoisie is emerging — a concept subversive to both liberals and conservatives.  —  So now openly gay soldiers get to fight and die in neocon-imperialist wars too?

The merger of journalists and government officials  —  The video of the CNN debate I did last night about WikiLeaks with former Bush Homeland Security Adviser (and CNN contributor) Fran Townsend and CNN anchor Jessica Yellin is posted below.  The way it proceeded was quite instructive …

DADT DEAD-ENDERS LATCH ONTO ‘SHOWER ISSUE’.... With Congress already having passed a repeal of the “Don't Ask, Don't Tell” policy, and President Obama gladly putting his signature on the repeal legislation, I'm not sure what more conservatives hope to accomplish.  —  There was a political fight, and they lost.

A PUBLISHING MYSTERY.... I don't mind admitting when I'm wrong.  Last year, for example, I predicted that George W. Bush's post-presidency memoir would be a flop.  Just the opposite is true — “Decision Points” has sat atop the Times Best Sellers list for the last six weeks, and yesterday …

Obama: No shirtless pictures  —  The White House is taking extra steps to prevent photos of a shirtless President Obama on vacation in Hawaii.  —  The president and his family are on a snorkeling trip in Hamauma Bay Nature Reserve, and traveling press are under “explicit instructions …

Indiana Grandmother, a Muslim Convert, Being Investigated for Possible Terror Link  —  Kathie Smith brandishes a gun in video starring her and her husband, Salahudin Ibn Jafar, that is being investigated by terrorism task force.  —  A 46-year-old Indiana grandmother is under investigation …

Just 21% Want FCC to Regulate Internet, Most Fear Regulation Would Promote Political Agenda  —  American voters believe free market competition will protect Internet users more than government regulation and fear that regulation will be used to push a political agenda.

Help the 99ers  —  (Ed. note: We invited Nicole Sandler to blog here to announce her new site, designed to help 99ers find support and work.)  —  Last week, while guest hosting The Randi Rhodes Show and discussing the unexpected but wonderful progress made in the lame duck session of Congress …

GOP Senator-Elect Calls For Filibuster Reform On Judicial Nominees  —  In 2005, when President Bush was nominating judges, GOP senators almost universally denounced filibusters of judicial nominees as unconstitutional.  Four years later, when a Democratic president moved into the White House …

Quest for Palin e-mails may exceed her time in office  —  You can do the math.  —  Alaska state regulations require public officials to make public records available to the public within 10 days in most cases.  —  On Monday evening, Sarah Palin's former staff in the Alaska governor's …

Judge tosses Miller lawsuit, clears way for Murkowski swearing-in  —  A federal judge today dismissed Republican Joe Miller's federal lawsuit seeking to overturn the results of the Nov. 2 election, clearing the way for U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski to be certified as the winner.

GAO Sees Problems in Government's Financial Management  —  Like what you see?  Click here to sign up for Accounting Today's daily newsletter to get the latest news and behind the scenes commentary you won't find anywhere else.  —  “Even though significant progress has been made since …

Health plans for high-risk patients attracting fewer, costing more than expected  —  An early feature of the new health-care law that allows people who are already sick to get insurance to cover their medical costs isn't attracting as many customers as expected.

Bill Clinton, to stump for Rahm Emanuel, warned by Danny Davis: Stay out of Chicago mayor race  —  Chicago mayoral hopeful Rep. Danny Davis (D-Ill.) shot a warning on Tuesday morning to former President Bill Clinton, coming to Chicago to stump for rival Rahm Emanuel: Stay out.

New GOP House Rules Pave The Way For More Tax Cuts, Deficits  —  In 2007, just weeks after Republicans lost control of the House and Senate and six years after the first passel of Bush tax cuts were signed into law, Democrats made a key change to the budget rules to prevent that episode from repeating itself.

Obama and Income Inequality: No New Brazils!  —  We're going to be hearing a lot about income inequality over the next few years.  It may be an abstract concept, but it gets hits like Sarah Palin and attracts grant money like Cory Booker.  Tim Noah's series on the subject was (rightly) so popular he got a book contract out of it.

National Film Registry Adds 25 Films  —  National Film Registry Chooses 25 Films for 2010 Additions  —  It's official.  When, in hundreds of years, the future of humanity scours the U.S. Library of Congress for clues as to how primitively we lived back in the early 21st century …

Dial-a-fatwa that bans naps, raffles and tattoos: Muslim scholars issue 350,000 decrees in 2010  —  Taking an afternoon nap, the monotonous drone of vuvuzelas that irritated almost all football fans during the World Cup is OK, and it doesn't matter how much noise a donkey makes, it musn't be touched.

Economic Optimism?  Yes, I'll Take That Bet  —  Five years ago, Matthew R. Simmons and I bet $5,000.  It was a wager about the future of energy supplies — a Malthusian pessimist versus a Cornucopian optimist — and now the day of reckoning is nigh: Jan. 1, 2011.