Afghan President Hamid Karzai Longs For ‘Golden Age’ Of The Bush Years  —  What's Your Reaction: … BUFFALO, N.Y. — Longing for the early years of the Bush administration, Afghan President Hamid Karzai has been consumed by anti-U.S. conspiracy theories, convinced American officials …

Decision on possible Billy the Kid pardon expected by end of week  —  (CNN) — The governor of New Mexico has until Friday to decide whether to pardon outlaw Billy the Kid in the killing of a sheriff.  —  As of last week, Gov. Bill Richardson had received about 400 responses …

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 …

Transit complaints about MTA, Bloomberg keep piling up in aftermath of Christmas Day blizzard  —  Bus and subway riders were stranded or delayed again Tuesday as significant parts of the transit system remained bogged down by snow and ice.  —  More than two dozen bus routes in Brooklyn …

Chastened Bloomberg fights to save reputation after string of snow-removal snafus  —  A testy Mayor Bloomberg fended off criticism of the city's failure to clear hundreds of snow-choked streets Tuesday as an avalanche of critics attacked his reputation as a supermanager.

In the Rearview, a Year That Fizzled  —  It was the year that the economy started to recover and then slid back into a slump — only to offer reason for renewed hope in the final weeks.  —  When 2010 began, hiring and consumer spending were finally picking up.

Oklahoma man says wife's death was sex fantasy accident  —  (CNN) — Arthur Sedille was up-front with police: He would often put a gun to his wife's head during fantasy sex play at their Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, home.  —  But Sedille said he didn't know the gun was loaded when he pressed …

Plunge of For-Profit College Stock Makes Sperling Rail at Obama  —  As a humanities professor at San Jose State University from 1961 to 1973, John Sperling pioneered remedial reading classes for Mexican Americans and courses in social problems for police officers.

A truce in culture wars as voters focus on economy  —  Back in June, Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels, whom many think would be an attractive 2012 presidential candidate, was quoted by Andrew Ferguson in the Weekly Standard for saying the next president “would have to call a truce on the so-called social issues.”

If Christians Were Treated Like Muslims  —  Few Americans would deny that Judeo-Christian beliefs and values informed the Founding of this country and that they continue to shape much of American life today.  Nor would many of us deny that Americans who embrace Islamic values are a distinct minority here.

The Worst Clichés of Politics From ‘Tax-and-Spend’ to ‘Maverick’ … According to my rough calculations, our political tongue — the language of campaigns, elections and, yes, governing — is sustained by an army of maybe 10,000 professional babblers.

Putting the Record Straight on the Lamo-Manning Chat Logs  —  Editor's note: This is a two-part article, in which Wired.com editor-in-chief Evan Hansen and senior editor Kevin Poulsen respond separately to criticisms of the site's Wikileaks coverage.  —  The Case for Privacy

Key healthcare provisions take effect Jan. 1, just as GOP moves into House  —  Key parts of the new healthcare law will go into effect on Jan. 1, just before a Republican-controlled House returns to Washington.  —  The massive overhaul of healthcare approved by Congress earlier this year …

Floods, freeze not the end of global warming: CSIRO  —  A CSIRO scientist is warning authorities not to interpret floods in eastern Australia and snowstorms over Europe and North America as signalling the end of global warming.  —  NASA research shows that 2010 is the hottest year on record.

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 …

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.

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 …

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 …

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.

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.