GOP Threaten to Harm the Economy If Obama Won't Embrace Tar Sands Pipeline  —  GOP Threaten to Kill Tax Relief and Unemployment Extension Over Keystone XL Pipeline, Which Won't Improve Energy Independence or Create Many Permanent Jobs … By Kate Gordon and Daniel J. Weiss in a CAP repost

Nikki Haley's Mitt Romney endorsement catches flak  —  GREENVILLE, S.C. - Nikki Haley's attempt to boost Mitt Romney is threatening her own support here at home.  —  Romney's campaign is using the South Carolina governor's endorsement to build his acceptance among the tea party base that's never …

Christopher Hitchens, 1949-2011  —  A friend of theirs once took Christopher Hitchens and his wife Carol Blue to dinner at Palm Beach's Everglades Club, notorious for its exclusion of Jews.  —  “You will behave, won't you?”  Carol anxiously asked Christopher on the way into the club.  No dice.

In Memoriam, my courageous brother Christopher, 1949-2011  —  How odd it is to hear of your own brother's death on an early morning radio bulletin.  How odd it is for a private loss to be a public event.  —  I wouldn't normally dream of writing about such a thing here, and I doubt if many people would expect me to.

It is finally being recognized that the eurozone made a major policy breakthrough … Here is the story, and you will recall my earlier post here.  Karl Smith asks how this fits in with the treatment of collateral, and here is also a more skeptical take on the arbitrage.

Rick Perry, Pensioner  —  He may not act like a retiree, but GOP presidential candidate Texas Gov. Rick Perry has collected monthly retirement benefits for much of the year.  The governor elected in January to start receiving a state employee retirement annuity of $7,698 a month …

Long Island high-school students suspended for ‘Tebowing’  —  The Tebow mania sweeping the nation sacked a group of Long Island high-school students who were suspended for mimicking the quarterback's famous prayer pose.  —  Twin brothers Tyler and Connor Carroll of Riverhead HS …

Let's Face it: It's the Radical Right, not Islam, that is the Greatest Threat to the American Way  —  Imagine if a major American advertiser were to pull its ads off of Jersey Shore because they received objections that the show while portraying a group of Italian-Americans, made the glaring error of excluding Mafiosi.

Group Clears Path for a Third-Party Ticket  —  To those who bemoan the lack of better choices in presidential elections, third-party fantasies come easily at this stage in a campaign.  End hyper-partisanship and Washington dysfunction: Vote Bloomberg-Petraeus in 2012!

Obama looks safe in New Mexico  —  Barack Obama is considerably less popular in New Mexico now than he was in 2008.  He won 57% of the vote there, but now has an approval rating under 50% in the state at 49/46.  Those represent the poorest numbers we've found for him in New Mexico all year …

SEC CHARGES FORMER FANNIE MAE AND FREDDIE MAC EXECUTIVES WITH SECURITIES FRAUD  —  Companies Agree to Cooperate in SEC Actions  —  FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE  —  2011-267  —  Washington, D.C., Dec. 16, 2011 — The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged six former top executives …

Underground Pre-K Groups, Often Illegal, Abound in New York  —  IT WAS 6 P.M. on a Friday in early June, and my children's dinnertime coincided with the moment the New York City Department of Education posted acceptance letters online for 4-year-olds seeking prekindergarten spots in public school.

Dem congressman: We 'didn't know what the hell was going on' when we passed Obama stimulus [VIDEO]  —  California Democratic Congressman Mike Honda, a member of the Budget and Appropriations Committees, told The Daily Caller that Democrats in Congress passed the $825 billion Recovery Act because they …

Cantor promises swift action on STOCK Act  —  Obama: My support for Israel “unshakable”  —  Who had strongest showing in Iowa debate?

Newt And The Health Care Mandate  —  As of this writing Newt Gingrich is opposed to the ObamaCare individual health insurance mandate.  However, the Times tells us that this is a recent conversion:  —  More broadly, he has indicated his agreement with the most controversial aspect …

Canada's Approach to Inconvenient Art  —  Franke James is a Canadian artist with deep concerns about her country's outsize contribution to resource waste and the building accumulation of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.  Check her scrolling artwork titled “Fat Cat Canada's Giant Litter Box” for an example.

Obama makes impassioned plea for support from Jewish audience  —  NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. — President Obama made an impassioned plea for continued support from American Jews on Friday, listing off his accomplishments on social issues and touting his record in support of Israel's security.

Climategate Bombshell: Did U.S. Gov't Help Hide Climate Data?  —  Are your tax dollars helping hide global warming data from the public?  Internal emails leaked as part of “Climategate 2.0” indicate the answer may be “Yes.”  —  The original Climategate emails — correspondence stolen …

Congress overturns incandescent light bulb ban  —  Congressional negotiators struck a deal Thursday that overturns the new rules that were to have banned sales of traditional incandescent light bulbs beginning next year.  —  That agreement is tucked inside the massive 1,200-page spending bill …