Sarah Palin: MSNBC ‘despicable’  —  Sarah Palin says MSNBC should ashamed of a “despicable” segment in which they mocked Mitt Romney's adopted black grandson.  —  “Leftist media hounds are not expressing an opinion with this attack; they are expressing a prejudice that would never be accepted …

JOEL BENENSON'S NEW YEAR'S WISH — TOMORROW'S EMBRACE BETWEEN BILL CLINTON, NYC'S INCOMING MAYOR could be big help to Hillary '16 — THREE CLASSIC COLUMNS by retiring Clyde Haberman  —  HAPPY '14 EVE from breezy, heavenly Waikiki Beach, where we enjoyed a Longboard Island Lager last night at Chip Smith's oceanfront table.

On Christmas, Republicans Quietly Declare War on Themselves  —  The holidays are a great time in politics.  Every year it's the same: the minute the last bits of wrapping paper have been cleared away, and Grandpa has passed his last puff of holiday gas, you can always retreat to the inside pages …

And The Country Posing The Greatest Threat to Peace as 2013 Ends is ...  (CNSNews.com) - The past year witnessed bloodshed in Syria and Iraq, turmoil in Egypt, anarchy in Central Africa, threats by a nuclear-armed North Korea and Chinese military posturing, but as 2013 ends a global poll finds …

The Year Washington Fled Reality  —  ‘Message discipline’ can win elections but is not a healthy way to run a country.  —  The past year may go down not only as the least productive ever in Washington but as one of the worst for the republic.  —  In both the executive branch and Congress …

Pope's sharp words make a wealthy donor hesitate  —  Cardinal Timothy Dolan on the wealthy and capitalism  —  CNBC's Michelle Caruso-Cabrera talks to Cardinal Timothy Dolan about concerns following the pope's recent comments.  —  Pope Francis' critical comments about the wealthy and capitalism …

The Facts About Benghazi  —  An exhaustive investigation by The Times goes a long way toward resolving any nagging doubts about what precipitated the attack on the United States mission in Benghazi, Libya, last year that killed Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens and three other Americans.

Change Is Obamacare's Only Certainty  —  I said in my last post that our newly implemented health-care law “is undoubtedly going to change in the near future, in ways that will make it more or less stable than it is now.”  To see what I mean, take the individual mandate.

No, Rand Paul, There's No Reason to Cut Unemployment Benefits  —  People aren't long-term unemployed because they prefer getting benefits.  People are long-term unemployed because there still aren't enough jobs.  —  Rand Paul says he cares about the unemployed.

Why Obamacare Will Only Get Less Popular  —  Lisa Myers has an excellent investigative reporting piece up at NBC News documenting how one small business is dealing with Obamacare.  The quotes from the article are just brutal: … Myers does report that, “A handful of the Extreme Dodge workers came …

2014 election: Charles Rangel: 2014 bid will be ‘rough one’  —  Rep. Charles Rangel predicts that his reelection campaign for a 23rd term in office will be “rough,” but he believes it's a worthy gamble.  —  “It's going to be a rough one, but, you know, it's like shooting crap.

GOP Candidate For AZ Governor Misquotes Lincoln On ‘Class Hatred’  —  A Republican gubernatorial candidate in Arizona was forced to backtrack this week after he was caught misattributing several quotes about class warfare on Twitter to Abraham Lincoln.  —  State Sen. Al Melvin (R) …

After Attacks, Administration Offers to Help Russia Counter ‘Folks Who Want to Cause Mischief’  —  The Obama administration offered to work on Sochi Olympics security issues with Russia after a pair of bombings in Volgograd killed at least 31 people.  —  President Vladimir Putin gave instructions …

Dyson Dismisses Phil Robertson's Biracial Grandson: Abner Louima's Sodomizer Had Mixed Race Kin Too  —  Fresh on the heels of one MSNBC host's program coming under fire after a panel mocked Mitt Romney's adopted biracial grandson for being “not like the other” members of his family …

Revealed, the U.S. hate preacher who inspired murderer of Lee Rigby: Killer tells how he became a Muslim after watching Islamic hardliner's sermons  — Adebowale and Michael Adebolajo face life in jail after being convicted of killing Lee Rigby outside Woolwich Barracks

State Dept. whistleblower has email hacked, deleted  —  WASHINGTON — The personal e-mail account of a State Department whis­tle­­blower was hacked, and four years worth of messages — some detailing alleged wrongdoing at the agency — were deleted, The Post has learned.

Senate Discord Drains Power of Finance Chief  —  WASHINGTON — After the Reagan landslide of 1980 swept Bob Dole into the chairmanship of the Senate Finance Committee, Mr. Dole was not sure how to break the news to Russell B. Long, the Louisiana Democrat who had presided over the panel with unquestioned authority for 15 years.

U.S. Frees Last of Uighur Detainees From Guantánamo  —  WASHINGTON — In what the Pentagon called a “significant milestone” in the effort to close the prison at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, the military announced on Tuesday that the United States had transferred three Chinese detainees to Slovakia.