An Unnecessary War  —  I know from personal involvement that the devastating invasion of Gaza by Israel could easily have been avoided.  —  After visiting Sderot last April and seeing the serious psychological damage caused by the rockets that had fallen in that area, my wife, Rosalynn …

Bond will not seek another term  —  Sen. Kit Bond, a senior Republican from Missouri who sits on several powerful Senate committees, announced Thursday that he will not run for reelection in 2010, giving Democrats a shot to pick up a seat in a state that has emerged as a major battleground.

Barack Obama asks longtime University of Chicago professor Cass Sunstein to join his administration  —  Law scholar will handle regulation issues, transition official says  —  WASHINGTON — Cass Sunstein, a longtime University of Chicago legal scholar and prominent author …

Obama Digs In for His BlackBerry  —  WASHINGTON — President-elect Barack Obama has yet to relent, but he conceded that he might be losing the battle to keep his independent lifeline to the outside world.  —  “I'm still clinging to my BlackBerry,” Mr. Obama said Wednesday.  “They're going to pry it out of my hands.”

A SOLUTION TO A PROBLEM THAT DOESN'T EXIST.... You've got to be kidding. … These guys aren't pushing a bill to get rid of the Fairness Doctrine, because it's already gone.  They're pushing a bill to prevent anyone from trying to bring it back — despite the fact that there is no meaningful effort to do so.

Why Obama Will ‘Own’ the Recession  —  For eight decades, Democrats have successfully blamed Republican Herbert Hoover for the decade-long Great Depression.  That, even though Franklin Roosevelt's New Deal failed to restore prosperity or dramatically lower unemployment, and his tax increases in 1937 snuffed out a nascent recovery.

Report Urges Blagojevich Impeachment  —  CHICAGO — A draft report by an Illinois legislative committee recommends the impeachment of Gov. Rod Blagojevich, who faces federal charges of corruption and bribery.  —  The 21-member House special investigative committee said in the report released Thursday that …

Americans miffed at Howard bumping Obama  —  John Howard's decision to stay at the luxurious Blair House mansion in Washington DC has sparked a firestorm of protest in the US.  —  Outraged American taxpayers are demanding the former Australian prime minister book a hotel or stay at the Australian embassy.

Obama Builds Powerful Team of White House Advisers  —  Influential Advisers May Compete With Cabinet  —  President-elect Barack Obama is assembling a new and influential cadre of counselors just steps from the Oval Office whose power to direct domestic policy will rival, if not exceed, the authority of his Cabinet.

BART Cop Needs to Be Held without Bail  —  I have yet to see any widespread nationwide coverage on the New Year's execution style murder of Oscar Grant by a Bay Area Rapid Transit - BART - police officer.  Somebody told me that they saw 5 minutes of coverage on CNN last night.

Obama's ‘first mistakes’ mount  —  Team Obama has made its first mistake — again.  —  When Gov. Bill Richardson withdrew his nomination as commerce secretary earlier this week, NBC's Andrea Mitchell declared it “the Obama team's first misstep.”  —  But Mitchell had been scooped.

President Bush Tried to Rein In Fan and Fred  —  Democrats and the media have the housing story wrong.  —  Mythmaking is in full swing as the Bush administration prepares to leave town.  Among the more prominent is the assertion that the housing meltdown resulted from unbridled capitalism under a president opposed to all regulation.

U.N. Suspends Food Aid Into Gaza  —  The United Nations suspended its food aid deliveries into Gaza on Thursday after one of its contract drivers was killed during an Israeli attack on a delivery convoy at a border crossing, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency said.

Parking Shortages Still Bad for Business  —  One thing you can normally count rightwingers to be correct about is the subject of price controls.  Price controls seem appealing — everyone likes stuff, but nobody likes spending money, so price controls offer the promise of getting stuff for less money.

Army Sends ‘Dear John Doe’ Letters to Families of Fallen Troops  —  The Army mistakenly sent letters addressed “Dear John Doe” to 7,000 family members of soldiers who died in Iraq and Afghanistan, unleashing calls from troubled relatives and prompting a formal apology yesterday from the Army's top general.

THE BUSH YEARS — THEN AND NOW  —  From NBC's Mark Murray  —  With President Bush set to leave the White House less than two weeks from now, here's a “Then and Now” to show what the United States looked like when Bush was entering office and what it looks like now as he's leaving.