The Only Thing We Have to Fear . . .  is Obama.  —  Barack Obama is the apostle of hope.  But he also arouses the flipside of hope—fear.  And while the fear he stirs may turn out to be unfounded, it's not irrational.  People don't know who Obama really is or where his ideological center of gravity rests …

Bush's Final Approval Rating: 22 Percent  —  CBS News/N.Y. Times Poll Finds President Will Leave Office With Lowest Final Approval Rating Ever  —  (CBS) President Bush will leave office as one of the most unpopular departing presidents in history, according to a new CBS News/New York Times poll showing …

RNC candidates turn up the partisan heat on Obama  —  WASHINGTON (CNN) - Despite the climate of national goodwill surrounding Barack Obama as he prepares to take the oath of office, two of the candidates vying to lead the Republican National Committee unleashed harsh attacks against the president-elect on Friday.

Ethics cloud still hangs over Rangel  —  A herd of tax reporters trails Charles B. Rangel everywhere he goes these days, like a team of pilot fish feasting on whatever morsels the raspy, talkative Ways and Means Committee chairman casts aside.  —  Late last year, that media herd was feasting …

Obama's train ride: Lincolnesque imagery  —  by Mike Dorning and Mark Silva, updated at 10:45 am EST  —  PHILADELPHIA - President-elect Barack Obama, delivering a pledge “to take up the work” that the patriots of American independence started here, launched a thematic train ride that will deliver the incoming president to Washington.

‘Drug-crazed idiot’ Boy George jailed for 15 months for chaining male escort to wall and beating him … Boy George was jailed for 15 months yesterday for falsely imprisoning a male escort.  —  The former Culture Club singer - real name George O'Dowd - shackled Audun Carlsen to a wall …

Obama's Inauguration Planners Strive to Set the Right Tone  —  When a train pulls out of Philadelphia today carrying President-elect Barack Obama on a symbolic journey to Washington, it will set off a four-day inaugural celebration of unprecedented ambition that has been calibrated to strike …

Hamas and Hezbollah supporters return to Calgary's Jewish neighbourhood  —  I don't get it.  Glenmore Landing is private property; with a word RioCan, the landlord, could demand that the pro-Hamas and pro-Hezbollah goons, who now gather there weekly, leave.  That's what mall security does when teens loiter on skateboards.

Justices to Hear 2 Cases Brought Against Schools  —  WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court agreed Friday to decide two cases pitting parents against public schools.  —  One concerns a 13-year-old honor student who was subjected to a strip search by school officials in Arizona looking for prescription-strength ibuprofen.

January 10, 2009: The Intifada is globalized as the Gaza War becomes a world war  —  On January 10, the war between Israel and Hamas became a global conflict.  No longer confined to the Gaza Strip, the fighting spread to cities around the world: what were billed as “anti-war” …

Barnicle Man, Barnicle Man, Doing The Things That Barnicles Can  —  Matthew Yglesias at Think Progress catches this Mike Barnicle/Mika Brezenski exchange on “Morning Joe”: … http://www.youtube.com/watch?  v=1MEjX6ITLqY  —  Yup, sure is a disgrace to journalism when you're anonymous ...

Circuit City to Shut Down  —  Circuit City Stores, a bellwether American retailer, said Friday that it would go out of business, stripping the nation of its second-largest consumer electronics chain.  —  The company, which filed for bankruptcy protection in November but had hoped to emerge …

Recount: Trial on Coleman challenge to begin on Jan. 26  —  Republican Norm Coleman's trial challenging DFLer Al Franken's lead in the U.S. Senate recount will begin Jan. 26, according to an order issued this afternoon by the three-judge panel that will hear the case.

Calif. tax refunds to be delayed starting Feb. 1  —  SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) - California's controller says he will begin a 30-day delay on tax refunds and other payments starting Feb. 1 because the state is running out of money.  —  Controller John Chiang said Friday he must delay $3.7 billion …