Bad sign...

The return of Robert Malley

Robert Malley, a former Clinton official specializing in Middle Eastern affairs, was criticized during the recent Presidential campaign for being an anti-Israeli activist. Martin Peretz of the New Republic called him a “rabid hater of Israel. No question about it”.

...Today, Arutz Sheva reported that the man who would not “play any role in the future” was dispatched by the President elect to the Middle East to outline Obama’s policy in the Middle East.

Heh...

Corporate Greed Runs Amok

"You'll never believe who's price-gouging."

Roger L. Simon: Make Steve Jobs CEO of GM....

Should we bail out big auto?:

"Seems as if Pelosi and Reid are hellbent on bailing out GM and other American auto companies. I’m of two minds about this and am trying to restrain my bias. It’s worth remembering that — just as Al Gore is finally irrelevant to the existence or not of anthropogenic global warming — just because Pelosi and Reid are for something, doesn’t mean you have to be against it. Again, they, like Gore, are irrelevant. Stick to the facts, as far as they can be ascertained."

But Al's a funny guy... so?

The Al Franken - Norm Coleman Senate Race Recount Update

It would be funny if Franken ends up losing the race just because he was unnecessarily rude to a college student. With the margins this close, that could arguably be the case. But the recount is still ongoing….

Well said... read it.

Warriors share stories of Iraq, Afghanistan

"'It's not the United States fighting this war; it's the American military fighting this war.'"

Megan wants to know....

Dorothy, get in the storm cellar! Open thread on belt-tightening

"So if you're like most of us in America, you're feeling a little it like . . . a Christian Scientist with appendicitis."

Funny, did anyone see any Muslims protesting the deaths of the poor 202 people that these jerks murdered?

Anger Erupts After Executions in Bali Blasts

"Meanwhile, at the site of the bombings, which killed 202 people, families of the victims gathered to lay wreaths and pray. Most of those killed were foreign tourists.

The three bombers — Mr. Samudra, Amrozi and Mukhlas, also known as Ali Ghufron — were executed early Sunday morning on a prison island off Java after years of delay because of government fears of a violent backlash."

Althouse has the same thoughts I did when I saw it...

The NYT identifies Jamie Gorelick as potentially Obama's pick for Attorney General

Unbelievably ponderous baggage! Oh, but conservatives have attacked her. Does that somehow cancel the baggage? A better question: Why haven't liberals attacked her?

Beldar seethes:

Short of appointing an actual member of al Qaeda, I cannot imagine a more offensive symbolic repudiation of the Global War on Terror — nor a more enthusiastic embrace of the chronic mismanagement, cronyism, and graft which led to this fall's credit crisis — than the appointment of Jamie Gorelick as attorney general.

I voted for Obama, as I'm sure my commenters are about to remind me, and I'm hoping for the best. He told me to hope! Please don't crush my hope so early, Mr. Obama

Patterico adds: Is this a joke? It has to be a joke.

You go, Radley....

Successful Pot Smokers: Let’s Make a List
The latest absurdity to come out of the Office of National Drug Control Policy is an anti-pot PR campaign with the motto, “Hey, not trying to be your mom, but there aren’t many jobs out there for potheads.”

Of course I bought Version 1.0....

Nov. 10, 1983: Gates Opens Windows a Bit Early

1983: Microsoft chief Bill Gates unveils the Windows operating system for PCs. Don't hold your breath waiting until you can buy a copy ... unless you can hold your breath for two years.

Gates, Microsoft's president and board chairman, held an elaborate event at New York City's posh Helmsley Palace Hotel. The debutante at this ball was an operating system with a graphical user interface.

Interesting...

Why Obama Should Copy Bush (Really!)

Stop snickering and just read the damn thing.

Via Instapundit... and something to closely watch

THE CHICAGO TRIBUNE CALLS ON OBAMA to keep his promise to keep Patrick Fitzgerald on as U.S. Attorney: "President-elect Barack Obama has said he'll keep Fitzgerald in the job, and we trust he'll keep his word. But Fitzgerald, who serves at the president's pleasure, has powerful enemies. They know that as his list of cooperating witnesses lengthens—convicted fundraiser Antoin "Tony" Rezko may be joining that club—so does his list of potential targets. Those with reason to fear Fitzgerald's breath on their necks would love to see him dumped—or promoted high into Justice Department oblivion—when Obama takes office. . . . The sooner Obama silences speculation about the possible replacement of Fitzgerald, the better for both men: Obama will show that he's a man of his word. And witnesses to corruption will know they aren't cooperating with prosecutors who might soon have a new boss."

Interesting video...

Man Arrested at Philly Obama Victory Rally for Wearing a McCain/Palin T-Shirt: "

And just like that, dissent is no longer the highest form of patriotism, but rather a jailable offense."

Important Stuff.... really

Google Signs a Deal to e-Publish Out-of-Print Books

"“Almost overnight, not only has the largest publishing deal been struck, but the largest bookshop in the world has been built, even if it is not quite open for business yet,” wrote Neill Denny, editor of The Bookseller, a trade publication based in London, on his blog."

Victim or Fool?

Mortgage Woes Derail a Staten Island Mother’s Plans

Instapundit.com -

WASHINGTON POST OMBUDSMAN: Yes, we were in the tank for Obama. Sorry about that! Plus, this: "One gaping hole in coverage involved Joe Biden, Obama's running mate. When Gov. Sarah Palin was nominated for vice president, reporters were booking the next flight to Alaska. Some readers thought The Post went over Palin with a fine-tooth comb and neglected Biden. They are right; it was a serious omission."

Wow! I can't believe it.......

More from Patterico....

Change we can live with....

Barack Obama's economic advisory board has been very good to him

"In fact, they gave $155,000 directly to Obama’s presidential accounts.

They and employees of their companies accounted for upward of $2 million in donations to the campaign, a Times review of Federal Election Commission records shows."

No Sh_t.....

Now You Tell Us

The L.A. Times reveals a truth many of us already knew, but that the electorate at large evidently did not — namely, that Obama oversimplified the foreign policy challenges he faced:

The other truth is that, even with wider international support, it may be impossible for Obama to win the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, prevent Iran from building a nuclear weapon, broker peace between Arabs and Israelis or stabilize African countries beset by civil strife. As Times correspondents explain on this page, the realities on the ground are more complex than presented by Obama the candidate.

It’s OK to say . . . now that he’s safely elected.

Welcome to France....

The Death of the American Idea

"I disagree with my fellow conservatives who think the Obama-Pelosi-Reid-Frank liberal behemoth will so obviously screw up that they'll be routed in two or four years' time. The President-elect's so-called “tax cut” will absolve 48 per cent of Americans from paying any federal income tax at all, while those that are left will pay more. Just under half the population will be, as Daniel Henninger pointed out in the Wall Street Journal, on the dole. By 2012, it will be more than half, and this will be an electorate where the majority of the electorate will be able to vote itself more lollipops from the minority of their compatriots still dumb enough to prioritize self-reliance, dynamism, and innovation over the sedating cocoon of the nanny state. That is the death of the American idea — which, after all, began as an economic argument: “No taxation without representation' is a great rallying cry. “No representation without taxation” has less mass appeal. For how do you tell an electorate living high off the entitlement hog that it's unsustainable and you've got to give some of it back?"

Heh...

FREEDOM! Mandatory "community service."