The New Republic

I was just listening to a segment on NPR about girlfriend-beater Chris Brown. One of the guests was talking about how he has no interest in listening to Brown's new album because he doesn't think Brown has sufficiently owned up to his personal sins, noting that the singer typically uses weasel words like "what I did" or "what went down" instead of more specific words like "domestic violence."  READ MORE >>

God, I miss the days when social conservatives sat around grumbling about how the true meaning of Christmas was being lost in a tacky, commercial wave of neon Santas and animatronic snowmen. Instead, the evolving culture wars have turned St. Nick into some kind of conservative hero--a roly-poly, fur-clad warrior for Good in the insidious "war against Christmas." As a result, one now encounters yard decor like the incongruous scene erected on a lawn not too far from my house: a fat, glittery Santa grinning wildly as he kneels low over Baby Jesus in his makeshift manger bed. READ MORE >>

I wouldn't presume to diagnose from afar (where's Bill Frist when you need him?), but it certainly seems as though House Minority Leader John Boehner has been struck down with some peculiar form of palilalia.   READ MORE >>

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Speaking of the Desiree Rogers piece, am I to understand that Rogers is facing extra scrutiny over the Salahi debacle because of her reputation as too high-profile and glamorous? READ MORE >>

The big dailies' piety about avoiding blind quotes unless there is a compelling reason to use them (the justification for which the reporters must try to explain in their vague characterization of sources) has always seemed pointless because of the absurdly low hurdle applied. Today's WaPo piece on WH Social Secretary Desiree Rogers--currently in the hot seat for having those freaky reality TV-wannabes crash the state dinner on her watch--includes two prime examples. READ MORE >>

Does this NYT headline/piece strike anyone else as ridiculous? "On Broadway, Shows With Biggest Names Get Fullest Houses" The article is about how star-studded, hit shows like "Wicked" and "The Lion King" are in high demand this holiday season, while lesser-known, lower-wattage entities are faring worse. Wow. Who would have ever imagined that hit shows would be more popular than non hit shows? READ MORE >>

CNN.com makes mention of a new effort--complete with freshly launched web site--to draft Dick Cheney for a 2012 White House run. READ MORE >>

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As its "Arena" question to pundits this morning, Politico has "Obama's Charisma: Where Did He Leave it?" The implication seems to be--and I feel as though I've heard a variation on this question asked not infrequently of late--that Obama was such a dazzling, inspirational, transformational campaigner that it's hard to fathom where this wonky, chilly, pathologically measured grind of a president came from. READ MORE >>