Isn't Jack A Cute One?

Jack Nicholson, Lauren Bacall, and Warren Beatty in 1977. More great photos of '70s Hollywood royalty at novaksblog.com.

"Come Home, America" Watch, Day 43

Washington Post:

The president appears committed to adding at least 10,000 to 15,000 troops in Afghanistan in an effort to bolster the training of Afghan army and police officers in the country. Current plans call for the United States to double the size of the Afghan army and police forces to about 400,000 in the hope that they can take over security responsibilities.

Politics In A .PDF

Click to see this in its glory. Thanks to informationisbeautiful.net.

Your Move, Mahmoud

The U.S. and Israel are now on the same page on West Bank settlements. Time for Palestinian President Abbas to quiet the voices of extremism on his side by coming to the negotiating table.

Cool Head Needed In Hot Seat

As Alaska's rogue quitter governor successfully bullies a moderate Republican out of the race for New York's 23rd congressional district, where's Ed Cox, the state's new moderate Republican chairman?

Perfect Songs: "La Boheme" Love Duet (1896)

The most perfect seven notes ever sung? Kiri Te Kanawa and Richard Graeger.

A Mere Ghost Of A Finding

Creating a laboratory for ghostly phenomena, researchers in London conclude that people either see what's actually there or think they do.

Does The Dried Fruit Constitute A Dirty Trick?

The take for the 2,000 kids who'll trick or treat at the White House, according to the AP:

A box of White House M&Ms with the president's signature imprinted on it, a sweet dough butter cookie made by White House pastry chef Bill Yosses, a National Park Foundation Ranger activity book, and a serving of dried fruit mix made up of cherries, apricots, pears, apples and papayas.

Hat tip to Mike Cheever

Super H?

As worries escalate about the possibility of a third intifada, the Secretary of State heads to Jerusalem for talks with Israel, which has so far hardlined President Obama and the Palestinians on the West Bank settlements. Israel needs concessions from from Arabs as well. Perhaps it's time for some old-fashioned, Henry Kissinger-style shuttle diplomacy -- but before rather than after war breaks out.

The Stake For Conservatives, Till It Hurts

Dan Gerstein on the significance of Barack Obama's abandonment of bipartisanship in health care policy:

For Democrats, this means the official end of Bill Clinton's popular "third way" approach to progressive policymaking, which aimed to synthesize the best ideas of both sides. Obama seemed to go both ways on the third way during the campaign, repudiating it at times to win over the left and embracing it at times to win over the middle. But now it's clear there will be little if any synthesizing or triangulating. The president and his allies on Capitol Hill are betting that the suspicion of government that Reagan cultivated for a generation has ebbed enough to buy their activist policies time to work. If they succeed, the left will have driven a stake into the philosophical heart of conservatism.