EXTREME MORTMAN: “Well here’s a neat little insight into how the press works.” Evan Thomas, to his credit, has provided a lot of those over the last couple of election cycles.

A SELF-RECORDING arms race?

PRIVACY WORRIES ABOUT GOOGLE’S FLU-TRACKING SERVICE.

Related thoughts here.

HOW TO STOP GAY MARRIAGE. Contrary to what the Sith lords say, releasing your anger isn’t always the best tactic. Of course, it all depends on what you’re after: “That such actions might cause repression or backlash against gays would be just fine with Bash Back. The idea is to foment hatred and class war, and above all, get more publicity for Bash Back.”

MICKEY KAUS: Does Obama really want to get to 60? “Getting a large, ‘filibuster-proof’ majority would dramatically increase the expectations from his party’s left, and from its entrenched Congressional interests, making them that much harder to control. Without 60, Obama can cite the filibuster threat and easily steer a moderate, popular center-left course. With 60, he’ll have to use heretofore untested muscle to control Dem demands regarding the Detroit bailout, union ‘card check’ elections, immigration, health care, tax cuts, the Fairness Doctrine (sorry ‘Forced Balance’) etc. … “

CHRIS DODD IS BRINGING COMFORT to some bloggers worried about the economy.

FOR THE CAR INDUSTRY, is it Obamadämmerung?

THE HOTTEST OCTOBER ON RECORD WAS A SEPTEMBER. Hey, everybody makes mistakes.

A MAN CHOOSES DIVISIVENESS AND EXCLUSION, and is ostracized.

UPDATE: The story I linked is now gone, but here’s another.

JUDITH MILLER on anthrax and biodefense.

IF THIS IS TRUE, WE’LL MISS OUT ON LOTS OF INTERESTING NEWS: Obama likely to escape campaign audit. Plus this: “Even if Obama’s campaign reached the audit recommendation trigger point, it’d be tough to muster the majority commission vote necessary to initiate the audit. That’s because the FEC is comprised of three Democratic commissioners and three Republicans and, as such, is prone to deadlock on partisan issues.”

If I were John McCain, I’d be kicking myself . . . .

OH, GOOD GRIEF: John Edwards – yes, that John – starts his PR rehab tonight.

AN ODD POLL on Obama and guns.

THE MOST DIVISIVE ADMINISTRATION IN HISTORY? I think we should let history judge.

DALE CARPENTER on the debate about how to respond to the Proposition 8 defeat.

Plus this: “Let’s characterize more things as hate and then fight hate with hate. What a terrible idea!”

And also this: “Notice the leadership President-Elect Obama is showing on this issue?”

And comparing and contrasting responses to electoral defeat. The question is, which is more effective?

NANOBAMA: Barack Obama in carbon nanotubes.

NO NEW ENERGY CZAR: “We’ve been down this policy dead-end before.” Have we ever solved a problem by appointing a “czar?”

TONY BLANKLEY: To Battle Stations!

A LIST OF THE best headphones of 2008.

UPDATE: Tom Spaulding (who’s not only a blogger, but John Fogerty’s guitar tech) emails: “Be sure to check out M-Audio’s Q-40 headphones…full range goodness!!!”

SEAN BRAISTED TO REPUBLICANS: Unleash your inner Kos Kid:

Ultimately, so long as people aren’t threatening violence towards the President or his supporters, I see no issue with a healthy disdain for the Chief Executive. He (or eventually She) is not a monarch, or a dictator, but rather a public servant…so treat them with the same level of respect you’d treat a parking meter attendant or a DMV official.

Read the whole thing.

BEN PERSHING: “Barack Obama may have just made the smartest move yet in his (short) stint as president-elect — throwing a lifeline to Joe Lieberman. . . . Of course, it’s not all peaches and cream for Obama. Liberal blogs — AKA the “Netroots” — are not happy about this, and they may not be satisfied with anything short of complete excommunication for the Connecticut Senator. But Obama doesn’t have to run again for four more years, and keeping liberals in the fold probably isn’t his biggest worry right now.”

AN OBAMA Transition Flowchart. Though it’s really an org-chart, not a flowchart.

WHO TAKES CARE OF THE OLD AND THE SICK? Mostly their families. But don’t worry — if we get national healthcare the government will take over!

DAVID HORNIK: Reported Obama-Hamas Contacts Bode Ill. “A clash between Obama’s public, anodyne, mainstream statements and behind-the-scenes activities of a different nature would confirm the fears of those concerned about Obama’s history of association with radical people and ideologies.”

CALIFORNIA’S BALLOONING DEFICIT: “California’s budget deficit will grow to $28 billion through June 2010 unless lawmakers take bold action, possibly including a hike in the state income tax, the Legislature’s nonpartisan analyst said Tuesday.” Wow. Bold.

UPDATE: Reader Kartik Gada writes:

In the article on CA’s deficit, there are several ideas that the lawmakers propose, except one : cutting spending to the extent of reducing staff.

CA’s top state tax rate is already 9.3%. If the Federal Rate rises to 39.6% under Obama, and the CA State Tax rises to, say, 12%, with Medicare Tax an additional 2.9%, the marginal tax rate on small-businesses is a total of almost 55%.

How many people will still bother to start new ventures in Silicon Valley, at that point? How many will take the risk of joining the few that start up? People usually join a start-up in the hopes of a one-time pop of, say $2 million after a few years of work. If 55% of that is taxed, is it worth it?

Furthermore, why toil in pursuit of X-Prizes if the X-Prize winnings will themselves be taxed at 55%?

Yes, I think there’ll be more migration to Arizona, Nevada, and Idaho, among other places. Which, of course, will spur further tax increases, since public-employee benefits, welfare programs, etc., must never be reduced.

ANOTHER UPDATE: Reader Michael Grant writes: “This ‘one-time pop’ is typically a long-term capital gain, and not wage income. Thus it will not be taxed at the 55% level.” That makes sense, though I don’t know anything about California state taxes. Still, that’ll probably go up too.

MORE: Multiple readers write that Grant is wrong. Reader Ken Nelson explains: “Most of the ‘pops’ are stock options. You convert the option, sell the stock, own it about 1 second, to be treated as cap gain. Stock options profits are taxed as ordinary income. 55%. Thanks for taking the risk.”