CHANGE! Longtime Biden aide picked to fill his Senate seat.

MORE ON HILLARY CLINTON AS SECRETARY OF STATE, and the emoluments clause.

MAYBE KATIE’S JUST TOUGHER THAN WE THOUGHT: Letterman like Palin blows Katie Couric interview too.

GUESS WHO HECKLED MUKASEY:

The story of last week’s Federalist Society dinner gets weirder. It appears that the man who heckled Attorney General Michael Mukasey–shouting “Tyrant! You are a tyrant!”–was a Supreme Court justice from Washington. Don’t worry, it wasn’t Souter or Breyer. We’re referring to the other Washington.

There was a time when America’s leadership class, whatever its other flaws, was above this sort of thing. Really, things do seem to have gone downhill.

VIDEO: Andrew Breitbart challenges Prop. 8 protesters to protest in front of a mosque.

TOM SMITH: Ships should arm themselves.

IT’S ALL DIFFERENT NOW. Isn’t that what they always say in the middle of a bubble?

The trillions of dollars in public funds U.S. officials are putting on the line to stabilize financial markets and protect the economy from a deep recession would, in normal times, inspire fear of soaring inflation and a tumbling dollar.

But these are not normal times.

Could we be in the midst of a “bailout bubble?” And if so, what happens when it bursts?

UPDATE: A cheerful reader emails:

There are three scenarios for what comes after the bailout spasm:

The gold bugs predict hyperinflation and the collapse of paper monies around the world.

The Keynesians predict a rerun of the pre-New Deal depression.

Libertarians predict the further emergence of a corporatist fascist state in the mold of continental Europe circa 1936.

The reported panic gun buying and gold coin shortages tell us the US public fears centrally planned evil of some kind.

Happy Holidays!

Oh, goody. Well, usually people’s fears turn out to be exaggerated. Let’s hope this is one of those times.

ANOTHER UPDATE: Reader Lou Minatti offers a sort-of cheerful analysis:

One thing to keep in mind about all of those dollars being created out of thin air by the Fed: This volume of this new “money” pales in comparison to the amount of wealth that has been destroyed over the past year, particularly since this past summer. There are fewer dollars chasing after goods, hence we are seeing deflation. Housing, energy, commodities… it’s all declining as wealth is evaporating. Things that don’t decline in price, like health care and education are heavily supported/subsidized/controlled by various governments. But these too will eventually be hit by deflation.

It’s no coincidence Bernanke, a student of the Great Depression, was brought in. The White House knew what was in store two years down the road. Bernanke will continue to flood the market with liquidity as dollars evaporate in time bombs such as hedge funds.

Cheerful, at least, in that it suggests that those in charge know what they’re doing . . . .

Meanwhile, reader Ric Locke emails:

I somewhat resent the characterization of the current wave of gun buying as “panic”. Prices are going up, yes, but everything’s quite orderly, calm, and reasoned.

We know for sure they’re going to foul it up, and use the situation as a justification to aggrandize themselves and enrich their cronies. Being able to fight back might not help, but it won’t hurt.

Yes, an armed populace raises the cost of some stupid government actions.

WILL ROBERT RUBIN SURVIVE the sack of the Citi?

BEAT THE CYBER-RUSH: Amazon is starting its big Black Friday sales early. All this recession-talk seems to be driving prices down, anyway. Yay!

UPDATE: Michael Greenspan sends this link to a big DVD sale at Buy.com. I don’t shop with them much, but some folks like ’em.

PHYLLIS CHESLER ON the Holy Land Foundation verdict.

SWEET GEORGIA BROWN, with tractor accompaniment.

[youtube a1ThSi1wbqU nolink]

(Via GearSlutz. Best comment:  “Heck, it keeps better time and emits less carbon than a lot of drummers I’ve known.”).

LEFTIES WORRY about the coming Obama betrayal. Hey, righties have been blaming Bush that way for years, so I guess it’s only fair that it’s someone else’s turn now . . . .

A BUNCH OF Thanksgiving menu ideas. Some involve bacon!

By the way, I ordered a few jars of the Baconnaise that I mentioned a while back, and it’s arrived. I’ll try to post a report after giving it a try. . . .

MICHAEL YON: Down With Barriers, Up With Iraq. “Once it was impossible to keep track of all the bloodshed. Now it’s impossible to keep track of all the progress.”

FIVE NONTRADITIONAL WAYS to cook a turkey.

QUESTION: If sexual harassment training makes men feel uncomfortable on account of their sex, isn’t it, you know, creating a hostile environment?

MORE ON THE RANGEL TAX SCANDALS, at Gothamist.

TESTDRIVING INFLIGHT WI-FI: “In theory, it’s a bit of a novelty. Out the window, the foggy Bay Area; on my screen, the latest science news and an email from my catsitter (everything’s fine). In practice, my wireless connection keeps dropping, and the speed varies from decent to painful.”

A BAD REVIEW FOR AUSTAN GOOLSBEE: Hey, take it from me: TV is hard. I like the Sarah Palin/punctuation comment, though.

SHOPZILLA: Consumers Prefer Cyber Monday to Black Friday. I expect to be doing nearly all my shopping online — but the sales look to be starting early.

INTERESTED IN PREDICTION MARKETS? There will be a prediction markets conference in San Francisco this January 23.

WELL, THIS IS OKAY WITH ME: Black Friday Sales Intensify in Downturn. Retail Support Brigades, take note!

DEFENDANTS GUILTY ON ALL COUNTS in Holy Land Foundation Trial. “A jury on Monday determined that the Holy Land Foundation and five men who worked with the Muslim charity were guilty of three dozen counts related to the illegal funneling of at least $12 million to the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas.”

THIS IS COOL: Michigan Students Set World Record for Longest Flight by Fuel-Cell-Powered Plane.

FREE ECONOMIC ADVICE FOR THE OBAMA ADMINISTRATION: We’ve already seen that the mere expectation of possible new gun regulations has produced an amazing post-election boom in gun sales. And the current problem, as in all deflation-threats, is that people won’t spend money when they get it, hoarding it instead against the threat of future bad times. But there’s an answer: Give ’em a reason to spend now rather than later.

Now that the Obama economic team is together, they should announce plans for a national sales tax next year, encouraging people to buy like crazy now. Then, in a few months, announce that the tax is being “postponed” until a few months after that. This should produce a second wave of shopping. Then announce that the tax has been delayed indefinitely, but spread rumors of looming hyperinflation, encouraging people to stock up one more time. . . . .

By the time this wears through, we should be out of the woods! It’s practically guaranteed to work . . . .