HMM: Aide to Boxer Fired After Being Charged in Child Pornography Sting. “A senior aide to Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) was fired from his post last week after he was charged with distributing and receiving child pornography.” No Name That Party here, as they put that in the very first sentence. Meanwhile, JWF notes a similar case from Sen. Maria Cantwell’s office last month.

VOTER TURNOUT NO RECORD: “Turnout in last week’s election increased from four years ago but fell far short of some forecasts largely because many Republican voters either stayed home or left blank the presidential section of their ballots.”

Yes, McCain didn’t exactly fire up the base.

PUSHING BUSINESS JETS beyond the sound barrier.

PUSHING BUSINESS JETS beyond the sound barrier.

IN THE MAIL: Defending the Republic: Constitutional Morality in a Time of Crisis.

LEE SMITH: Why does Syria insist on harboring terrorists?

“THE WAR IS OVER AND WE WON:” Michael Yon just phoned from Baghdad, and reports that things are much better than he had expected, and he had expected things to be good. “There’s nothing going on. I’m with the 10th Mountain Division, and about half of the guys I’m with haven’t fired their weapons on this tour and they’ve been here eight months. And the place we’re at, South Baghdad, used to be one of the worst places in Iraq. And now there’s nothing going on. I’ve been walking my feet off and haven’t seen anything. I’ve been asking Iraqis, ‘do you think the violence will kick up again,’ but even the Iraqi journalists are sounding optimistic now and they’re usually dour.” There’s a little bit of violence here and there, but nothing that’s a threat to the general situation. Plus, not only the Iraqi Army, but even the National Police are well thought of by the populace. Training from U.S. toops has paid off, he says, in building a rapport.

He says the big problem everybody is talking about now is corruption. But hey, we have that here, too. He’ll be heading to Afghanistan next week. “Afghanistan is a bad situation, but on Iraq I can’t believe things have turned out so well.”

He thinks that Obama will be able to pull troops out, and send some to Afghanistan, without creating problems in Iraq. Michael will be reporting from Afghanistan soon, and sending back video, so stay tuned. Things aren’t going swimmingly there.

UPDATE: Rand Simberg: “No thanks to the Democrats, including Barack Obama and Joe Biden, who tried to keep it from happening. I see that they still can’t bring themselves to utter the word ‘win’ with respect to the war. They continue to talk about ‘ending’ it. Well, it looks like George Bush did that for them, and he won it as well.”

ANOTHER UPDATE: More thoughts at The Mudville Gazette.

MORE: Yon emails this correction: “Actually, NONE of them have fired their weapons in combat during this tour, and about half of them are combat veterans from Afghanistan and/or Iraq.” Sorry, I had misunderstood that bit.

OH, GOOD GRIEF: VP-elect Biden hopes to be a hands-on No. 2. “Vice President-elect Joe Biden was all smiles Thursday when he paid a courtesy call the man he will succeed, Dick Cheney. But he has insisted he wants to be nothing like him. . . . But even if he won’t acknowledge any similarities, there’s one way that Biden wants to be like Cheney – a strong partner in governing the country. Biden is proving to be a hands-on No. 2 to President-elect Barack Obama. He is carving out his own niche, specializing in foreign affairs, his area of expertise for decades in the Senate, and sticking close to Obama.” Hmm. Sounds pretty Cheney-like to me. Obviously he didn’t heed my warning.

TOM SPAULDING LOVES GarageBand 08.

WILL LAW PROFESSORS BOYCOTT THE INAUGURATION? “If law professors are going to boycott supporters of preserving the traditional definition of marriage, will the law professors who urged the boycott of the Hyatt hotel also boycott Barack Obama’s inauguration, which reportedly will have 1 million people in attendance? After all, while Barack Obama opposed California Proposition 8, Obama supports the traditional definition of marriage and aligned himself with numerous black ministers and others in the black community who oppose gay marriage.”

Don’t hold your breath on that one . . . .

T. BOONE PICKENS is holding off on his wind-farm plans because of the credit crunch and falling energy prices. That’s the problem with big energy projects. Our interview with Pickens is here.

BRIAN DOHERTY: “I’ve watched with growing distress this past week as many interesting cultural iconclasts I admire for various reasons who can usually be counted on to be aware and skeptical of government power to at least some degree, from John Perry Barlow to Adam Parfrey to Oliver Stone, have swooned over the mighty Obama and his world-changing powers. . . . Being surrounded by a creepy-happy adoring Cult of the Great Leader makes me…uncomfortable, to be sure.” It’s the glamour. Or maybe a cult of personality.

HEH: Never Let Anyone Outside The Family Know What You’re Thinking Again.

GET YOUR weaponized laser systems right here. Just in time for Christmas! I hope I find one under my tree!

OKAY, THIS IS WEIRD: Clear Channel Runs Dodd Interview — In Alabama.

Clear Channel’s 960 AM radio station finally ran a censored interview with U.S. Sen Chris Dodd — on 960AM in Brimingham, Alabama, not 960AM in New Haven.

It was the latest bizarre turn in the saga of the itinerant recorded showdown between Connecticut talk-show host Tom Scott and Connecticut’s mortgage scandal-plagued Democratic senator (U.S. Sen. Chris Dodd of Connecticut).

Kind of funny that the voters of Connecticut — who will get to decide whether to rehire Dodd in a couple of years — aren’t getting to hear this. I’m sure the folks in Alabama are interested, but . . . .

Earlier story, and audio of the interview, here.

SECRETARY OF STATE HILLARY CLINTON?

MICHAEL AUSLIN: Lessons for today’s lost conservatives.

ARE WE COMING DUE FOR A NEW ICE AGE? A roundup of the debate.

TOLERANCE IN higher education.

MAKING YOUR OWN GLASS in a Weber grill.

I’d rather have some ribs, but okay.

OH, WHILE I’M PASSING OUT CONSTRUCTIVE ADVICE, can I suggest that folks unhappy about Proposition 8 would be better-served by pushing for the repeal of the Defense of Marriage Act than by protesting at Mormon Temples and stomping on crosses?

Lashing out in anger feels good to some people, I guess, but that’s about it. Kendra Todd is doing more good for the cause by featuring an endless array of normal-looking gay couples on My House is Worth What? than all of these protesters are doing — infinitely more, in fact, since they’re doing harm, not good.

I keep hoping that one of those happy gay couples will open a closet door to display a rack of assault weapons, but I guess Kendra thinks America isn’t ready for that, yet. Soon!

At any rate, protesting at city halls is a lot friendlier than picketing churches, no?

UPDATE: White powder sent to Mormon temples in Utah, LA.

ANOTHER UPDATE: So Obama was instrumental in getting Prop 8 passed.

MORE: Bill Quick isn’t buying my kumbayah tone here . . . .

STILL MORE: A Mormon perspective, from Orson Scott Card.

SOMEHOW I HAD MISSED THIS YESTERDAY: Conrad says he’s not a target of fed Countrywide probe. “Sen. Kent Conrad, D-N.D., said he’s not a target in a Justice Department [probe] of Countrywide Financial. NBC News recently reported that the FBI is investigating Countrywide’s VIP program – which gave special mortgage deals to government officials.”

But what about this? “The Democratic senator ‘told WDAY Radio News Tuesday that he was asked to consider serving as director of the White House Office of Management and Budget. … Conrad said he declined the offer because he has obligations to fulfill in the U.S. Senate.'” Hmm.

ARE WE FACING ANOTHER great inflation? I remain worried about that.

THE TROUBLE WITH BAILOUTS: Everybody wants one. “But the news business is special. Without us, you wouldn’t know anything. Besides, it provides millions of low-paying, insecure jobs to overeducated yuppies who are going to move back home, into your basement, if you don’t do something, quick. And the news business is the other industry that can, all by itself, send the real economy into a tailspin. You think you’re worried about a depression now? We could make you really depressed. I’m not threatening, or anything; I’m just saying, it’s a nice country you’ve got here. It would be a real shame if someone convinced consumers to stop buying Blu-Ray players and shift their savings into canned guns and ammunition.”

Canned guns? I’d like one of those. They keep better, I hear . . . .