ERIC POSNER: “Obama supporters should probably root for Bush to issue pardons. Bush might be just ornery enough to refuse.”

YEAH, IT’S BEEN A LITTLE SLOWER THAN USUAL. I’m taking a semi-vacation from blogging this week. Still online some, but less than usual. Email in particular, isn’t getting the usual attention. Just ready for a post-election break.

LOOKING FOR BOOKS to give kids for Christmas or Hanukkah? Check out the Books for Kids Blog for lots of reviews and recommendations.

SOME GIFT IDEAS from Dave Barry.

DPREVIEW.COM REVIEWS digital cameras under $150. Meanwhile, I know I promised a review of the Panasonic LX-3, but I haven’t had time to do a proper writeup. I’m happy with the pics I’ve gotten from it so far. Here’s one.

MICKEY KAUS: “Holder’s Defense: ‘I was played for a sucker by a lobbyist!'” Plus, observations on the Mumbai coverage.

A TERRORISM SURVIVAL BUNDLE for Windows Mobile.

FEARS OF A MEASLES EPIDEMIC IN BRITAIN:

There have been more than 1,000 measles cases so far this year – putting Britain at risk of a deadly epidemic, health officials say. The Health Protection Agency blamed unfounded fears about the combined MMR jab for the increase and urged parents to vaccinate their children.

In the first ten months of 2008, there were 1,049 confirmed cases in England and Wales – the highest level since the early 1990s.

I had a column on this problem a little while back.

ROGER KIMBALL: Political Freedom Dies in Great Britain.

VAMPIRE MOVIES that don’t suck.

SETH BARRETT TILLMAN AND STEVE CALABRESI DEBATE the constitutional status of Presidents and Vice Presidents.

IS VALLEJO, CALIFORNIA’S FISCAL FREEFALL the beginning of a trend? More problems with those underfunded/overgenerous public employee pensions:

But the largest share of the blame in Vallejo has centered on public-safety salaries and benefits, which make up about 75 percent of the city’s general fund budget. Base pay for firefighters is more than $80,000 per year and employees can retire at age 50 with a pension equal to 90 percent of their salary, the result of a retroactive pension increase several years ago. . . . The California Professional Firefighters union proclaims, “If allowed to stand, Vallejo’s attack on its own employees would send shock waves throughout the labor movement.”

Read the whole thing.

HARRY REID SPENDS THE TAXPAYERS’ MONEY, WHILE DISRESPECTING THE TAXPAYERS: We won’t have to smell the tourists anymore.

BITES FROM THE APPLE: A roundup of news from the Apple empire.

INDEED: “But what if the government were held to the same standard as private management? If the government were a private company it would be too broke and uncreditworthy to continue operating. . . . Yet who among the political class – the very managers who remorselessly oversee the financial train wreck in their own institution – has called for a pay or benefit cut for the President or Congress, let alone actually taken one? Which officials have curtailed travel by private jet, forgone their annual salary, or cancelled scheduled retreats and vacations? . . . So in a show of good faith, I would like to see our federal leaders take the lead in fiscal accountability by refusing to accept a salary until, as they’ve demanded of the automakers seeking a bailout, they can demonstrate a plan to bring their enterprise into the black and repay their debt.”

THE MUMBAI ATTACKS: A case of operational metamorphosis?

CHEAP PLASTIC SOLAR CELLS are getting more efficient. If they’re cheap enough, of course, they don’t have to be that efficient to be worthwhile.

IN THE MAIL: From Steve White, Saint Antony’s Fire. Not to be confused with St. Elmo’s Fire.

VERONIQUE DE RUGY: Are You Better Off Than You Were 40 Years Ago? “Government has grown, but freedom has grown faster.”

IT’S TIME TO ORDER THIS YEAR’S Festivus poles! Ah, there’s nothing like seeing the little kids’ eyes light up when you bring one of these beauties into the living room. . . .

Time for a Festivus Pole Insta-Poll!

INTERESTED IN SUPPORTING LONGEVITY RESEARCH? Here’s a suggestion.

ER, THEN WHAT’S THE POINT, EXACTLY? British Testimony: Lap Dances ‘Not Sexually Stimulating’. Maybe things are different over there . . . .

REVIEWING THE REVIEWERS: A roundup of book reviews from all over.

ED DRISCOLL: Won’t Get Fooled Again. “If the New York Times and its writers and editors can’t see the difference between an unfortunate shopping incident and the Spanish Civil War, one wonders what what value the newspaper has as an information source to be trusted by their readers.”

A ROUNDUP OF REACTIONS to the James Jones appointment.