TAXPROF: Dave Barry: Obama Blames Bush Administration For Tax Code.

GLOBAL WARMING WON’T PREVENT AN ICE AGE IN A COUPLE OF THOUSAND YEARS. “I would prefer we didn’t burn up all the limited supply of fossil fuels now so that we could burn them later when we really need to heat up the planet.”

We need to reach a stage of technological development where stopping an ice age is relatively easy. We should certainly be there in 2000 years if we don’t blow it.

TAXPROF: TurboTax: The Geithner Edition.

UPDATE: Folks here are not amused.

CUTTING A SWATH: Apple’s Magic Mouse.

ALFONZO RACHEL: We’re All In Tiger’s Doghouse.

SOME OF MY LEFTY READERS are writing to ask why I wasn’t criticial of Homeland Security under Bush? From this, I assume they didn’t start reading my site until Obama was elected. Hey, all that extra traffic had to come from somewhere. . . .

But for those who are late to the game, try this or this. Or just go here and keep scrolling.

WIRED: How Algal Biofuels Lost a Decade in the Race to Replace Oil.

NHTSA LAUNCHES DISTRACTED DRIVER WEBSITE.

Coming soon — flashing “Don’t Be Distracted While Driving” billboards! Where the type is just a shade too small to read without squinting . . . .

Hey, don’t laugh — I saw something like this in Columbus a couple of months ago.

VICTOR DAVIS HANSON: A Humpty-Dumpty View Of The World.

MAUREEN DOWD: As the Nation’s Pulse Races, Obama Can’t Seem to Find His. Is it just me, or does he seem like he’s not enjoying the Presidency as much as he expected? Plus, comparing Janet Napolitano to Janet Reno? Harsh. (Via Ed Morrissey, who notes that Dowd’s sounding like Cheney these days. “If Obama has lost Maureen Dowd, then perhaps the outrageous outrage that erupted this morning over Cheney’s remarks should be reconsidered. Be sure to read Dowd’s entire column, a sentence I thought I’d never write.”)

RADLEY BALKO: The Criminalization Of Protest: Police and politicians ignore the First Amendment when we need it the most.

SHOCKER: States with the highest taxes also rank as the unhappiest.

NICK SCHULZ: “I Didn’t Have Time to Write a Short Bill, So I Wrote a Long One Instead.”

I.R.S. OFFERS TIPS FOR YEAR-END CHARITABLE DONATIONS.

If you’re looking for places to donate, might I suggest the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education, the Institute for Justice, or the Foresight Institute? Or, of course, Horse Haven of Tennessee.

TEA PARTY GROUPS growing in North Georgia. And everywhere else, which is a mixed bag for the sclerotic, out-of-touch Republican leadership . . . .

A SENATE HEALTH-CARE BILL timeline.

POLITICO: What Obama’s Probe Is Finding: “If the dots had been connected, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, the Nigerian who tried to detonate the bomb, would have been denied entry to the U.S. or at least screened more thoroughly, the reviews have found. . . . Several clues to the unfolding plot were not shared sufficiently within the intelligence community. The CIA and the National Counterterrorism Center, which was created on the recommendation of the 9/11 Commission, did not adequately alert the FBI or others who might have acted on information they received.”

UPDATE: “Hoekstra deserves an apology.”

ANOTHER UPDATE: “Don’t Worry. We’ll be much better at health care.”

Plus this: “And speaking of Napolitano’s abysmal performance over the weekend… where’s Hillary? Was she made Secretary of State for the purpose of hiding her away?”

REVIEWS OF THE NEW SHERLOCK HOLMES MOVIE from Randy Barnett and John Nolte.

IN THE MAIL: From Nick Schulz and Arnold Kling, From Poverty to Prosperity: Intangible Assets, Hidden Liabilities and The Lasting Triumph over Scarcity.

MICHAEL BARONE:

It looks like a happy new year for you — if you’re a public employee.

That’s the takeaway from a recent Rasmussen poll that shows that 46 percent of government employees say the economy is getting better while just 31 percent say it’s getting worse. In contrast, 32 percent of those with private-sector jobs say the economy is getting better, while 49 percent it is getting worse.

Nearly half, 44 percent, of government employees rate their personal finances as good or excellent. Only 33 percent of private-sector employees do.

It sounds like public- and private-sector employees are looking at different Americas. And they are.

Private-sector employment peaked at 115.8 million in December 2007, when the recession officially began. It was down to 108.5 million last November. That’s a 6 percent decline.

Public-sector employment peaked at 22.6 million in August 2008. It fell a bit in 2009, then has rebounded back to 22.5 million in November. That’s less than a 1 percent decline.

This is not an accident; it is the result of deliberate public policy.

And only bitter-clinger types could possibly object. You know, extremists.

UPDATE: Reader Barry Dauphin writes: “Oh, so that’s what John Edwards meant about the two Americas!”

POLITICO: Blue State Governors Rip Senate Health Bill.

THIS’LL SOLVE OUR HOMELAND SECURITY PROBLEMS! Napolitano Wants To Unionize TSA Employees.

A CLIMATEGATE INTERVIEW, at BigGovernment.com.

THE NEW HIP TREND: Canning and pickling! I’ve noticed a lot of people going on about this on Facebook, but I thought that was just my weird friends. Turns out it’s my hip friends!

MERRY CHRISTMAS, KID: “They just took my money.”