TOP AVIATION ADVANCES of the last decade.

TAXPROF: U.S. Ranks 20th in Tax Support for R&D.

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

ALLEN BARTON: The Decade’s Worst Economic Blunders.

SO WHICH’LL IT BE — Alzheimer’s, or cancer?

JEFFREY GOLDBERG: “I was previously under the impression that Andrew was opposed to further military interventions in the Middle East.”

SORRY, STILL NOT SEEING THE ANEURYSM CONNECTION. Weigel’s snark notwithstanding, it was a weak point. As for the Biden angle, note that I updated very shortly when readers informed me. Weigel, on the other hand, didn’t respond to similar feedback in the same fashion. But he manages to work in an anti-Bush angle . . .

RASMUSSEN: Ben Nelson Down 30 Points After Health Care Vote. “Here’s an interesting internal: among those uninsured, 62% disapprove of Nelson after his vote on ObamaCare. In fact, fewer uninsured approve of Nelson (37%) than insured (39%).”

UPDATE: Reader James Somers writes:

Glenn, the Rasmussen poll you link to about Ben Nelson’s disapproval rating contains an interesting tidbit, showing how Nebraska GOP governor Dave Heineman would best him in a Senate matchup. Similar polls in North Dakota suggest that GOP governor John Hoeven would beat Democratic Senator Byron Dorgan in a race there next year.

Of course, the missing link here is that neither Hoeven nor Heineman has announced a candidacy for the Senate. Voters opposed to the ObamaCare legislation should be encouraging their candidacies; and if Hoeven and Heineman are dedicated conservatives, they should seriously consider stepping up and running. I personally think John Thune did the country a great service in having the courage to run against Tom Daschle in 2004, especially after Tim Johnson barely beat him in 2002 under questionable circumstances. That ought to be remembered by conservatives if Thune does run for president in 2012.

I wish that Hoeven and Heineman would seriously consider announcing, now, before the Senate has a final vote on ObamaCare, that they will run against Dorgan and Nelson if they continue to insist on shoving this bad legislation down our throats. Put aside the cynicism for a moment: these Republican governors went into politics, at least in part, to serve what they perceive to be the public good. It would be nice if they stepped up like Thune did, since they may have as much power as anyone to stop ObamaCare.

Good point.

MICHAEL TOTTEN: The Iranian Regime’s Battle Of Karbala.

CHINA’S NEW CROP OF DIY Aviators.

DAN RIEHL: Napolitano Must Go — Now.

UPDATE: The Plum Line: Skittish Democrats Refuse To Defend Obama On National Security.

IRAN: Khamenei Supporters Run Over Protesters In Trucks.

UPDATE: An Iranian reader emails:

The word “supporters” is in this context a little misleading. Those are not “supporters” of the regime, or of Khamenei, that carry out killings, shootings and terrorizing of the populace at large. They are the regime’s paid agents. They are the security apparatus. The trucks seen in the video linked to, belong to the security forces and not “supporters” as the word is ordinarily understood.

I apologize for sounding pedantic, but I felt the term, as used, gave a false impression as to exactly who was doing the killing in Iran.

Fair enough.

JOHN FUND: Invasion Of The Election Snatchers: Urban Democrats are flooding rural districts to steal elections.

As long as they’re not lying about where their principal residence is located. . . .

ETHICS COMMITTEE launches investigation of Pete Stark.

REPORT: 76% of “electric propulsion vehicle” patent applications come from Japan.

JOHN TIERNEY: “How, in 2010, can you avoid the awful temptation to postpone fun?”

BOB HERBERT, JANE HAMSHER, AND TEA PARTY PROTESTERS ALL AGREE: “ObamaCare Stinks.”

IN THE MAIL: From Lee Smith, The Strong Horse: Power, Politics, and the Clash of Arab Civilizations.

BILL WHITTLE, STEPHEN GREEN, SCOTT OTT: 2009: The Year Of Squander?

YEMEN SET TO collapse within years?

HERE’S A HINT — THE ONES WHO WANT TO PUT A BOMB IN YOUR CROTCH DON’T COUNT, EITHER:

The 23-year-old Nigerian man accused of the attempted Christmas Day bombing of an American airliner apparently turned to the Internet for counseling and companionship, writing in an online forum that he was “lonely” and had “never found a true Muslim friend.”

Loser.

IRAN: Khamenei planning an escape to Russia? It’s quite hard to know what information coming out of Iran is reliable, but this is interesting. I would have thought China . . . .

More here.

RON RADOSH: President Obama’s Failed Response to the Attempted Terrorist Attack.

MORE ATTENTION FOR BLOOMBERG’S MAYORS AGAINST GUNS PLAN: “Some folks sent a FOIA request and received a copy of the document. And it’s pretty telling. The focus doesn’t seem to target illegal guns but all guns and gun owners, including banning the importation of ammo and ‘non-sporting’ firearms. The plan consists of items that are administrative and regulatory in nature and, therefore, don’t require legislative action.” Well, you want to bypass the people as much as possible when you’re trying to take away their freedoms . . . .

A READER EMAILS: “Wired Magazine unknowingly explains Climategate.”