A Y2K-LIKE CALENDAR PROBLEM FOR THE ZUNE. Apparently, it’s only a glitch, though a weird one. My nephew has a Zune and likes it — he got it in preference to an iPod because he’s got an anti-hipster thing going. . . .

PRIVACY PROBLEMS with Flash and Safari.

AKHIL AMAR AND JOSH CHAFETZ say that the Senate has the power to exclude Roland Burris. Meanwhile, Ann Althouse has some thoughts.

UPDATE: Eugene Volokh: “I have a very high opinion of Amar and Chafetz, but here I think they’re mistaken, and I think Brian Kalt (Concurring Opinions) has it generally right: The initial misconduct on Blagojevich’s part doesn’t carry over to a bribe-free appointment of the person he ultimately appointed.”

THANKS TO ROD BLAGOJEVICH, a not-so-happy New Year for Harry Reid.

I’LL BELIEVE IT WHEN I SEE IT, but I’d like to see it: Report: Toyota developing solar powered green car.

HOME COOKING AND “CERTIFIED FISH:” Food trends for the New Year.

“I DO HATE ROVE/BUSH WITH A PASSION:” BDS turns deadly.

AMY ALKON: “Dennis Prager is often an annoying and irrational blowhard, but he’s right about this — smart women put out for their husbands and boyfriends.” And vice versa!

THE YEAR-END SALES ARE PRETTY MUCH OVER, but you can still get big markdowns on software.

EXTREME MORTMAN: The Best Worst Lists of 2008.

A LOOK AT THE YEAR IN SCANDALS. Chris Dodd is there!

HAPPY NEWS YEAR: A new citizen-journalism effort. (Via Michael Silence).

L.A. TIMES: A Year of Triumphs and Scandals for the SEIU: “The year might have ended on a purely triumphant note for Andy Stern, who heads the nation’s fastest-growing labor union and played a key supporting role in President-elect Barack Obama’s drive for the White House. Instead, Stern has seen the Service Employees International Union jarred by a spending scandal and internecine feuding, and more recently by the favor-selling investigation that led to the arrest of Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich.”

PHOTOGRAPHIC PROOF: Hamas is in desperate straits.

STACY MCCAIN as Pepe LePew. It fits. . . .

“JUST ON THE TASTEFUL SIDE OF SLAPSTICK:” A review of Marley and Me.

SYMPATHY FOR OBAMA: Soon, there will be nowhere to hide.

SUPPORT THE U.S.O.: I gave ’em 500 bucks last year, after seeing them help some troops in the Atlanta airport who looked like they could use it. You could do worse.

UPDATE: Here’s more on the U.S.O.

WHAT EVER HAPPENED to the Duke 88?

JUST A FEW MONTHS AGO, THEY WERE ROLLING IN CASH AND ATTITUDE: Oil wealth gone, Russians brace for hard times. Like all oil-producing countries, their wealth was essentially parasitic on Western economies. Wise parasites have a higher regard for the host’s well-being . . . .

ONLY TO FIND, Gideon’s Bible.

AN INTERESTING BIT OF ECONOMIC ANECDOTAGE:

Judging by the sale of personal safes this season, people are not taking any chances.

Amazon.com said that it had seen a major jump in demand for private safes, which may also reflect an erosion of confidence in the country’s banks after the financial crisis led to several high-profile failures. It said sales of one popular brand of private safes advanced to 260th place in Amazon.com’s ranking, up from a previous slot at number 2,755.

If you’re really going to store a lot of valuables at home in a safe, my advice is buy two: A cheap one, just barely light enough for two guys to carry away, which should be placed in an obvious location and filled with junk and maybe some of those cans of exploding snakes, and then a better one, well-hidden and securely bolted down, for your actual valuables.

UPDATE: Michael Bane reports on a problem with a Cannon Safe. A followup post is here.

POST-HELLER, IT’S NOT EXACTLY BLOOD IN THE STREETS: “D.C. homicides, in national trend, hit lowest level since ‘64.”

JUDICIAL WATCH ANNOUNCES ITS LIST OF Washington’s “Ten Most Wanted Corrupt Politicians” for 2008. I don’t really want any of them, though . . . .

Number Two is Chris Dodd:

Senator Chris Dodd (D-CT): Question: Which member of the U.S. Senate tookthe most campaign money from corrupt institutions Fannie Mae and FreddieMac? Answer: Chris Dodd, Chairman of the Senate Banking Committee. Giventhis fact there is little reason to wonder why Senator Dodd blocked reform proposals for Fannie and Freddie, calling them “ill advised.” Dodd’s willingness to protect Fannie and Freddie would alone merit a spot on the”ten most corrupt list,” but there is much more. Dodd was also nabbed for accepting preferential treatment and loan terms from Countrywide Financial.The Connecticut Senator admitted earlier this year that he was told in 2003when he refinanced two properties that he was being placed in Countrywide’s”VIP Program,” but said he believed this was simply a courtesy that hadnothing to do with his position in the U.S. Senate. This is either a blatant lie or horribly naïve for a man who has served in the Senate for more than 25 years and currently chairs the Senate Banking Committee that regulates the mortgage industry. We’re not buying it.

Don Young and Ted Stevens, though, only make positions 9 and 10. If I were them I’d demand a recount.

UPDATE: D’oh! Spec Bowers emails with something I’d missed: “It’s in alphabetical order so Dodd is only accidentally #2 and Stevens (#9) and Young (#10) can’t get a recount. They’re all pretty slimy; it would be hard to pick a #1.” I’d blame the hangover, except that I don’t have one — my New Year’s Eve celebration was rather tame.

SOME ALTERNATIVES that would be better than a bailout.

UPDATE: Link was bad before. Fixed now. Sorry!