DAN MITCHELL: Fight over For-Profit Colleges Shows the Corrupting Influence of Federal Subsidies.

“SMART DIPLOMACY:” Ivory Coast president refuses phone call from Barack Obama.

RINGING OUT THE OLD YEAR by savagely mocking Katie Couric. She’s pretty mockable.

OVER THE RIVER AND THROUGH THE WOODS: A Car Lust Road Trip. “When Frau Bertha Ringer Benz of Mannheim, Germany loaded her two teenage boys on the family automobile that day in August of 1888 and set off for her mother’s house in Pforzheim, it was in fact the first time anyone, anywhere on the planet, had used an automobile for personal travel. That would make the trip one for the history books all by itself, but there’s even more to the story. Frau Benz would accomplish quite a few more automotive ‘firsts’ in the course of her 65 mile adventure.”

KYLE OLSON: Charge NYC Union Leaders with Negligent Homicide.

WRONG-HOUSE DRUG RAID NEWS: City to pay couple $215,000 in botched police raid. “An Ecorse couple won a $215,000 judgment Tuesday against the city, retired Police Chief Jerry Copeland and two police officials stemming from a drug raid executed against the wrong house in 2008. U.S. District Judge Nancy G. Edmunds ordered the defendants to pay Michael and Tammy Phelps $215,000, money that will be financed largely by bonds that will be repaid by taxpayers over several years.”

WALTER SHAPIRO: Why I Hate Year-End List Stories.

HAPPY NEW YEAR: Oil Surges to Highest Year-End Price Since 2007 on Dollar. “Oil surged to its highest year-end price since 2007 as the dollar weakened and gasoline and heating oil futures climbed.”

I paid 3.22/gallon for gas today. I expect I’ll be paying more soon. Expect a flurry of JournoListism telling us that high gasoline prices are good because they help the environment.

DOUBLING DOWN ON STUPID? Lee Co. School Board Stands Behind Superintendent’s Decision. “Board Chairman Shawn Williams says the district has a zero-tolerance policy, although the superintendent says they consider a student’s record.” Note the pathetic picture of the paring knife in question at the link.

SNOW: NYC Investigating Reports of Work Slowdown During Snow Removal. “New York City’s government watchdog agency is investigating reports that some Sanitation Department supervisors told workers not to clear snow during a post- Christmas blizzard that left some roads unplowed for three days.”

VOTE OF CONFIDENCE: As frustration grows, airports consider ditching TSA. “For airports, the change isn’t about money. At issue, airport managers and security experts say, is the unwieldy size and bureaucracy of the federal aviation security system.”

Plus this:

“Unlike a government job, these contract employees can be removed immediately with poor performance, attitude or unsuitability,” said Kansas City airport director Mark VanLoh. “It shows in our passenger surveys for customer satisfaction each year.”

No surprise there.

IF ONLY WE COULD BE AS PROGRESSIVE AS CANADA: Canada Drops Corporate Tax Rate to 16.5%, Less Than Half the U.S. Rate.

MORE NUCLEAR MATERIALS SECURED.

JOBS? WE DON’T NEED NO STINKIN’ JOBS! “Why has California become the epicenter of unemployment? While Michigan and Florida have a mix of problems, including (in Michigan’s case) a history of bad management decisions on labor contracts, California’s Central Valley woes are entirely a government creation.”

ELIE MYSTAL: “Am I in favor of a 68-year-old man punching a 15-year-old boy for not turning off his cell phone in preparation for landing? Hey man, it takes a village.” So we’ve been told.

NEW-YEAR’S RECIPES FOR Champagne Cocktails.

EUGENE VOLOKH: “There are no coincidences. All is connected. Incest law, banking, libel, anonymous comments on reason.com — truly, a seamless web.”

WALL STREET JOURNAL: The Liberal Reckoning of 2010: The year voters saw the left’s unvarnished agenda and said no. “Never has a Congress done so much and been so despised for it.” Hey, 13% of Americans still approve.

COMMENT OF THE DAY, from Jody Green: “To the private sector a half a billion dollars is enough to start a whole new industry. To the federal government it is a rounding error. How many new industries will be lost due to wasteful spending of a totally dysfunctional federal government?”

TOM BLUMER: 2010 a Banner Year for MSM’s Ministries of Mistruth: On the big stories of the year, it’s all the facts they wish to print.

AT AMAZON, markdowns on Blu-Ray and DVD.

AT TRIFECTA, Bill Whittle, Stephen Green and Scott Ott name the Trifecta Person Of The Year.

TORNADO IN ST. LOUIS: Gateway Pundit Has A Roundup.

THEODORE DALRYMPLE: Can Congress Make You Buy Broccoli? Only if the broccoli lobby makes a sufficient contribution . . . .

YEAR-END CHARITABLE GIVING:

Rob Neppell emails to suggest Spirit of America.

There’s also The Lifeboat Foundation.

F.I.R.E. is a worthy cause, too.

The Foresight Institute does good work.

And I just donated to Law School Transparency. I’ve actually donated to all of the above organizations at some point.

UPDATE: Also: How To Donate Frequent Flier Miles To The Troops.

ANOTHER UPDATE: Reader Richard Combs emails: “Please put in a good word for the ‘merry band of libertarian litigators’ at the Institute for Justice. Their effectiveness, both in the courts and in the court of public opinion, is remarkable. They’ve done more to advance economic liberty and property rights than any organization I can think of.”

Good point!