Discover GOP Opprobrium

[teapeebubbles]

Today's edition of quick hits:

* Wall Street didn't respond well to the latest unemployment numbers.

* The U.N. call for a ceasefire in Gaza was quickly ignored by both Israel and Hamas.

* Obama introduced the rest of his national security team today, including Leon Panetta at the CIA.

* Dick Durbin said the Senate won't seat Roland Burris unless his appointment is certified by the Illinois Secretary of State, independent of what the state Supreme Court says.

* Speaking of alleged corruption, did you see the charges facing Baltimore Mayor Sheila Dixon?

* A win for White House transparency. A little late in the game, though.

* Kudos to the House for easily passing both the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act and Paycheck Fairness Act today.

* Hilda Solis' confirmation hearings for the Department of Labor began today. Apparently, Republicans don't care for EFCA. What a surprise.

* The transition team isn't prepared to say quite yet whether it'll appoint a special prosecutor to investigate alleged Bush Administration crimes, but it did concede today that Obama will get rid of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell."

* Gen. David Petraeus thinks we may want to engage Iran diplomatically as part of a new approach to policy towards Afghanistan.

* Begich and Lieberman are fighting over ANWR.

* Fox News considers some pretty radical people to be "experts."

* It looks like the Seattle Post-Intelligencer is in deep trouble.

* It looks like the Politicker network is no more. It closed sites for 11 states last month, and closed New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and Pennsylvania today.

* The college football season is over, but the president-elect is more convinced than ever in the need for a playoff system. After congratulating the Florida, Obama said, "If I'm Utah, or if I'm USC or if I'm Texas, I might still have some quibbles. That's why we need a playoff."