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Saving Citi May Create More Fear — One bailout was not enough for Citigroup. And it may not be enough for other big banks. — While Citigroup's second multibillion-dollar rescue from Washington hit Wall Street like a shot of adrenaline on Monday, many analysts worried that the jolt would soon wear off.
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New Facility Targets Consumer Lending — Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, seeking to ease strains in the consumer credit market, plans to announce Tuesday the formation of a program to increase the availability of auto loans, student loans and credit cards, according to people familiar with the matter.


Treasury, Fed Said to Unveil Plan to Bolster Consumer Financing — Nov. 25 (Bloomberg) — The U.S. Treasury and Federal Reserve will unveil as soon as today a lending program to shore up the consumer-finance market, using money from the government's $700 billion rescue, two people familiar with the effort said.


Rubin, Paulson, Geithner a Familiar Trio at Heart of Citigroup Bailout — Rubin, Paulson, Geithner's Shared History Paved Way for $300 Billion Federal Guarantee — The bailout of Citigroup, which put the government at risk of hundreds of billions of dollars of losses …

For Collins, forgiveness may be tough — The tactics used by Democrats to secure at least 58 Senate seats may have damaged their chances of winning vital support from Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) in key votes in the 111th Congress. — Collins told colleagues at a small Senate prayer breakfast meeting …


GOP senator: We haven't learned — The Republican U.S. senator sits glumly across the restaurant table. — “I don't think we have learned much from the election in terms of what people want to see,” he says. “We have the same gridlock.” — By the “same gridlock,” he means that party hard-liners …
Discussion:
The Moderate Voice, Firedoglake, Washington Post, DownWithTyranny!, PoliPundit.com, Say Anything, Macsmind and www.redstate.com

More on Hillary Clinton and the Emoluments Clause: — From Prof. Michael Stokes Paulsen, author of Is Lloyd Bentsen Unconstitutional?, 46 Stanford L. Rev. 907 (1994) (some paragraph breaks added, some glitches fixed with Prof. Paulsen's advance permission):

Moonstruck — On Friday I had the honor of addressing the Federalist Society in Washington on the matter of my free-speech travails up north. And, in response to a question on whether the Canadian “Human Rights” Commission were surprised that I'd pushed back against them …

Politico poll: Chambliss up by three — Republican Sen. Saxby Chambliss holds a narrow lead over Democrat Jim Martin in the Dec. 2 Georgia Senate runoff, according to a new Politico/InsiderAdvantage poll. — The poll shows Chambliss leading Martin by three points, 50 to 47 percent, with three percent of respondents undecided.


Bush pardons 14 individuals — Outgoing president also commutes the prison sentence of two others — WASHINGTON - The Associated Press has learned that President George W. Bush has granted pardons to 14 individuals and commuted the prison sentences of two others.
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Bush pardons 14, commutes 2 sentences
Discussion:
PR Newswire, Associated Press, Firedoglake, TalkLeft, Townhall.com and THE LIBERAL JOURNAL

For Lobbyists, No Downturn, Just a Turnover — WASHINGTON — Richard Hunt, a top Republican lobbyist for the securities industry, was among the first to go, just a week after the election. Marc Racicot, the president of the American Insurance Association and former Republican Party chairman, resigned a few days later.

RNC Chair Race: The Lay of the Land — The fight to be the next face of the Republican party — or at least the next chairman of the Republican National Committee — has been defined so far by a cavalcade of announced and potential candidates and a dearth of individuals with the star power to emerge as the frontrunner.
Discussion:
Townhall.com
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Run-up in ballot challenges cloud Coleman-Franken recount — With 3,000-plus votes disputed, it's hard to know who is really gaining. — The number of ballot challenges in the U.S. Senate recount surged again on Monday, passing 3,000 overall and clouding the question of who's picking up ground in the hotly contested race.
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ANATOMY OF A MELTDOWN — Ben Bernanke and the financial crisis. — Some are born radical. Some are made radical. And some have radicalism thrust upon them. That is the way with Ben Bernanke, as he struggles to rescue the American financial system from collapse.

Hero of the Day — Marine Makes Insurgents Pay the Price November 18, 2008 Marine Corps News — FARAH PROVINCE, Afghanistan - In the city of Shewan, approximately 250 insurgents ambushed 30 Marines and paid a heavy price for it. — Shewan has historically been a safe haven for insurgents …

Autism May Be Caused By “Chemical Exposures” — For years now, scientists at the Centers for Disease Control and elsewhere have said that autism is probably a purely genetic disorder, and that the dramatic increase in numbers was due to better diagnostics, wider reporting and greater awareness …
Discussion:
AGE OF AUTISM


Claremont parents clash over kindergarten Thanksgiving costumes — Some say having students dress up as pilgrims and Native Americans is ‘demeaning.’ Their opponents say they are elitists injecting politics into a simple children's celebration. — For decades, Claremont kindergartners …
Discussion:
Don Surber

HISTORY MAKES WAY FOR OBAMA-WORSHIP AT THE NEW YORK TIMES — Obama-worship remains the order of the day at the New York Times, and the Times is more than happy to rewrite history on behalf of the candidate it worked so hard to elect. — Consider this piece by David Sanger.


Federal deficit could hit $1 trillion this year — Featured Topics: - Barack Obama - Presidential Transition — WASHINGTON - Budget hawks were aghast when the federal deficit hit a record $455 billion in fiscal 2008, more than double the previous year. — That figure could double again in 2009 …


HLF Officials Convicted on All Counts — DALLAS - A jury convicted five former officials at the Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development (HLF) on all counts in the Hamas-support case after 8 days of deliberations. — The men, Shukri Abu-Baker, Ghassan Elashi, Mohamed El-Mezain …
Discussion:
Counterterrorism Blog, Patterico's Pontifications, www.redstate.com, On Deadline and Jihad Watch
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