++You knew it would happen. The New York Times today published an article about Benghazi. It is worth a read if you are interested in a complicated situation. The headline conclusions are that Al-Qaeda had nothing to do with the attack on the consulate or CIA-safe house,that is wasn't a planned operation and that no international terrorists had anything to do with it and that, yes, Virginia,it was caused by the anti-Muslim video that had also sparked the riots in Cairo. So I guess Susan Rice's talking points were not too far off. The Times piece got immediate pushback from Peter King of New York and Mike Rogers,the head of the House intelligence committee,who claimed that Al Qaeda was involved-sort of.
++My question is will Darryl Issa resign because of the New York Times revelations? Don't hold your breath. A tip-off from the beginning of this episode was the fact that Al Qaeda never claimed credit or made a statement on it. So Washington will debate this another week or so.
++I guess with Benghazi done and ACA rolling out, we have to go back to birtherism. Brainwrap, the new Nate Silver of healthcare, is overwhelmed trying to keep up with all the numbers. The Obama administration has announced 1.1 million have signed up on the federal website but they haven't released the news about the state exchanges. And yes, even the Amazon Post printed this morning stories about how getting health insurance is giving people a sense of security.
++But don't worry,1.3 million Americans lost their unemployment benefits yesterday. It is useful to remember that these people have been part of the middle-class before they lost their jobs. Local press coverage about this clearly puts the blame on the Republicans.
++The Amazon Post says that social conservatives lost the week. While they were all outraged about a Yuppie being suspended for Christmas over his "reality" show,conservatives didn't even fight back against the recent rulings on same sex marriage as the winds of change have taken hold. Josh Marshall at TalkingPointsMemo had an excellent article on the implications of both the Utah and Ohio decisions.
++Paul Krugman ends the year with "The Year of the Weasel", reminding us that we did not have hyperinflation and didn't become Greece. He also reminds us that none of those who predicted this have said they were wrong. Instead,they have moved the goalposts. An example of this is on right-wing websites who are now predicting the market collapse around March and urging everyone to start hoarding.
++The American "intelligence community", I thought it was an industry,not community,predicts that the "gains" in Afghanistan will all be lost by 2017. We're still leaving in 2014.
++John Kerry will be off to the Middle East next week to move the peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians. The idea is to get to a final agreement by June. You have to admire the guy's persistence.
++Kobe Bryant is still injured and Abe Vigoda is still alive.
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