Barack Obama’s Department of Justice today argued in a federal court that the “repeal” of Don’t-Ask-Don’t-Tell signed by the President (which provides a pathway via certification to the Congress by the military, the Secretary of Defense, and the President that the DoD is ready to end DADT) means that there’s no need for them to continue their appeal of the Log Cabin Republicans’ case in the Ninth Circuit.

Beginning in January 2011, we’ll be sucked into the black hole of Tea Party Anti-Government Mythology, in which many of the things the US Constitution says will be ignored or misread out of existence.

Dennis Kucinich sent out a fairly frantic email to supporters, warning that his Congressional district could be eliminated for the 2012 election after a round of redistricting in Ohio.

To my mind, there are several questions that remain entirely unanswered:

• When did Lamo and Manning start communicating?
• When and through whom did Lamo contact authorities (or, did authorities find him and not vice versa)?
• How does that relate to other dates, such as Manning’s arrest, and when did the arrest happen?

Without even a hint that they realize the deep irony in their story, the New York Times yields front page space on Thursday to a report that the Obama administration now suddenly is concerned about prisoners who are being held without being charged, possibly subjected to torture or even killed without a judicial pronouncement of guilt. The irony, of course, is that although there is strong documentation that the U.S. engages regularly in these same acts, the U.S. now condemns Pakistan for these injustices.

And now, there’s the Writer’s Foundation, which will enable writers to continue this work. The predictable statement is that journalism is under stress. But journalism itself is actually thriving. When given just some resources, citizen journalists can call attention to undiscovered issues and make a difference. The FDL Writer’s Foundation can support that work, and give new opportunities for writers to promote and actually enact real progressive change.

I’d be honored if you would consider making a donation today.

And anyway, it beats just screaming to your neighbor when you see an injustice.

A conspiracy requires an agreement between two people, a partnership in crime. So far, there’s been no proof offered that Manning ever communicated directly with Assange — so how could they form a meeting of the minds? And how can U.S. Department of Justice realistically make a conspiracy charge involving WikiLeaks and Manning without this meeting of the minds?

I hate to pull out that dreaded word “uncertainty,” but with the housing market, state and local budget shortfalls and the Congressional fight over spending all still unresolved, it’s not yet prudent to say if the economy is due for a rebound in the job market in 2011. But we can be happy for this one data point of good news.

There’s nothing wingnuts love more than meaningless political theater.

Tomorrow is the last day of 2010, and it’s the biggest giving day of the year to nonprofits as people make their last tax-deductible contributions of the calendar year. We hope you’ll consider donating to the FDL Writer’s Foundation.

For donations of  contribute $100 or more, we’re delighted to offer copies of books by authors who had some of the most successful book salons of 2010: you can choose from the works of  Matt Taibbi, Arianna Huffington, Ryan Grim, Bill McKibben or Yves Smith as our gift to you.

Please support FDL with a tax-deductible contribution to the FireDogLake Writers Foundation – even $25 will go a long way.