O Brave New World That Has Such Avatars in It! (Washington Post)
The virtual world Second Life, a landscape of primping avatars, ballroom dancing bears, space stations and vampire castles, has a new -- and maybe even more surreal -- inhabitant: the Arlington County government.

Letters to the Editor (The Berkeley Daily Planet)
Censorship is a controversial issue, as evidenced by the amount of discussion in regard to the censoring of visual art from the Addison Street Windows Gallery. However, unless we are able to view the work, our judgment about this gallery's decision lacks perspective.

Governments Embrace Avatars (Washington Post)
Washington area is home to creative efforts to move government toward virtual worlds.

Protecting the Poor From the Media's Gas Tax (Acton Commentary)
Why do so-called progressives seem eager to ignore the real needs of the poor? A recent example was the New York Times editorial calling on President-Elect Obama to institute a random gasoline tax to keep gas prices from dropping below $4 per gallon (in 2008 dollars) to "curb the nation's demand for energy."

Year in review: The tech video files (CNET)
The CNET News crew had some lively encounters with tech in 2008, from a shocking workout to a superhero turn. And we've got the video to prove it.

Building a Better Elephant (East Bay Express)
Elephant Pharmacy wants to take its holistic approach nationwide. But getting to that point has not been pretty.

Obama's New Appointments (Baltimore Chronicle & Sentinel)
The beat goes on. As with his economic and security appointments, Obama again disappointed but didn't surprise. Without exception, his team assures business as usual, a near-seamless transition from George Bush, and not "change to believe in."

Obama taps Daschle to lead ambitious health care drive (AFP via Yahoo! News)
President-elect Barack Obama on Thursday chose former Senate leader Tom Daschle to oversee his drive to enact universal health care, arguing that today's economic crisis made action imperative.

Obama taps Daschle to lead ambitious health care drive (SpaceDaily)
CHICAGO, Dec 11 (AFP) Dec 11, 2008 President-elect Barack Obama on Thursday chose former Senate leader Tom Daschle to oversee his drive to enact universal health care, arguing that today's economic crisis made action imperative.

Obama taps Daschle to lead ambitious health care drive (TODAYonline)
Former US Senator Tom Daschle attends a press conference in Chicago. US President-elect Barack Obama Thursday chose Daschle to oversee his drive to enact universal health care, arguing that today's economic crisis made action imperative.