I lost two friends recently, one was older and frequently ill and the other was as healthy as (I think) I am. I want to mention them here and salute them because I learned a lot from both. We all lose folks — part of life.

While I never believed that the sanctions measure being prepared by the UN Security Council against Iran would have had much effect on Iran, “losing” too many of these initiatives in which the U.S.

Check this out in the New York Times. This oped was creatively, graphically presented in the paper today and attests to a new and disturbing kind of White House politicization of intelligence.

This morning getting stranded at Reagan National Airport on the edge of a fun holiday was not fun — but far less of an ordeal for the thousands of passengers stranded in Denver. Happy holidays — in advance — to all.

For those up at 3 am when the morning newspapers are uploaded to the web, rush to the Washington Post and the New York Times. Unless lawyers or other news get in the way, two very important pieces will be up.

For Saudi watchers, some fascinating news has just made its way to The Washington Note.

This is a day packed with interesting stuff. My colleague Flynt Leverett — Senior Fellow and Director of the Geopolitics of Energy Initiative at the New America Foundation — will be paired with Brookings Scholar Kenneth Pollack on The Diane Rehm Show at 11:00 am EST.

This is an alert for a program I will be chairing today with my colleague Michael Lind speaking on the subject: “What Comes Next? American Foreign Policy After Bush.” The event will air LIVE on C-Span from 12:15 pm to 1:45 pm EST. I will be offering my own comments and reactions as well.

Former Congressman and almost presidential candidate Dave McCurdy has just been announced as the new President & CEO of the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers. How times have changed.

Today, while Flynt Leverett was speaking at a program I was chairing at the New America Foundation, White House spokesman Tony Snow was fielding a question on Flynt Leverett’s charge that the White House was politicizing the “secrets clearing” process and punishing policy critics who had previously worked with classified policy material.