Because Congress is populated by venal idiots, the estate tax expires on January 1, 2010 only to rise again on January 1, 2011. So rich old people everywhere are deliberately engineering their lives to end during the next calendar year.

Our greatest fears have been confirmed: stereotypical hippie behaviors have been found to give you anthrax. Maybe this will wake those hippies up??

You were maybe too busy opening presents or seeing It's Complicated and eating Chinese food to read Andrew Sullivan this weekend, but you have probably heard that something is up in Iran.

Simon Monjack has been telling the media about his wife's last days. And his version is very different from the picture painted in the press. He calls rumors of drugs and anorexia "crazy."

People liked Mad Men, so of course there will be an MTV reality show about getting hired at a Brooklyn digital ad agency. That show will then be featured on the meta-reality show, "America's Most Boring Career-Based Reality Shows." [Adfreak]

Thirty-three-year-old Solange Raulston, a.k.a. DJ Reverend Soul, was killed yesterday when she was sideswiped by a truck while she was riding her bike in Greenpoint, the New York Post reports. The decade's end has been tragic for North Brooklyn musicians.

The NYPD shot and killed a CD vendor in Times Square this morning who was not only scamming tourists, but also packing a Mac-10, for chrissake. The reaction of tourists: Awesome!

Oh shoot, unexpected setback: Steroids may not be 100% good, for your body. The outside of your body, yes, totally ripped bro. But inside, ripped in the bad sense, like "your kidney has a rip in it, bro, ugly."

"To the glory of Kathleen (Kay) Mandell: Who at age 32 was stricken by Lou Gehrig's disease that caused her muscles to waste away, one by one, until her throat paralysed and she choked to death while fully conscious." No!

The Communist plot to destroy Christmas here—in America—by terrifying our children with reports of deadly poison residing upon the noses of beloved Zhu Zhu Pet "Mr. Squiggles" has been foiled. Parents, recommence buying plush hamster toys at once.

The alleged cop killer pardoned by Mike Huckabee was killed by Seattle cops this morning.

"Bagel-related injuries are exceeded only by chicken, potato, apple and onion injuries." Knowledge is power.

After a hilarious speech, President Obama pardoned the first turkey of his administration, continuing this delightful tradition that should probably be ended, immediately.

If you're a sexxxy lady, reactionary New York Post sex columnist Andrea Peyser will rhapsodize about your long, smooth legs. But if you're an ugly, fat, liberal lady (by Peyser standards), Andrea Peyser wishes you death. Lonely, ugly, fat death.

Former Jay-Z bodyguard killed by cops. Hip hop still far less dangerous than the NYPD.

If the New York Times' The Moment blog and its Twitter feed "hear" that Moz is dead, does it actually happen? Former Idolator editor Maura Johnston writes: "This inspired a lot of panicked e-mails to me late last night." Why?

Cancer: All your fault.

Rugged personality-possessing newspaperman Charlie LeDuff can typically be found roaming Detroit in search of frozen hobo bodies and colorful raccoon hunters. Today, he has a more serious topic: Enough violence to make you...well, never want to go to Detroit.

The cat! We mean the cat! Sorry, we didn't mean to confuse you, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper. We just had no idea Canada was so gullible!

So far this week, the UN missions of six separate countries have been temporarily shut down and decontaminated because they received envelopes full of flour in the mail. This whole "anthrax" thing is overrated.