New York gubernatorial candidate Carl Paladino (R) walked out on a local television interview in Plattsburgh, New York on Friday evening after the anchor asked him whether his comments about Sen. Kirsten Gillbrand (D) were sexist. Paladino had called New York’s junior Senator “[Schumer's] little girl” on Thursday, in reference to Sen. Chuck Schumer (D).

Earlier today, Lady Gaga posted a video on YouTube in which she asked her fans to tell their senators to vote in favor of repealing “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” on Tuesday. Gaga then called both of New York state’s senators—Kirsten Gillibrand and Chuck Schumer—as the camera continued to roll, intending to deliver her message directly to them.

Yesterday I wrote a piece for AOL News about the Times Square Bomb story (or, almost-bomb story), and the trip it had taken from “Lone Wolf” to dude with the wherewithal to hop an Emirates flight to Dubai by paying cash at the airport. One day later, it’s become dude with the wherewithal to hop an Emirates flight to Dubai by paying cash at the airport, and by the way it’s looking more and more like he was bankrolled by the Taliban.

Even though the media interest in health care continued to ebb since the passing of a historic reform bill earlier last week, the Sunday talk shows still delivered some noteworthy moments. Take Meet the Press for example. Senator Lindsey Graham‘s urging of a civil debate and insistence that “Obama is just as an American as anyone else.” On the same show, NY Senator Chuck Schumer suggestion that the lies about health reform have disappeared since its been passed.

It’s the end of the year, the time for handy lists and timelines recapping the touchstones of the past 12 months, freezing them in our ever-shortening collective memory.

Of course, some people just have to be different. Mediaite contributor and White House reporter Tommy Christopher pulls back the curtain on covering politics in 2009, and shares photos and videos that have never been seen before. Find out who the Secret Service did manage to keep out of the White House, what Joe Biden told his young mentorees, and much more.

As the Obama administration and lawmakers get closer to agreeing on the terms of a Shield Law, investigative reporters might soon be protected from subpoenas and legal pressure to reveal their sources. But even if the bill passes, judges would be left to determine when the public’s need to know outweighs the government’s need to identify a leak.

If the Republican party wants to take a major chunk of seats in 2010 from the Democratic majority, maybe listening to Rush Limbaugh (the de factor head of the Republican Party) isn’t a good idea. And Michael Steele – the actual head of the Republican party – hasn’t exactly excited the masses. Hannity? Beck?

How about Jon Stewart. The Daily Show host delivered a crushing critique of the Democrats ineffectiveness last night.