Updated

And now here are some footnotes from America's war on terror.

The Communications director for Democratic Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney published a letter blasting Jewish members of Congress who criticized President Bush's comments on a Palestinian state.

In a letter printed in the Hill newspaper, Raeed Tayeh said he was disturbed that "many of these pro-Israeli lawmakers sit on the House International Relations Committee despite the obvious conflict of interest" caused by " their emotional attachments to Israel." And, he wrote, "The Israeli occupation of of 'all' terrritories must end, including Congress."

Congresswoman McKinney promptly accepted his resignation.

Time Magazine is considering Usama bin Laden for its annual "Person of the Year" designation.  Time's managing editor notes that the title goes to "the one person on Earth who has the biggest effect on history" — for better or worse.

Bin Laden would not be the first evildoer to be tapped as Time's "Person of the Year."  Previous designees include Adolf Hitler, Joseph Stalin — twice — and the Ayatollah Khomeini.

Nevertheless, some critics note that it sounds like an award, implying the celebration of someone and suggest changing the title to something like "Newsmaker of the Year" instead.

And Santa Claus may be coming to Kensington, Md., after all. The town banned Saint Nick from Sunday's Christmas tree-lighting ceremony after objections from two local families. So, the town council ordered "a different kind of ceremony" with the terrorist attacks in mind  — one with a firefighter, a police officer and a mail carrier taking Santa's place.

But many townspeople didn't like Santa getting the cold shoulder and some say a number of "renegade Santas" are now likely at the ceremony. Some even joke about a "Million Santa March."  The mayor now says she's been told Santa will "more than likely" be on hand — and the fire department says if a Santa drops by the fire station, they'll take him to the tree-lighting, as they do every year.

And finally, the Washington Times found this quote on the Internet, apparently from someone in the Army. "It is God's place to forgive Usama Bin Laden," the author said. "It is the Army's job to arrange a face to face meeting."