Overnight Briefing & General Reality Check

Small-town politics:

If you still have Christmas lights on your house and you live in Aurora, IL, outside Chicago, you have a week to take them down or face a possible $50 fine.
   Aurora has a law on the books forcing people to remove their lights within 60 days after Christmas. One alderman tells the Chicago Sun-Times, "People just don't wanna see reindeer on Memorial Day."
   Editor's note: I don't even like seeing it on New Year's Day. (Maiman)

Broadcast, cable and video news:

With TIGER WOODS back in the news, how long did you think it would be before somebody picked up a TV series about a married, pro golfer with an out-of-control personal life? You got it!
   The Hollywood Reporter says Spike TV has already given the go-ahead to a pilot called "Back Nine," which will star JOHN SCHNEIDER from "Dukes of Hazzard."
   But don't get ahead of us. Schneider will play "Ronnie Barnes, a hard-drinking, larger-than-life, washed-up former US Open champion," but it's his caddy, named Tiger, who's sex-addicted. Sure.

Grace notes:

Senator Mellencamp? Hey, it could happen. People.com says now that Democrat EVAN BAYH has decided not to run for re-election for the Indiana senate seat, nearly 1,700 people have joined the "Draft JOHN MELLENCAMP for Senate" group on Facebook. The Los Angeles Times says that John's lack of political experience may work in his favor should he decide to run. Americans are so fed up with Washington, D.C., that an amateur has an excellent chance of getting in. (Marino)

Olympic update:

It's time to give credit where credit is due, the Wall Street Journal says, and nobody is giving Poland credit for what it's doing well: losing at the Olympics.
   Only days into the Winter Olympics, Poland has already chalked up two last place finishes: one in the ladies' 3,000-meter speedskating event and another in the men's 500-meter speedskating race.
   But while Poland is leading the pack in most last, second-to-last and third-to-last places (the Journal has dubbed these "lead," "tin," and "zinc,") the Czech Republic, and Canada aren't far behind, with 6 and 5 losses, respectively.
   The Journal adds that although countries with larger delegations tend to win more and lose more, many people prefer rooting for underdogs. A blogger who tracks Olympic losses remarked, "Triumph is sexy, but participation is brave." (Maiman)

Digital Domain:

Facebook has surpassed Yahoo to become the second most visited website in the United States.
   Yahoo had dominated the web since the 90s but two years ago, Google went No 1. It still is. Now, Facebook has dropped Yahoo down another peg.
   Facebook, which allows individuals to build unique profiles, recently added its 400 millionth user. A graph showing traffic for the two sites can be found on Mashable.com, a site that tracks social and digital media. (Maiman)