A is for Arianna and Tim Armstrong, who are changing the face of American journalism as AOL bets $315 million that HuffPost can help it compete in the brave new world of the Internet. Also, Al-Jazeera, which is changing the way the world sees the Arab world and the way the Arab world sees itself, and Afghanistan, for obvious reasons.
B is for House Speaker John Boehner, whose inability to rein in Tea Party-backed budget-cutters is enough to make a grown man cry. Also, the FY 2012 budget that President Obama will unveil on Valentine's Day that calls for tough love to reduce the federal deficit by $1.1 trillion over the next ten years; and BlackBerry, the ubiquitous, addictive and time-wasting multitasking tool.
C is for China, as Mao's successors struggle to prove that capitalism and communism can co-exist and elevate it to superpower status; Also, new White House mouthpiece and ex-journalist Jay Carney, who's already finding it's easier to question presidential decisions than to explain them; and Craigslist, which you shouldn't use to send shirtless photos to "Women Seeking Men."
D is for Davos, the Swiss ski resort where important global leaders gather each January at the World Economic Forum and accomplish little while reassuring themselves they are important global leaders.
E is for Egypt, of course, the future of the Middle East hangs in the balance in the land of the Pharaohs after Mubarak resigns, but the outcome is harder to read than the Sphinx. Also, the Euro, which holds the key to the dream of European unity.
F is for Facebook, along with Google, YouTube and Twitter, the Internet giants that are empowering the masses and challenging autocratic regimes around the world - see Tunisia, Egypt, Algeria, Libya, Syria, Iran and Myanmar; Also, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the mismanaged mortgage manipulators that the Obama administration wants to phase out after they cost taxpayers $134 billion.
G is for Arizona Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and the other victims of the mass shootings in Tucson whose tragic fate probably won't help curb the plague of gun violence.
H is for Hillary, whose stellar performance as Secretary of State is keeping her hopes alive of returning to the Oval Office as the first woman president, and bringing Bill with her; Also, earthquake-devastated Haiti, where hundreds of millions of dollars of aid and humanitarian assistance have done little to relieve Haitians' desperate plight, thanks to their corrupt and incompetent leaders.
I is for Iraq, the forgotten war that has cost almost a trillion dollars, nearly 4,300 American lives and more than 34,000 wounded members of the military and is back where we started nine years ago; Also, California Rep. Darrell Issa, chairman of the Government Reform and Oversight Committee, who is doing his best to make life hell for the Obama administration.
J is for the millions of jobs needed to revive the U.S. economy. Also, Apple founder Steve Jobs, whose company is one of the few still creating them through hugely successful products like the iPhone and iPad.
K is for President Karzai, our uncertain and undependable ally in Afghanistan. Also, Korea, both North and South, flashpoints for the next world crisis; and New York Rep. Peter King, chairman of the Homeland Security Committee, who is doing his best to make life hell for illegal immigrants.
L is for Lindsay Lohan -- NOT; Also, Indiana's congenial Sen. Dick Lugar, who faces Tea Party opposition in 2012 even though he and former Georgia Sen. Sam Nunn deserve the Nobel Peace Prize for their joint effort to dismantle and destroy the world's stockpiles of weapons of mass destruction.
M is for Mubarak (see Egypt above). Also, Medicare, the main target of GOP cost-cutters; and Mexico, whose murderous drug cartels are a greater threat to U.S. security than al Qaeda.
N is for Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, who's scrapped color-coded security alerts in favor of the slogan, "If You See Something, Say Something;" Also, New Orleans, still struggling to recover from Hurricane Katrina.
O is for President Obama, who's kicked the cigarette butt habit just like he hopes to kick Republican butts when they attack him and Obamacare; Also, the Oscars, where True Grit and Black Swan are a good bet to carry off the most gold statuettes.
P is for former Speaker Nancy Pelosi, still refusing to accept blame for Democrats losing control of the House; Also, former Governors Tim Pawlenty and Sarah Palin, the yin and yang of GOP presidential hopefuls; and Vladimir Putin, still the power behind the throne in the Kremlin.
Q is for the Quran, which non-Muslims should read before passing judgment on the estimated 1.5 billion adherents of Islam who make up nearly a fifth of the world's population.
R is for Ronald Reagan and his 100th birthday celebration, bigger than Abe Lincoln's; Also, former Secretary of Defense Don Rumsfeld, whose new memoir explains the difference between known knowns, known unknowns and unknown unknowns -- oh, forget it.
S is for Social Security, the prime target of Republican budget cutters; Also, Washington Redskins owner Dan Snyder, the least popular figure in the nation's Capital since Herbert Hoover; and Spider-Man, the most expensive Broadway musical ever, that's getting horrible reviews even before it opens.
T is for Clarence Thomas, the Cal Coolidge of the Supreme Court, who's completing his fifth year on the high court without asking a question during oral arguments; Also, the Taliban, still a potent force in Afghanistan; and Toyota, whose cars seem to have a mind of their own.
U is for Sen. Mark Udall of Colorado, who persuaded fellow Democrats to sit with Republicans at the State of the Union, and his cousin, Tom Udall of New Mexico, who can't get their second cousin, newly-elected senator and Tea Party insurgent Mike Lee of Utah, to sit down with fellow Utah Republican Sen. Orrin Hatch.
V is for Vice President Joe Biden, who's turning out to be the anti-Dick Cheney; Also, Valentines Day, when those roses you bought your sweetheart suddenly cost twice as much as you paid last week.
W is for WikiLeaks, which proved that the Emperor, and almost every diplomat in the world, has no clothes; Also, Wall Street, which sold off the New York Stock Exchange to its German counterpart; and Old Man Winter, still ready to pack a punch before packing it in.
X is for Xenophobia, defined as the "hatred or fear of foreigners or strangers or of their politics or culture," which pretty much sums up the current political climate on Capitol Hill.
Y is for YouTube, which allows you to humiliate your goofy roommate or any of the world's most repressive dictators before a worldwide audience.
Z is for Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, who built a better mousetrap in his Harvard dorm room that half a billion people have used to surrender their right to privacy.