Ron Paul Fires Most of DC Press Gaggle; Strong Job Numbers; Chevy Volt Recall, SAG Scandal and More: PM Links

Another reason to vote for Ron Paul: "See this room – two thirds of us laid off when Ron Paul's president, " says establishment media humanoid: 

Employment Green Shoots! ADP National Employment Report has 325,000 private-sector jobs created in December, double some estimates, and up from 204,000 jobs added in November.

Meanwhile, Department of Labor says new unemployment claims dropped 15,000 to 372,000 in the final month of 2011. Both figures are subject to year-end accounting and holiday distortions and are expected to be revised. 

Chevy Volt recall: Government-run General Motors is asking 8,000 owners to return their Volt electric cars to Chevy dealerships for structural work around the vehicles' batteries. The move is "considered a step below a recall, which would be issued by a car company and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration."

Another group of winners in redevelopment ban: California counties benefit as moribund redevelopment agencies stop siphoning property taxes. (Now how about giving back some of the wealth to property owners who pay the taxes in the first place?) 

Union man takes sick time: Bruce Dow, chief executive of Screen Actors Guild pension fund, takes a health-related leave of absence as embezzlement scandal (which involved a former fund executive) heats up. 

Another superstore on the ropes: Barnes & Noble considers selling off its Nook e-reader. The once-feared brick-and-mortar bookselling giant cops to having "over-anticipated the growth in consumer demand for single purpose black-and-white reading devices this holiday." That's because they weren't reading Reason. 

NFL Wild Card Weekend coming up. Prophecies from ESPN, Times of New York, USA Today, Montreal Gazette.