Claim: Cat Stevens Financed Terrorists, Tied to Radical Clerics  —  The Jawa Report has obtained evidence that Yusuf Islam, the artist formerly known as Cat Stevens, was once connected to radical clerics Omar Bakri Mohammed & Sheikh Omar Abdel-Rahman.  According to at least one credible source …

Feingold rules out 2008 run for president  —  cgilbert@journalsentinel.com  —  Washington - Sen. Russ Feingold will not seek his party's presidential nomination in 2008, the Wisconsin Democrat told the Journal Sentinel on Saturday.  —  "I never got to that point where I'd rather …

U.S. vetoes condemnation of Gaza strikes  —  UNITED NATIONS - The United States vetoed a U.N. Security Council draft resolution Saturday that sought to condemn an Israeli military offensive in the Gaza Strip and demand Israeli troops pull out of the territory.

Save Britney's Marriage  —  When CNN sent out a Breaking News email on Election Day saying that Britney Spears was filing for divorce from her husband of two years, Kevin Federline, I didn't realize just how important this story was at first.  But now that the election is over, the full the impact of this tragedy is finally sinking in.

New Clicks in the Arab World  —  Bloggers Challenge Longtime Cultural, Political Restrictions  —  JIDDAH, Saudi Arabia — When he was a college student in Washington state, Saudi Arabia's most popular blogger, Fouad al-Farhan, donned a T-shirt emblazoned with "Animal Rights Equals Human Rights" …

Poll: More evangelicals sour toward Republicans  —  DALLAS (Reuters) - U.S. evangelicals have lost some of their enthusiasm for the Republican Party, a factor contributing to the party's drubbing in Tuesday's congressional elections, a new survey found.  —  In a Beliefnet poll …

Democrats Aim to Save Inquiry on Work in Iraq  —  Congressional Democrats say they will press new legislation next week to restore the power of a federal agency in charge of ferreting out waste and corruption in Iraq and greatly increase its investigative reach.

More subpoenas in Menendez probe  —  Feds seek documents on rental, but senator's office denies contact  —  Federal investigators have resumed their inquiry into a rental deal between U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) and a nonprofit agency, issuing new subpoenas in the days after he was elected …

Holding The Democrats To Account  —  There's a cross blogosphere discussion going on regarding the recent al Qaeda tape and other statements reflecting their satisfaction with the Dem mid-term victories.  It began with a post at Powerline … and a response by Captain's Quarters.

Democratic Lobbyists Relish Return to Washington's Power Elite  —  Nov. 10 (Bloomberg) — Thomas Boggs, dean of the Democratic lobbyists in Washington, boasts of a tie to incoming House Speaker Nancy Pelosi that no one in his profession can match: He has known her since they were both 4 years old.

Webb May Be Senate Maverick  —  Newest Member Expected to Take Antiwar Lead  —  James Webb walked into the Fish Market restaurant in Alexandria in December and wanted longtime Democratic strategist Steve Jarding to answer just one question: What were his chances of defeating Sen. George Allen …

Democrats and Iraq  —  The Democrats will not be able to savor their victory for long.  Americans are waiting to hear if they have any good ideas for how to get out of Iraq without creating even wider chaos and terrorism.  —  Criticizing President Bush's gross mismanagement of the war was a winning electoral strategy.

Veterans Day Post  —  Everything we have in this country, we owe to the brave men and women who have lived- and who have sometimes died- wearing the proud uniform of the U.S. military.  Our prosperity is made possible, because they stand in the way of those who would do us harm.

What a Mandate!  Popular Vote For Senate Was 55%-43% Democratic  —  Look how easily the media manipulates everyone's perceptions, including our own.  An hour of vote tabulation reveals a stunning fact: Democrats won the popular vote for the Senate by an overwhelming 12.6% margin - 55%/42.4%.

12 Reasons Not to Trust Chuck Schumer  —  Lest there be any confusion about where Chuck Schumer stands with regard to you in the grassroots, gentle reader, we have this from Ruppert Murdoch's New York Post to go along with Chuck throwing Howard Dean under the bus on Worst Person in the World Bill O'Reilly's show on Murdoch's Fox News.

Christian Right Agenda In Shambles After GOP Defeat  —  Moderate Evangelicals seen chafing against narrow priorities like abortion, gay rights.  Will some work with Dems?  —  For a man witnessing a debacle in real time, Rev. Louis Sheldon, a leader of the Christian Right political movement …

For Incoming Democrats, Populism Trumps Ideology  —  The newly elected Democratic class of 2006, which is set to descend on the Capitol next week, will hardly be the first freshmen to arrive in Washington promising to make a difference.  —  The last time Congress changed hands …

The Missing Earpiece  —  Congressional Calamities , Econ.  101  —  Hatched by Dafydd  —  Ladies and gents, this here post falls into that beloved category of What Is Wrong With This Picture?  We seem to play that a lot on this blog.  —  Yesterday, AP rolled out the first of what will undoubtedly …