Assassins and Diplomacy  —  Another murder in Beirut for Jim Baker to contemplate.  —  Former Secretary of State James Baker has been saying that, when it comes to diplomacy, you don't "restrict your conversations to your friends"—shorthand for the view that the U.S. should engage Syria …

Putting Homeland Security First  —  "I never felt bad in my life like that.  I never.  Six imams.  Six leaders in this country.  Six scholars in handcuffs.  It's terrible."  —  So spoke Imam Omar Shahin, director of the Islamic Center of Tucson, after he and five other imams were removed …

An Ideologue for Hire Gets New Alliance  —  Senator Joseph I. Lieberman announced Tuesday that he had hired a new spokesman, which is not in itself that noteworthy, except that the said spokesman, Marshall Wittmann, is one of the great career vagabonds, ideological contortionists …

New Survey: Iraqis Want a Speedy U.S. Exit — and Back Attacks on Our Forces  —  NEW YORK Past surveys have hinted at this result, but a new poll in Iraq makes it more stark than ever: the Iraqi people want the U.S. to exit their country.  And most Iraqis now approve of attacks on U.S. forces …

Ed. secretary places 2nd on 'Jeopardy'  —  WASHINGTON — Education Secretary Margaret Spellings says she studied hard to prepare for Tuesday night's airing of "Celebrity Jeopardy!"  —  "I didn't want to be the education secretary who didn't know how to spell potato," Spellings joked …

Internet defamation: A dissent  —  I suppose, as a blogger, I should join in and cheer the much-buzzed-about decision in Barrett v. Rosenthal this week, which ruled in California that Internet users who post (to Web sites or discussion groups) defamatory statements originally made by others are immune from liability.

The Family Un-Planner  —  THE BUSH ADMINISTRATION'S CRAZY NEW HHS APPOINTMENT.  —  On Monday, the federal office that oversees the nation's family-planning program got a new boss who doesn't believe in birth control.  Eric Keroack is a Massachusetts obstetrician-gynecologist who argues …

Pass a Drumstick, and an Olive Branch  —  COOKS can control the Thanksgiving menu, but when the dishes leave the kitchen, things can unravel fast.  —  Family grudges buried by time and distance resurface.  New girlfriends meet ex-husbands.  Prius drivers make small talk with S.U.V. owners.

First Daughter Barbara Robbed in Argentina  —  From Our Sources:  —  First Daughter Barbara Bush had her purse and cell phone stolen as she had dinner in a restaurant in Buenos Aires, Argentina, even though she was being guarded by a detail of Secret Service agents, according to law enforcement reports made available to ABC News.

Elderly Woman Killed; 3 APD Officers Wounded  —  ATLANTA — Three Atlanta police officers were shot and wounded and an elderly woman killed at a house in northwest Atlanta Tuesday night.  —  The woman, who relatives say was 92-years-old, opened fire on the officers from the narcotics division …

Bomb Blasts Speaker's Car in Green Zone  —  A bomb exploded in an armored car among those belonging to the speaker of Parliament, wounding the American security guard who was driving it out of a parking area in the government Green Zone and disrupting a meeting of lawmakers nearby, a parliamentary aide said.

Hardball: Michael Richards  —  Welcome back to Hardball, I'm Chris Matthews.  Where do we draw the line between free speech and offensive speech?  Joining me via satellite is Michael Richards, who played Kramer on the old Seinfeld show.  Mr. Richards, welcome to the show.  —  Thanks for having me, Chris.

Pelosi-Harman friction strains Democrats' unity  —  WASHINGTON — When Jane Harman left Congress in 1998 to run for governor of California, her colleague Nancy Pelosi threw her a party — a chocolate-fudge sundae "social" in the House members' dining room.  —  Two years later …

Mmmmm...yeah...  Thomas Ricks, author of Fiasco and long-time military affairs reporter, had a very disturbing portrait in the WaPo of the mess that is the "training" of the Iraqi "military": … Hmmm...don't I recall folks in the Bush Administration saying things were going great with the training?

Some Curbs on Sex Offenders Called Ineffective, Inhumane  —  As convicted sex offenders go, they seem to pose little danger.  —  One is 100 years old.  Another can barely walk and is in the late stages of Alzheimer's disease.  Another is dying of heart disease in a nursing home.