Analysis: Ballots favored Dems  —  Sarasota's 'undervotes' were examined in 5 state races.  —  The group of nearly 18,000 voters that registered no choice in Sarasota's disputed congressional election solidly backed Democratic candidates in all five of Florida's statewide races, an Orlando Sentinel analysis of ballot data shows.

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 …

6 Imams Removed From Flight for Behavior Deemed Suspicious  —  Six Muslim religious leaders were taken off a US Airways flight in Minneapolis on Monday evening and detained for several hours after some passengers and crew members complained of behavior they deemed suspicious, including prayers at the gate.

U.N.: Iraqi civilian deaths at new high  —  BAGHDAD, Iraq - The United Nations said Wednesday that 3,709 Iraqi civilians were killed in October, the highest monthly toll since the March 2003 U.S. invasion and another sign of the severity of Iraq's sectarian bloodbath.

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 …

A Parting Shot From George Allen  —  As a last little gift to America, Senator George Allen, who was narrowly defeated by James Webb this month, has introduced what may be his final piece of legislation: a bill that would allow the carrying of concealed weapons in national parks.

Pelosi readying a pre-emptive House agenda  —  She's not going to let State of the Union overshadow the state of the nation  —  (11-22) 04:00 PST Washington — House Speaker-to-be Nancy Pelosi made clear Tuesday she's not willing to cede the public spotlight to President Bush in the weeks before his State of the Union speech.

No Set Pattern for Proceedings  —  Testimony at the tribunals doesn't appear to follow any set pattern.  Some start with questioning from the military officers.  At others, the detainee will launch into a speech about how they were arrested and sent to Guantanamo, and how they're being treated at the detention camp.

When ads trump news  —  During any election season, responsible voters have a tough job — they have to weigh the information they receive from often-misleading campaign commercials with what they learn from often-incomplete media coverage.  Of course, that'd be a lot easier if one wasn't getting …

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.

Elder Bush takes on son's Arab critics  —  ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates - Former President George H.W. Bush took on Arab critics of his son Tuesday during a testy exchange at a leadership conference in the capital of this U.S. ally.  —  "My son is an honest man," Bush told members …

Rangel Is Right  —  Charlie Rangel is angry about the Iraq war, the one that Henry Kissinger has told us we can't win.  Thanks, Henry, but most Americans figured that out before you did.  Rangel saw combat in Korea.  Kissinger has only seen combat on TV.  That might have something …

Worker Victory In Houston!  Texas? … Houston, we have a solution.  —  You've heard it all before.  Unions can't organize in the South — maybe Florida, but never in Texas.  Immigrant workers are too intimidated to organize.  Blah, blah, blah.  —  5,300 janitors in Houston …

One Syllable of Civility  —  If he wanted to, President Bush could change the tone in Washington with a single syllable: He could just say "ic."  That is, he could stop referring to the opposition as the "Democrat Party" and call the other side, as it prefers, the Democratic Party.

HHS Nominee Has Prescribed Birth Control  —  Spokeswoman Stresses Keroack's Private Practice Over Role in Christian Group  —  Despite his work for a Christian pregnancy counseling group that opposes contraception, the physician who yesterday began overseeing federal family-planning programs …

Social Security Up for Discussion  —  With the elections over and Democrats poised to take control on Capitol Hill, the Bush administration is making a fresh push to persuade them to help rein in the rising costs of Social Security and government health-care programs by offering to open talks with "no preconditions."

Spoils of Prime Office Space Go to Democrats  —  Forget those pesky leadership fights.  The folks who run Congress are now getting down to what really matters on Capitol Hill: dividing up the office space.  —  In something of a break with recent tradition, the incoming Democratic speaker …

Video: U.S. Secretary of Education loses big on Celebrity Jeopardy  —  What's more embarrassing than being Secretary of Education and having your ass handed to you on Celebrity Jeopardy?  Being Secretary of Education and having your ass handed to you on Celebrity Jeopardy by Lenny from "Laverne & Shirley."

Whitewashing Iraq on the Washington Post Op-Ed Page  —  Robert Kaplan, the national security correspondent for The Atlantic Monthly, is one of our country's anointed foreign policy geniuses.  In November, 2001, he attended a secret meeting (along with Newsweek's Fareed Zakaria) …