Alcee Hastings to Dems: Support me — or Michelle Malkin wins  —  It's the left's very own moronic version of "If X doesn't happen, then the terrorists have already won."  With "X" in this case defined as his appointment to the chairmanship of the House Intel Committee and "terrorists" …

A New D.C. Paper Poaches, Encroaches Cross-Platforms  —  Allbritton Communications, which owns seven ABC affiliates, including WJLA-TV in Washington, D.C., now wants to own a newspaper.  —  A newspaper?  Didn't everyone write those old, unprofitable things off?

Hastert Scouts for House Role After 8 Years as Speaker  —  Speaker J. Dennis Hastert made history this year when he became the longest-serving Republican in that post.  Now he is about to go into the books again as one of the few House speakers, and the first in almost 50 years, to rejoin the rank and file.

France authorizes troops to fire at IAF jets over Lebanon  —  French soldiers in Lebanon who feel threatened by aggressive Israeli overflights are permitted to shoot at IAF fighter jets, a high-ranking French military officer told The Jerusalem Post.  —  Wednesday, several days after meeting …

Cameron told: it's time to ditch Churchill  —  Polly Toynbee, not Winston, should set Tory social agenda, says adviser  —  One of David Cameron's key policy advisers will urge the party today to abandon its Churchillian and "out of date" ideas about the welfare state, the Guardian has learned.

What Can I Do to Make Your Flight More Uncomfortable?  —  Six imams removed from a US Airways flight from Minneapolis to Phoenix are calling on Muslims to boycott the airline.  If only we could get Muslims to boycott all airlines, we could dispense with airport security altogether.

The Four Freedoms:  —  Franklin Delano Roosevelt, 1941: "Armed defense of democratic existence is now being gallantly waged in four continents.  If that defense fails, all the population and all the resources of Europe, Asia, Africa and Australasia will be dominated by the conquerors.

Dutch Voters Favor Prime Minister's Christian Democrats  —  Extremists Also Gain Power in Parliament  —  Dutch Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende's right-of-center Christian Democratic Appeal party, which has led efforts to curtail Muslim immigration at a time of growing xenophobia in the Netherlands …

Shooting victim, 92, shot officers five times  —  One cop hit three times; all released from hospital  —  Atlanta police say undercover officers bought drugs from a man inside the home of a 92-year-old woman hours before she was killed in a gunbattle that left three officers wounded.

Rainier Valley barber shop owner flees U.S.  —  Facing sentencing in plea deal, he phones FBI to say he's in Somalia  —  Ruben Shumpert, who federal agents allege made his Rainier Valley barber shop a kind of "anti-American training ground for Muslims" where children were taught …

K Street happy with Hoyer victory  —  A party held in honor of a new House majority leader is bound to draw a crowd, and space was tight last week on the 10th floor of 101 Constitution Ave., where supporters of Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) gathered to celebrate his victory over John Murtha (D-Pa.).

Democrats' Victory Is Felt On K Street  —  The Democrats' takeover of Congress this month has turned official Washington upside down.  —  Labor and environmental representatives, once also-rans in congressional influence, are meeting frequently with Capitol Hill's incoming Democratic leaders.

So Close, so Far  —  No, no, no....  The problems in Iraq, in the radical Middle East at large—with democratization, with nuclearization, with Islamism—are not, repeat not, a lack of dialogue with Syria and Iran.  —  We know what both rogue states wish and it is our exit from the Middle East …

Ten things to be thankful for this time of year  —  From freedom's march abroad to brave US soldiers, there is much to appreciate.  —  SALT LAKE CITY - For years now, I've made it a practice in this column at Thanksgiving time to list some of the things for which Americans should be grateful.

Uh, Thanks ...  In Plymouth, Massachusetts, about 10 miles down the road from my house, the members of the Mayflower Society will march this Thanksgiving morning in period garb, in solemn procession, to the town cemetery.  There, they will pay their respects to their ancestors.

For Some, the Words Just Roll Off the Tongue  —  For the big dinner on Thursday, perhaps a plump bird stuffed with Stephanie and served with giblet civil, accompanied by roast Londons, a bowl of performs with pearl unions, and marshmallow-topped microscopes.  And, for dessert, city a la mode, followed by a confession.

The American press should count its blessings  —  Give thanks we don't live in Bangladesh, where you can be put on trial for writing columns supporting Israel and condemning Muslim violence.  Just ask Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury, editor of Blitz, the largest tabloid English-language weekly in Bangladesh.