Wave of retaliation sweeps Iraq  —  Shiite bloc's threatened walkout could lead to the government's collapse.  —  BAGHDAD — Iraq's civil war worsened Friday as Shiite and Sunni Arabs engaged in retaliatory attacks after coordinated car bombings that killed more than 200 people in a Shiite neighborhood the day before.

Leaving Iraq, Honorably  —  There will be no victory or defeat for the United States in Iraq.  These terms do not reflect the reality of what is going to happen there.  The future of Iraq was always going to be determined by the Iraqis — not the Americans.  —  Iraq is not a prize to be won or lost.

Despite Election Results, Edsall Still Sees 'Red'  —  Thomas B. Edsall, replacing John Tierney this month on The New York Times' op-ed page, follows up his ill-timed book, which had predicted hard times for Democrats on the campaign trial, by forecasting more trouble ahead for the party.

How many more were poisoned?  —  As the deadliest poison known to man was revealed to have killed Russian exile Alexander Litvinenko, the question last night was: How many more lives could it claim?  —  The 43-year-old former KGB officer was the victim of polonium 210, a radioactive element used as a trigger in nuclear weapons.

Racoon Hunting and the Battle for Anbar  —  There is a dichotomy developing in the Anbar Province.  On the one hand, there is a window of opportunity to score the finishing defeat of al Qaeda.  On the other hand, U.S. forces rules of engagement and command lack of willingness to engage the enemy is holding this defeat in abatement.

Blue America Welcomes Tim Tagaris  —  (Please welcome Tim Tagaris, veteran of the Ned Lamont, Paul Hackett and Sherrod Brown campaings who is joining us today in the comments.  He is currently in Louisiana covering the Karen Carter race for MyDD and lighting up Bourbon Street — JH)

Waxman has Bush administration in sights  —  LOS ANGELES - The lawmaker poised to cause the Bush administration's biggest headaches when Democrats take control of Congress may just be a grocer's son from Watts who's hardly a household name off Capitol Hill.  —  Rep. Henry Waxman (news …

A New, More Prosperous Black Friday For the New Democratic-Controlled Age  —  It's sounding like Black Friday shopping was big this year.  —  I ventured out last year and bought myself a pair of jeans.  Yeah, I know.  Bah humbug, right?  But I'm not ready to shop for anyone else this early in the season.

Rumsfeld okayed abuses says former U.S. general  —Text+MADRID (Reuters) - Outgoing Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld authorized the mistreatment of detainees at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq, the prison's former U.S. commander said in an interview on Saturday.

Energy Firms Come to Terms With Climate Change  —  While the political debate over global warming continues, top executives at many of the nation's largest energy companies have accepted the scientific consensus about climate change and see federal regulation to cut greenhouse gas emissions as inevitable.

Pelosi's Ascendancy in House Puts a Close Liberal Ally in the Spotlight  —  In a friendship stretching over 30 years and many plane trips to Washington from their neighboring California districts, Representatives Nancy Pelosi and George Miller have become so close that, as colleagues say, they finish each others' sentences.

U.S. Finds Iraq Insurgency Has Funds to Sustain Itself  —  The insurgency in Iraq is now self-sustaining financially, raising tens of millions of dollars a year from oil smuggling, kidnapping, counterfeiting, corrupt charities and other crimes that the Iraqi government and its American patrons …

"I mean no disrespect."  —  Says Andrew Sullivan, chided by a Mormon for his post about Mormon undergarments.  Here's the post.  Do you buy "I mean no disrespect"?  —  ADDED: And here's an earlier post.  Sullivan is so sure of himself on the subject of religion.