Willful Suspension of Disbelief, redux  —  From Curt at Flopping Aces comes the news many of us quietly expected: Centcom has confirmed that Capt. Jamil Hussein, the primary source for the recent kerosene mosque murder reports—and for a whole host of reports of Shia massacres recounted by the AP …

The media's sudden intense interest in the House Intelligence Committee  —  The New Republic's Michael Crowley last night noticed something about Jane Harman that has evaded most Beltway commentators, including those who have suddenly developed such a bizarre and uncharacteristic interest …

U.S. Embassy Asks Bush Twins to Leave Country  —  Joe Goldman and Rhonda Schwartz Report:  —  Amid a growing barrage of front-page headlines, U.S. embassy officials "strongly suggested" President Bush's twin daughters, Jenna and Barbara Bush, cut short their trip to Buenos Aires because of security issues …

W library in record book  —  $500M center would be priciest for a Prez  —  DAILY NEWS WASHINGTON BUREAU CHIEF  —  WASHINGTON - He may be a certified lame duck now, but President Bush and his truest believers are about to launch their final campaign - an eye-popping, half-billion-dollar drive for the Bush presidential library.

Litvinenko: police probe claims he may have killed himself  —  Detectives investigating the death of Alexander Litvinenko were last night examining the possibility that the former spy killed himself to discredit Vladimir Putin.  —  Increasing concerns over the reliability …

A Day When Mahdi Army Showed Its Other Side  —  Militia Seen as Heroic In Aiding Bomb Victims  —  In the chaos, Ayad al-Fartoosi thrived.  —  Against a backdrop of death and panic in Sadr City last Thursday, he strode confidently through streets littered with burning cars and charred bodies.

Erekat: Despite violation, truce can and must hold  —  By Haaretz Service and News Agencies  —  Palestinian lawmaker Saeb Erekat on Monday condemned a Qassam rocket strike on Israel from Gaza earlier in the day, but said that the day-old cease-fire between Israel and the Palestinians "can work, and I believe we have to make it work."

NBC Declares 'Civil War' In Iraq, McCaffrey: WH Rejection of Term 'Nonsense'  —  My antenna went up when Matt Lauer opened this morning's "Today" with these words: "Good morning.  Civil war.  A bloody weekend of sectarian clashes in Iraq and no sign it's letting up."  —  "Civil war"?

Barney Frank to Chris Wallace: "You have an odd view of balance"  —  Following President Clinton's lead, Barney Frank criticized Chris Wallace yesterday of having an "odd view of balance" after asking questions about pressure from liberal activists, tax increases on the rich, abortion …

Woman faces fines for wreath peace sign  —  DENVER - A homeowners association in southwestern Colorado has threatened to fine a resident $25 a day until she removes a Christmas wreath with a peace sign that some say is an anti- Iraq war protest or a symbol of Satan.

Lure of Great Wealth Affects Career Choices  —  A decade into the practice of medicine, still striving to become "a well regarded physician-scientist," Robert H. Glassman concluded that he was not making enough money.  So he answered an ad in the New England Journal of Medicine from a business consulting firm hiring doctors.

Ahmadinejad Predicts Collapse of Israel, U.S., U.K. (Update1)  —  Nov. 26 (Bloomberg) — Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad predicted the collapse of Israel, the U.S. and Britain, attacking what he called their ``oppressive behavior.''  —  ``The Zionist regime is on a steep downhill towards collapse …

A Fix for Social Security?  —  How Personal Accounts Could Please Both Sides  —  The next six months could be a productive time for economic policy.  After a wasted 2005-06 cycle, in which the Bush administration approached entitlement reform too confidently and Democrats refused to talk, both sides may return to the table.

The Gospel According to Jim Wallis  —  For Democrats to win back the White House, they may well have to rely on the power of the Almighty.  And it's not Bill Clinton.  —  JIM WALLIS IS PREACHING ABOUT A BIBLE TORN APART.  Wallis tells the crowd at the Seattle Pacific University chapel …

MAD AS HELL  —  Regular viewers of "Lou Dobbs Tonight," on CNN, might be surprised at the venue that Dobbs chose for lunch not long ago: the Grill Room of the Four Seasons, a midtown bastion of the very same political and business "élites" that he denounces daily on his television program.

TD Blog Interview with Michael Berube  —  Michael Berube writes the very popular eponymous blog of that name, teaches English (holding a chair as Paterno Family Professor of Literature at the Pennsylvania State University), is the author of "What's Liberal About the Liberal Arts?" …