Baghdad by night — juice bars, neon lights, bustling streets  —  The gaudy orange, green and purple electronic palm trees flashing in the dark alert you that you're getting close to one of Baghdad's bustling nightspots.  —  The palms, like a mirage, can be seen from way down the darkened streets …

For Bush, Advances But Not Approval  —  The war in Iraq seems to have taken a turn for the better and the opposition at home has failed in all efforts to impose its own strategy.  North Korea is dismantling its nuclear program.  The budget deficit is falling.

Tom Kean endorsing McCain in new push  —  Thomas H. Kean, who chaired the 9/11 Commission, will endorse Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) for president on Monday as part of a high-stakes new push by the campaign to focus voters on national security, campaign sources tell Politico.

Mideast Conference Nears, With Few Plans  —  'No One Seems to Know What Is Happening,' Arab Envoy Says  —  A few days after Thanksgiving, President Bush and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice plan to open a meeting in Annapolis to launch the first round of substantive Israeli-Palestinian peace talks during Bush's presidency.

Mi Casa, Sue Casa  —  Nancy Pelosi tries to force the Salvation Army to hire people who can't speak English.  —  It's been less than a week since New York's Sen. Hillary Clinton and Gov. Eliot Spitzer had to climb down from their support of driver's licenses for illegal aliens.

Democrats Say They Won't Back Down on War  —  Democrats in Congress failed once again Friday to shift President Bush's war strategy in Iraq, but insisted that they would not let up.  Their explanation for their latest foiled effort seemed to boil down to a simple question: "What else are we supposed to do?"

My Uterus.  A UPS Box.  What's the difference?  —  Well, to the forced pregnancy brigade, there is no difference: my uterus is nothing but a glorified storage container, holding something until it reaches its destination (birth).  Now there's proof:  —  Here's a transcript, via Trailer Park Feminist:

State Dept. Tries Blog Diplomacy  —  T he State Department, departing from traditional public diplomacy techniques, has what it calls a three-person, "digital outreach team" posting entries in Arabic on "influential" Arabic blogs to challenge misrepresentations of the United States …

U.S. Hopes to Arm Pakistani Tribes Against Al Qaeda  —  A new and classified American military proposal outlines an intensified effort to enlist tribal leaders in the frontier areas of Pakistan in the fight against Al Qaeda and the Taliban, as part of a broader effort to bolster Pakistani forces …

It's one small step from Brown's paranoid state into a police one  —  Britain is not a police state but a nation with police state tendencies.  In any democracy the dictates of freedom wrestle with those of security.  Britons are a liberal people who want to be safe.

Giuliani Hoping NASCAR Fans May Provide an Edge in the Race  —  Now, Rudolph W. Giuliani says, he "really" is a NASCAR fan.  —  The Republican presidential candidate is better known as a New Yorker, of course, one who as the city's mayor drew admiration associating with quintessentially New York passions …

Noose outcry is a new entry in the campus hall of shame  —  Does anyone still wonder why college culture is the laughingstock of the larger community?  Our campuses seem to lurch from one politically correct knee-slapper to the next.  —  Does anyone still wonder why college culture is the laughingstock of the larger community?