"You Gotta Ask Me Nicely"  —  When a man questions why a policeman has pulled him over and refuses to sign the ticket, the policeman electrocutes him to make him comply: … Police in the country are now allowed to torture speeders by the side of the highway in order to get them to comply.

Foreign Fighters in Iraq Are Tied to Allies of U.S.  —  BAGHDAD — Saudi Arabia and Libya, both considered allies by the United States in its fight against terrorism, were the source of about 60 percent of the foreign fighters who came to Iraq in the past year to serve as suicide bombers …

J.F.K.'s Death, Re-Framed  —  FORTY-FOUR years ago today, a clothing company owner named Abraham Zapruder filmed the assassination of John F. Kennedy in Dallas.  And for 44 years, most people have presumed that his home movie captured the assassination in its entirety.  This presumption has led to deep misunderstandings.

Thanksgiving and JFK  —  For anyone over 50, today is not only Thanksgiving but the day JFK died 44 years ago.  He has been gone now for almost as long as he lived and, in these times of White House infamy, not nearly as much in the national mind as his antagonist, Richard Nixon …

Loving Chavez  —  I don't follow Venezuelan politics like I used to, but a few years ago I did follow the situation there closely.  I met native Venezuelans who lived through the coup in 02 and supported the Bolivarian Circles he instituted when they brought Chavez back into power.

Musharraf Rival Prepares for Return to Pakistan  —  Nawaz Sharif, a Pakistani opposition leader and former prime minister, flew to Riyadh from Jidda today to see the Saudi royal family in what appeared to be the final preparation for his departure for Pakistan.

Why Your Tax Refund Will Be Late  —  Habitual congressional gridlock usually has no impact on the lives of ordinary Americans.  But what happened on the Senate floor last Friday just before lawmakers left for their Thanksgiving break will delay tax refunds next year for some 50 million taxpayers who count on them.

Seattle Schools' Thanksgiving 'Myths' Stir Controversy  —  Seattle public schools want a side of political correctness served on your Thanksgiving table.  —  Washington state's largest school district sent letters to teachers and other employees suggesting Thanksgiving should be "a time of mourning" for its Native American students.

Musharraf and the Con Game  —  There always seems to be a good reason to support a dictator.  In the late 1970s, Jeane Kirkpatrick argued that it was better to support a "right-wing" dictator lest he be replaced by communists.  Right-wing dictatorship — today some call it "liberal autocracy" …

Rove Tries To Rewrite History: Claims WH 'Opposed' Politicizing Pre-War Iraq Vote  —  Last night on The Charlie Rose Show, former Bush political adviser Karl Rove claimed that he was "opposed" to holding the pre-war Iraq vote just ahead of the 2002 elections.

Nebraska attorney general yields to Johanns  —  Former Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns (R) has a clear path to the Senate, at least for the time being, after Nebraska Attorney General Jon Bruning (R) dropped out of the race for retiring Sen. Chuck Hagel's (R-Neb.) seat on Tuesday.

Thanksgiving '07: Happy Birthday to Me  —  Thanksgiving was supposedly started as a feast and joyous celebration of making it through another year, of acknowledging the toil and strife and the people that helped us along the way.  Lincoln (a personal favorite) made it an official holiday …

US reports 'phenomenal' drop in Iraq violence  —  By Stephen Fidler in London and Demetri Sevastopulo in Washington  —  Violence in Iraq has fallen at a rate that has surprised military commanders and even one of the architects of the "surge" that boosted US troop numbers in the country this year …

Presidential Shopping List  —  I am making a list called Qualities We Don't Want in the Next President, based on lessons learned from the Bush administration.  The first undesirable attribute was loyalty, in the sense of valuing personal relationships over competence.