Detainee Acquitted on Most Counts in '98 Bombings  —  The first former Guantánamo detainee to be tried in a civilian court was acquitted on Wednesday of all but one of more than 280 charges of conspiracy and murder in the 1998 terrorist bombings of the United States Embassies in Nairobi, Kenya, and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.

DADT Study Co-Chairman Doesn't Think Pentagon Will Be Able To Release Study Before Dec. 1  —  Army Gen. Carter F. Ham — the co-chairman of the Pentagon's Working Group on Don't Ask, Don't Tell — told Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Carl Levin (D-MI) during his confirmation hearings …

Fox News Chief Blasts NPR ‘Nazis’  —  Roger Ailes slams Jon Stewart as a conservative-basher, explains why he rode to Juan Williams' rescue—and sees NPR as taxpayer-funded propaganda.  Part II of Howard Kurtz's interview.  —  When Jon Stewart was appearing on the O'Reilly Factor a few weeks back …

Incoming GOP senators demand say on New START  —  Ten of the new incoming Republican senators Thursday are planning to demand they get a say on the New START treaty, adding ten new voices to the growing cacophony pushing for a delay in consideration of the treaty until next year.

Sen. Rockefeller: FCC Should Take FOX News, MSNBC Off Airwaves  —  SEN. JAY ROCKEFELLER (D-WV): “There's a little bug inside of me which wants to get the FCC to say to FOX and to MSNBC: ‘Out.  Off.  End.  Goodbye.’ It would be a big favor to political discourse; to our ability to do our work …

Ohhh, America, you're so strong  —  Oooh, you're so strong, baby, so handsome.  You're the greatest.  —  I'm talking about you, America.  You're . . . why, you're exceptional!  —  Does anyone else think there's something a little insecure about a country that requires its politicians to constantly declare how exceptional it is?

Sarah Palin Says She Could Beat Obama  —  In Interview With Barbara Walters, Palin Says She Is Seriously Considering Entering Race in 2012  —  Sarah Palin says she is seriously considering a run for the White House, and she believes she could beat President Obama in 2012, the former Alaska governor told ABC News' Barbara Walters.

BELIEVING WHAT THEY'RE TOLD TO BELIEVE.... A new report this week from the Pew Research Center shows what we probably could have guessed: conservatives in America reject evidence of global warming.  But Pew study also raises an important related point: it didn't use to be this way.

Don't Get Cocky, GOP  —  Obama is weak, but it is always difficult to defeat a sitting president.  —  It has been a brutal month for President Obama.  The historic electoral rebuke delivered to his party was followed at the G-20 meeting by a public rebuff of the Federal Reserve's QE2 program …

National Book Award for Patti Smith  —  The rock musician Patti Smith won the National Book Award for nonfiction on Wednesday night for “Just Kids,” a sweetly evocative memoir of her relationship with the artist Robert Mapplethorpe and the romantic days of bohemian New York.

Mike Huckabee: Money Not Determining Factor for 2012 Presidential Hopeful  —  Below is a summary of former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee's 15-minute interview with Steve Deace on WHO-Radio Des Moines, Iowa, earlier this week, along with a few of my own thoughts.

First Thoughts: Unity at last  —  NBC/WSJ poll shows the country is united at last — against the deficit-reduction proposals... Other findings in the poll: The country is pleased by the midterm results, but doesn't think they'll produce real change... Obama's standing and attitudes …

Survey: Barack Obama's religious views different  —  Most Americans think President Barack Obama's religious beliefs are different than their own, according to a poll released Wednesday.  —  The post-election survey by the nonpartisan Public Religion Research Institute offers a glimpse …

Food-safety bill clears key Senate hurdle  —  After a year of waiting in line, legislation to promote food safety on Wednesday moved toward passage during the Senate's lame-duck session.  —  Almost a year to the day after a unanimous committee vote, the long-stalled food-safety bill …

A Hedge Fund Republic?  —  Earlier this month, I offended a number of readers with a column suggesting that if you want to see rapacious income inequality, you no longer need to visit a banana republic.  You can just look around.  —  My point was that the wealthiest plutocrats now actually control …