Obama outlines “new phase” in the fight against ISIS  —  Shares -  —  The decision to nearly double the number of American advisers deployed to Iraq “signals a new phase” in the fight against the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS, or ISIL), President Obama said Sunday, but U.S. troops will still stay out of combat operations.

You don't protect my freedom: Our childish insistence on calling soldiers heroes deadens real democracy  —  It's been 70 years since we fought a war about freedom.  Forced troop worship and compulsory patriotism must end  —  Put a man in uniform, preferably a white man, give him a gun, and Americans will worship him.

Pope Demotes Outspoken Conservative Cardinal  —  Pope Francis has officially demoted Cardinal Raymond Burke, a prominent American Cardinal who has been highly critical of the pontiff's increasingly progressive tone when discussing issues such as homosexuality and abortion.

George W Bush: ‘No Regrets’ over Decision to Invade Iraq  —  Former President George W Bush told Bob Schieffer Sunday morning that he had no regrets over the decision to invade Iraq.  —  Bush was on to discuss his new book praising his father (and to honor Face The Nation'ss sixtieth anniversary) …

Kaci Hickox, boyfriend leaving Maine after Ebola quarantine fight  —  The nurse who treated patients in West Africa was at the center of a national controversy over how to handle returning health care workers.  —  Kaci Hickox and Ted Wilbur talk to the press regarding Maine's quarantine policy Wednesday.

Dark Money Helped Win the Senate  —  The next Senate was just elected on the greatest wave of secret, special-interest money ever raised in a congressional election.  What are the chances that it will take action to reduce the influence of money in politics?  —  Nil, of course.

The Death of the Southern White Democrat Hurts African-Americans the Most  —  Not long after the polls closed on Tuesday night, Georgia Congressman John Barrow earned his place in history when he lost his reelection campaign to Republican Rick Allen by almost 10 points—a peculiar place he undoubtedly didn't want.

The Free Market Did Not Bring Down the Berlin Wall  —  The United States has misinterpreted the end of Communism for a quarter of a century.  It's time to set the record straight.  —  GOOGLE +

The Facebook Election  —  At some point in the next two years, the pollsters and ad makers who steer American presidential campaigns will be stumped: The nightly tracking polls are showing a dramatic swing in the opinions of the electorate, but neither of two typical factors — huge news or a major advertising buy — can explain it.

Pricey Doughnuts, Pricier Homes, Priced-Out Readers  —  DAVID Gonzalez approached the South Bronx street-corner preacher and said he was from The New York Times.  —  “He had just been shouting fire, brimstone and eternal damnation,” recalled Mr. Gonzalez, at that time, in 1991, the Bronx bureau chief.

Two midterm elections have hollowed out the Democratic Party  —  When President Obama was elected in 2008, his victory signaled a generational change and the prospect of renewal for the Democratic Party.  Instead, the opposite has occurred.  Over the past six years, the party has been hollowed out.

Don't say Obama's blocking caused Democrats' weak running game  —  Everybody keeps asking me, “Why did this happen?'  —  Beats me.  When it came to the elections, I was a dreamer who thought the Democrats were going to retain the Senate.  Instead, we got walloped.