Here it is, Rants! & Raves!, your weekly opportunity to sound off about the week past.

Remember the rules:

1. A Rave! is something that happened during the past week that you’re pleased about and is signified by the word “Rave!” and/or an appropriately peppy emoticon (see Website Help to learn how to use emoticons, aka “smileys”).
2. A Rant! is something that happened during the past week that you’re ticked off about and is signified by the word “Rant!” and/or an appropriately grumpy emoticon.
3. You may Rant! about something a person said, did, or wrote, but you may not Rant! about generally disliking a person. IOW, no personal attacks allowed.

Have fun!

Good morning!

On this day in 1916: Jeannette Rankin of Montana became the first woman to be elected to Congress.

Welcome to our daily (except Sundays) open thread, where you, the commenters, choose the topics of conversation.

Click here for a look back at the news of the week, colorfully illustrated by some of the best editorial cartoonists in the business: Pulitzer Prize-winner Steve Breen, Michael Ramirez, Scott Stantis, and Gary Varvel.

This creative cadre of cartoonists offer a unique, colorful, often humorous, and sometimes poignant (as is the case in the one pictured here) perspective of politics, the economy, world events, and more.

For the first time since April 1983 the unemployment rate has surpassed 10 percent, which translates into 16 million people without jobs.

The Labor Department announced today that the jobless rate has risen from 9.8 percent in September to 10.2 percent. There was a net loss of 190,000 jobs in October, more than economists expected.

The Nov. 21 issue of WORLD Magazine is available this morning online. Here are some highlights:

COVER STORY All-American adoption story: All-American Michael Oher went from the streets as a 15-year-old son of a crack addict to potential NFL Rookie of the Year on the love and dedication of an adoptive family that wouldn’t let him fail.

ELECTION ’09 Turnabout: Decisive Republican gains in off-year elections spell work for Democrats to win back ‘change’ voters.

MOVIE REVIEW Horror on screen: WORLD’s Sam Thielman says low-budget Paranormal Activity will leave viewers terrified.

NICK EICHER Needed: WORLD Movers: In a time of journalistic retreat, a plan to grow WORLD’s influence.

To see what else is in the Nov. 21 issue, click here. If you’re not a subscriber to WORLD, you ought to be. Click here for more information.

Good morning.

On this day in 1962: The UN General Assembly adopted a resolution condemning South Africa’s apartheid policies.

Welcome to our daily (except Sundays) open thread, where you, the commenters, choose the topics of conversation.

Protesters staged a rally on Capitol Hill this afternoon to express their displeasure with the proposed House healthcare bill. WORLD Washington Bureau chief Edward Lee Pitts reports:

[T]he afternoon largely belonged to the citizen brigade that covered the Capitol grounds in protest.

“What a crowd. No wonder I couldn’t get a room,” joked actor and healthcare reform opponent Jon Voight.

The day had a patriotic flair: Kids decked out in colonial-era outfits stood beside parents wearing patriotic hats with tea bags dangling from the brims. Scores of American flags flapped in the light wind of an unseasonably bright, warm day. Numerous protestors also hoisted the historic “Don’t Tread on Me” flag.

These competed with hundreds of signs and repeated chants, as citizens from across the country seemed determined to spook Democrats just a week after Halloween: “Public Healthcare is Public Enemy No. 1,” read one sign. “Nancy We’re Barack,” read another.

“You see this building here, you own this building,” shouted conservative commentator Mark Levin, referring to the Capitol. “But the people who run that building today reject limited government. Now they have their sights set on the mother of all entitlements.”

“Vote them out,” responded the crowd, referring to the 2010 elections. Clearly still in a celebratory mood after this week’s Republican victories in the New Jersey and Virginia gubernatorial races, the protestors held aloft signs predicting a worse fate for Democrats next November.

Read Lee’s report in its entirety here.

Twelve people have been killed and 31 wounded in shootings this afternoon at the Fort Hood Army base in Texas. One of the shooters was killed and two others have been apprehended. All three were soldiers.

UPDATE: There was only one suspected gunman, Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, an Army psychiatrist, and he is still alive. There are now 13 dead.

Good morning!

On this day in 1994: At age 45, George Forman became the oldest heavyweight boxing champion in history.

Welcome to our daily (except Sundays) open thread, where you, the commenters, choose the topics of conversation.

Former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina has announced that she is running for Democrat Barbara Boxer’s senate seat in California. The economic adviser to John McCain during his run for the White House revealed her plans in an editorial in today’s Orange County Register:

Throughout my career I’ve brought people together, and I’ve solved problems. And that is what is needed in our government today. People who are willing to set aside ego and partisanship and instead work to develop solutions to our problems. . . .

Tax, spend and borrow is not a governing philosophy; it’s a cycle of dependency and it is one that must be broken. Washington must show the discipline to cut spending and create policies that encourage and empower businesses to put people back to work. . . .

Another issue that is center stage on Capitol Hill is health care reform. As a cancer survivor, this is an issue close to my heart. Rather than remaking the entire national health care system at the cost of higher taxes and exploding deficits, we should build on what works, such as expanding access to community clinics that will give those most in need appropriate care at a reasonable price.

Before facing Boxer, Fiorina must first win the Republican primary.