Behind Bush's Address Lies a Deep History  —  Photographers gathered around President Bush in the Oval Office Monday after his televised speech.  "America needs to conduct this debate on immigration in a reasoned and respectful tone," Mr. Bush said.  —  WASHINGTON, May 15 …

Specter strikes NSA deal  —  Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Arlen Specter (R-Pa.) and conservative members of his panel have reached agreement on legislation that may determine the legality of the National Security Agency's (NSA) surveillance program, GOP sources say.

Goodbye Poli  —  I just posted the following at Polpundit:  —  It is 1 a.m. and I still have a ton of things to do before I can go to bed and a child up with a fever for the second night in a row, but if I don't post this now, it might not get posted.  Forgive me if this is a bit rambling or unclear.

7 killed in Baghdad  —  BAGHDAD — Fighting between suspected insurgents and Iraqi police killed at least six civilians in Baghdad on Tuesday, and a roadside bomb killed a U.S. soldier on a foot patrol in another part of the capital, officials said.  —  Thousands flee Mass. floods

A Critic of Muslim Intolerance Faces Loss of Dutch Citizenship  —  PARIS, May 15 — The Dutch government on Monday abruptly threatened to revoke the citizenship of one of the country's most prominent members of Parliament, Ayaan Hirsi Ali, a Somali-born woman who arrived as a refugee 14 years ago.

Karl Rove, Bullish on the Budget and the Border  —  It's a heck of a curse.  —  Presidential adviser Karl Rove had almost finished his appearance yesterday at the American Enterprise Institute when it happened.  Discussing the Bush administration's record on illegal immigration, he blurted out, "We're doing a heck of a job."

Judicial Watch to Obtain September 11 Pentagon Video at 1 p.m. Today  —  Department of Defense Responds to Judicial Watch Freedom of Information Act Request and Related Lawsuit  —  (Washington, DC) Judicial Watch, the public interest group that investigates and prosecutes government corruption …

How Gadhafi Lost His Groove  —  The complex surrender of Libya's WMD.  —  As the Bush administration struggles to stop Iran and North Korea from acquiring nuclear weapons, it might recall how Libya was persuaded to renounce terrorism and its own weapons of mass destruction programs …

U.S. Will Restore Diplomatic Links With the Libyans  —  WASHINGTON, May 15 — The Bush administration announced Monday that it would re-establish full diplomatic ties with Libya because Libya had abandoned its nuclear and other unconventional weapons programs and helped in the campaign against terrorism.

Blue Nation  —  Ever since 2000, American progressives have been subjected to a steady stream of red-blue electoral maps.  There are many problems with such maps, but what always irritated me the most about those maps were how they over-emphasized large, thinly populated expanses of land.

Hot-Tub Libertarians  —  As the Republican Party abandons its commitment to small government, how politically impotent are libertarians?  Let me count the ballots.  —  Specifically, let me count the ballots from 2004.  Exit polls (along with, well, all polls) tend to ignore libertarians as a group …