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.

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."

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

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 …

HE HAD HIS CHANCE...  ...and he blew it.  He should have given the speech I told him to.  As soon as he started talking about guest worker programs and the impossibility of deporting 11 million illegals, it was all over.  President Bush keeps trying to find the middle ground, on this and many other issues.

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 …

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 …

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.

The immigration speech - UPDATED  —  I'm still not writing about politics, but just skimming some righty and lefty blogs, I cannot help but notice that a number of conservative bloggers - some of whom I have long-respected - have already decided that President Bush's speech tonight …

Venezuela Weighs Selling U.S. Jets to Iran  —  Venezuela is considering selling its fleet of U.S.-made F-16 fighter jets to another country, perhaps Iran, in response to a U.S. ban on arms sales to President Hugo Chavez's government, a military official said Tuesday.

Rove's Camp Takes Center of Web Storm  —  Bloggers Underscore How Net's Reporting  —  Dynamics Provide Grist for the Rumor Mill  —  On Saturday night, attorney Robert Luskin was trying to barbecue at his Washington home when the phone started ringing nonstop.