Kerry Pressing Swiftboat Case, Long After Loss  —  John Kerry starts by showing the entry in a log he kept from 1969: "Feb 12: 0800 run to Cambodia."  —  He moves on to the photographs: his boat leaving the base at Ha Tien, Vietnam; the harbor; the mountains fading frame by frame as the boat heads north …

Iraqi minister defends Iranian nuclear program  —  'Every country has right' to nuclear technology, Zebari says  —  BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) — Iran has a right to develop nuclear technology and the international community should drop its demands that Tehran prove it's not trying to build a nuclear weapon …

In Haditha, Memories of a Massacre  —  Iraqi Townspeople Describe Slaying of 24 Civilians by Marines in Nov. 19 Incident  —  BAGHDAD, May 26 — Witnesses to the slaying of 24 Iraqi civilians by U.S. Marines in the western town of Haditha say the Americans shot men, women and children …

President Delivers Commencement Address at the United States Military Academy at West Point  —  United States Military Academy at West Point  —  THE PRESIDENT: Thank you for the warm welcome.  General Lennox, Secretary Harvey, members of the United States Congress, Academy staff and faculty …

White House Wants NSA Lawsuits Nixed  —  Administration Asks Federal Judges In N.Y., Mich. To Drop Wiretap Cases  —  (CBS/AP) The Bush administration asked federal judges in New York and Michigan to dismiss a pair of lawsuits filed over the National Security Agency's domestic eavesdropping program …

Cultural ID  —  Chris Bowers writes about one of my favorite subjects today: American tribal identity. … I think the evidence is overwhelming that it is.  He reproduces one of those great maps that break down everybody by something or other and like most of them, it ends up showing …

First Amendment Applies to Internet, Appeals Court Rules  —  SAN FRANCISCO, May 26 — A California appeals court ruled Friday that online reporters are protected by the same confidentiality laws that protect traditional journalists, striking a blow to efforts by Apple Computer to identify people who leaked confidential company data.

"Media Matters"; by Jamison Foser  —  The defining issue of our time is not the Iraq war.  It is not the "global war on terror."  It is not our inability (or unwillingness) to ensure that all Americans have access to affordable health care.  Nor is it immigration, outsourcing, or growing income inequity.

Quake kills at least 2,900 in Indonesia  —  YOGYAKARTA, Indonesia - A powerful earthquake flattened homes and hotels in central Indonesia early Saturday as people slept, killing at least 2,900 and injuring thousands more in the nation's worst disaster since the 2004 tsunami.

The Lamest Exercise in the World  —  Why Pat Robertson should stop bragging about the leg press.  —  In a New York Times Magazine interview last month, former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright mentioned that she can leg press 400 pounds.  Now evangelical sparkplug Pat Robertson …

Howie Klein's Blue America: Montana  —  Last week I mentioned how important June 6 is, with primaries in 8 states, and I talked about a couple of crucial ones in California (Francine Busby's Special Election run-off against Republican lobbyist Brian Bilbray and Jerry McNerney's grassroots campaign …

THANK YOU FORT BENNING DRILL SERGEANTS...  ...for if it wasn't for you, Jesse MacBeth would have been a soldier.  This Bud's for you!  —  Background on Jesse MacBeth here.  —  McQ at QandO has more - His DD214 shows a discharge before completing training and entering the Army.  He couldn't cut it.

Dowd to RNC Members: Simmer Down Now  —  RNC senior adviser/BC04 senior strategist/Ron Fournier co-author Matthew Dowd urges Republican Nat'l Committee members to favor a "comprehensive" solution to immigration, which the public believes is is "unifying — not polarizing."

Jonah Goldberg is a Man of Principle  —  You've got to admire Jonah Goldberg's unwavering, unblinking commitment to his principles.  I only wish his determination served a higher purpose than "Al Gore is a jackass": … If Gore didn't spend the summer in France studying existentialism, he's a liar.

Ho capito, signor sì!  —  The officers and Executive Committee of Dartmouth's Association of Alumni have done to Dartmouth, to her students, and to her former students a massive disservice by canceling the annual election for the very offices they hold.

STDs Running Rampant In Retirement Community  —  Doctor Blames Viagra, Lack Of Sex Education  —  Doctors said sexually transmitted diseases among senior citizens are running rampant at a popular Central Florida retirement community, according to a Local 6 News report.

The 25 Worst Tech Products of All Time  —  At PC World, we spend most of our time talking about products that make your life easier or your work more productive.  But it's the lousy ones that linger in our memory long after their shrinkwrap has shriveled, and that make tech editors cry out, "What have I done to deserve this?"

Tick... Tick... Tick... Paging Jack Bauer...  If this story in the Wash Post this morning is true, the FBI and DOJ may have a humdinger of a public corruption case operating against Congress right now.  —  You might need to register to read that.  In short, anonymous federal law enforcement sources stated …