Shift in U.S. Stance Shows Power of Seven-Letter Word  —  The Bush administration's decision to consider sitting down with the Iranian government underscores a central truth of diplomacy today: Nuclear weapons buy leverage.  —  For six years, President Bush and his aides have dismissed …

Election Panel Won't Issue Donation Rules  —  WASHINGTON, May 31 — The Federal Election Commission has decided not to issue rules to regulate so-called 527 organizations that used millions of dollars in private donations to become powerful voices in the 2004 presidential election.

Justice Dept. Is Criticized by Ex-Official on Subpoenas  —  Subpoenas issued last month to reporters for The San Francisco Chronicle were criticized yesterday by a former chief spokesman for Attorney General John Ashcroft as a "reckless abuse of power."  —  The former spokesman, Mark Corallo …

Bush: If Marines killed civilians, they'll be punished  —  WASHINGTON (CNN) — If an investigation finds Marines killed 24 unarmed Iraqi civilians last year, "there will be punishment," President Bush said Wednesday.  —  "The Marine Corps is full of honorable people who understand the rules of war …

Third Time  —  America may be ready for a new political party.  —  Something's happening.  I have a feeling we're at some new beginning, that a big breakup's coming, and that though it isn't and will not be immediately apparent, we'll someday look back on this era as the time when a shift began.

Security Grants Are Made; Criticism Follows  —  WASHINGTON, May 31 — After vowing to steer a greater share of antiterrorism money to the highest-risk communities, Department of Homeland Security officials on Wednesday announced 2006 grants that slashed money for New York and Washington 40 percent …

Baseball's Rockies seek revival on two levels  —  DENVER — No copies of Playboy or Penthouse are in the clubhouse of baseball's Colorado Rockies.  There's not even a Maxim.  The only reading materials are daily newspapers, sports and car magazines and the Bible.

Glass Artists Face Off in Court  —  SEATTLE, May 31 — As an ever-moving maestro in the world where fine art and commerce converge, Dale Chihuly is perhaps the world's most successful glass artist.  —  His clients include Bill Gates and Bill Clinton, and his elaborate installations …

Poll: Americans Support Searches  —  Public Sides With FBI in Congress Search Issue  —  June 1, 2006 — In the rift between Congress and the Justice Department, Americans side overwhelmingly with law enforcement: Regardless of precedent and the separation of powers, 86 percent say the FBI …

Iraq veteran sues Moore over 9/11 film  —  BOSTON - A veteran who lost both arms in the war in Iraq is suing filmmaker Michael Moore for $85 million, alleging that Moore used snippets of a television interview without his permission to falsely portray him as anti-war in "Fahrenheit 9/11."

Big Bonuses Still Flow, Even if Bosses Miss Goals  —  It was the kind of mistake that wage slaves can only dream of.  Because of what the company called an "improper interpretation" of his employment contract, Sheldon G. Adelson, chairman, chief executive and treasurer of the Las Vegas Sands Corporation …

My Response to Johann Hari  —  The art historical post promised yesterday will have to wait, as Johann Hari has seen fit to compose a response (of sorts) to my comments (here and here) concerning his attack on Bjorn Lomborg.  Let's look at it in detail, shall we?

Can Men Be Feminists?  —  I asked this question of my new favorite blogger, Hugo Schwyzer, yesterday.  I noticed he referred to himself as a pro-feminist man and I got curious.  I know that in many of my graduate courses this debate came up.  And, I sort of have a hazy memory of that time.

LIBERAL WORDS, ILLIBERAL ENDS....I have a few more things I want to say about Peter Beinart's The Good Fight, and now's as good a time as any.  —  First: it's a pretty good book.  Most of it is an intellectual history of the "anti-imperialist" left in America, a subject that dominates …

Studies Portray Tropical Arctic in Distant Past  —  The first detailed analysis of an extraordinary climatic and biological record from the seabed near the North Pole shows that 55 million years ago the Arctic Ocean was much warmer than scientists imagined — a Floridian year-round average of 74 degrees.

FBI accuses 2 Fumo computer experts of obstructing probe  —  The FBI this morning arrested two computer experts on the staff of state Sen. Vincent J. Fumo, accusing them of a "systematic" effort to obstruct the federal investigation into the powerful Philadelphia Democrat.

The Blogfather  —  Netroots guru Jerome Armstrong says he's a freethinking pragmatist.  But lefty bloggers say his backing of centrist Mark Warner shows he's become just another political consultant.  —  Jerome Armstrong, aka "The Blogfather," greeted me recently in the office of former Virginia …