(Updated) Paris Hilton Bawls Her Way Out of An L.A. Celebrity Slammer  —  Paris Hilton has finally done it to me.  She has so outraged my sensibilities that here I am blogging on this sack of celebrity excrement instead of analyzing every jot and tittle of the presidential race.

Romney's Up 17 In An Internal Campaign Poll  —  In an internal poll, ex-MA Gov. Mitt Romney holds a whopping 17 point lead over the rest of the Republican field, further evidence to Romney's senior staff that his organizational prowess and early support in Iowa scared challengers John McCain and Rudy Giuliani away.

Immigration Bill Fails Key Senate Test Vote  —  The proposed overhaul of the nation's immigration laws teetered on the verge of collapse today, after four Republican senators switched their positions to help pass an amendment early this morning that would close the bill's guest worker program after five years.

Senate Begins Real Push on Habeas Corpus  —  Today the Senate Judiciary Committee passed an important bill to restore habeas corpus, the sacrosanct Constitutional right to challenge government detention in court, by a vote of eleven to eight.  —  Habeas corpus was revoked …

Surprise offer defuses U.S.-Russia spat … HEILIGENDAMM, Germany (CNN) — U.S. President George Bush and Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed Thursday at the G8 summit in Germany to cooperate on missile-defense systems, apparently cooling tensions between the two leaders.

Re: Libby, Ctd.  —  I have been trying to stay out of the Libby fray (too many friends on both sides), and I want nowhere near an argument over Derb's comments.  But as someone who has the battle scars attendant to defending Pat Fitzgerald here on our friendly Corner, I feel constrained …

Immigration: Another vote likely  —  From NBC's Ken Strickland  —  Even after it failed this morning, Democratic Majority Leader Harry Reid says there will be an identical procedural vote later today on the immigration reform bill.  That vote, which requires 60 for passage …

New Vent: Gorilla warfare against the open borders WSJ  —  The Wall Street Journal editorial board thinks conservatives who oppose the immigration bill are either xenophobes or bigots.  Michelle engages in guerilla gorilla warfare to prove them wrong.  —  Blowback

Null set blogging redux  —  Curious to determine if Romney's meaning had been accidently flipped—if maybe he meant to say, "this is a non-sequitur: Null-set!"  —I did me some googling and I found this from May 8, nearly one month ago. … This is interesting for two reasons: It's evidence that …

Scooter Libby's Sentence: While It Was Justifiable, a More Lenient Sentence Could Also Have Been Appropriate Under the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines  —  Yesterday, June 6, U.S. District Judge Reggie Walton sentenced Scooter Libby to 30 months in jail.  Generally speaking, the reaction …

McCain loses an SC county chair over immigration  —  Despite his best case for the immigration compromise — and he made a good one at the debate the other nignt — the unalterable fact is that the issue is right now a major problem for the McCain campaign.  —  To wit, one of the first tangible signs …

Judge freezes congressman's assets  —  ALEXANDRIA, Va. - A federal judge Thursday froze the assets of Rep. William Jefferson, the Louisiana Democrat who was indicted this week on charges of soliciting bribes.  —  A forfeiture charge is among the 16 criminal counts Jefferson is facing.

Is London's future Islamic?  —  It's the capital's fastest growing religion, based on noble traditions and compassionate principles, yet Islam can still be tainted by mistrust and misunderstanding.  Here Time Out argues that an Islamic London would be a better place

Lieberman 'Really Upset' At Troops Who Didn't 'Speak To Me From Their Heart'  —  During Sen. Joe Lieberman's (I-CT) trip to Iraq two weeks ago, McClatchy published an article highlighting how several soldiers who met with Lieberman had wanted to ask him, "When are we going to get out of here?"

Sister Of Slain Soldier: Candidates Didn't Answer Me About When U.S. Will 'Get Out' Of Iraq  —  She asked what the candidates would do to end the war in Iraq: … On NBC News this morning, Flanagan said that none of the candidates actually answered her question.

Internet Absurdity: Bin Laden Listed at FOX Headquarters  —  Justin Rood Reports:  —  An Ohio man says he has located Osama bin Laden in the United States and wants to claim the U.S. government's $25 million reward.  —  Using an online person search built from phone directories and other public records …

Romney backs personal retirement accounts  —  MANCHESTER - Republican Mitt Romney yesterday praised the notion of personal accounts for Social Security recipients, a key aspect of the Social Security reform plan of President Bush that never made it out of Congress.

Candidates Lacking A Real-World Clue  —  GOFFSTOWN, N.H. — The 18 presidential candidates — eight Democrats and 10 Republicans — who came to Saint Anselm College here for a pair of debates this week displayed a remarkable ability to ignore the real-world consequences of many of the policies they were advocating.