Specter: I did not say I'll be a loyal Democrat  —  You can view this video right here by getting the latest version of Flash Player!  —  (h/t David E.)  —  Here it comes.  Been a Democrat for less than a week and already Arlen Specter is backtracking.  Is it any clearer that this Faustian bargain …

The American Debate: This party's over: Specter's departure is one more sign of the GOP's slide into immoderation and irrelevance.  —  Once upon a time, long before the GOP plummeted to its current status as the Southern and Rural Older White Guy Party, it actually was home to a healthy subspecies known as the Republican moderate.

Interrogation Debate Sharply Divided Bush White House  —  WASHINGTON — The proclamation that President George W. Bush issued on June 26, 2003, to mark the United Nations International Day in Support of Victims of Torture seemed innocuous, one of dozens of high-minded statements published and duly ignored each year.

Feds are looking at Edwards' campaign  —  RALEIGH Federal investigators are sifting through the records of money that helped John Edwards' presidential campaign to determine if any was used to keep quiet his affair with Rielle Hunter.  —  Edwards, a Democrat and former U.S. senator …

The Sotomayor Video: I have a different reaction than my co-blogger Jonathan to the video of Judge Sotomayor.  Here's the transcript, as best I can tell: … As I see it, Judge Sotomayor is saying that, descriptively, the court of appeals is “where policy is made.”

NYC: A RAINBOW IN A STORM HUMAN RIGHTS COALITION AGAINST ISLAMIC SUPREMACISM & VIOLENCE  —  The Rainbow coalition protested the violation of human rights by political Islam and shariah law.  Though drenched in the rain, 300 -500 decent and good people made their way to Times Square in NYC …

Obamas take a walk, holding hands in the evening  —  WASHINGTON - The first couple took full advantage of the cool spring night.  —  After a date night out on Saturday evening, President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama decided to take a stroll when their motorcade arrived back at the White House.

The World's New Numbers  —  “Here lies Europe, overwhelmed by Muslim immigrants and emptied of native-born Europeans.”  That is the obituary some pundits have been writing in recent years.  But neither the immigrants nor the Europeans are playing their assigned roles.

Tests of Banks May Bring Hope More Than Fear  —  The results of the bank stress tests to be released by the Obama administration this week are expected to include more detailed information about individual banks — assessing specific parts of their loan portfolios — than many analysts have been expecting.

Term Limits Say New Orleans Mayor Can't Return; Residents Say They Don't Mind  —  NEW ORLEANS — As Mayor C. Ray Nagin approaches his final year in office, he faces scandal, an acrimonious stalemate with the City Council and the worst popularity ratings ever recorded for a mayor here.

Fears over Pakistan nuclear projects  —  • Two reactors nearing completion at Khushab  —  • Report questions security of nuclear material  —  Pakistan is continuing to expand its nuclear bomb-making facilities despite growing international concern that advancing Islamist extremists …