Hayden: Spying has become political football  —  CIA nominee complains of constant scrutiny of intelligence gatherers  —  WASHINGTON - CIA nominee Air Force Gen. Michael Hayden complained Thursday that intelligence-gathering has become "football in American political discourse."

Feingold, Specter Clash Over Gay Marriage  —  WASHINGTON - A Senate committee approved a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage Thursday, after a shouting match that ended when one Democrat strode out and the Republican chairman bid him "good riddance."  —  "I don't need to be lectured by you.

Breaking: Ahmadinejad to send a Letter to the Pope  —  As nearly every single character in the Star Wars universe says, "I have a bad feeling about this." … He also invited Bush to become a Muslim.  And you would be wise to interpret the word "invite" to have a whiff of the mob inviting you to dinner at the end of a pier.

Whaaat???:  Illegal Immigration Edition  —  Seriously, if you could see me now, I'm very Yosemite Sam.  Very stampy and tantrumy and incoherent.  —  Just a few minutes ago, on the floor of the United States Senate, senators debated an amendment to the McCain immigration bill.

G.O.P. Conservatives Topple Veteran State Lawmakers in Pennsylvania  —  WASHINGTON, May 17 — A revolt among Pennsylvania conservatives gained national attention on Wednesday after challengers toppled at least 12 state lawmakers they deemed insufficiently committed to small government and fiscal restraint.

Out of Touch  —  What the president's immigration speech and "The DaVinci Code" have in common.  —  What was missing in the president's approach the other night was the expression, or suggestion, of context.  The context was a crisis that had gone unanswered as it has built …

U.S. Focused on Obtaining Long-Distance Phone Data, Company Officials Indicate  —  Government efforts to obtain data from the nation's largest phone companies for a national security database appear to have focused on long-distance carriers, not local ones, statements by company officials indicate.

Who Isn't A 'Values Voter'?  —  An aggressively annoying new phrase in America's political lexicon is "values voters."  It is used proudly by social conservatives, and carelessly by the media to denote such conservatives.  —  This phrase diminishes our understanding of politics.

Have A Heart  —  This has to be just about the nastiest piece of direct mail we've ever seen.  —  A candidate for State Assembly in the central valley region of CA, Bill Conrad (R) is apparently running on the platform that his opponent won't survive his term because he had a heart transplant.

Sensenbrenner: Bush Turned Back on Bill  —  WASHINGTON - Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner, who has pushed a tough border security bill through the House, accused President Bush on Wednesday of abandoning the legislation after asking for many of its provisions.  —  "He basically turned his back on provisions …

International poll shows world is turning against Americans, not just President Bush  —  In increasing numbers, people around the globe resent American power and wealth and reject specific actions like the occupation of Iraq and the campaign against democratically elected Palestinian leaders …

Demographics & Narcissism … How did we journey, in the space of 6 short years, from JFK's famous speech to the Jefferson Airplane's drug-induced, summer of love, response?  And what does this have to do with the Demographic changes we are seeing in our culture?

Processing of Security-Clearance Requests Resumes  —  The Pentagon yesterday partially lifted a suspension of its security-clearance program that had put thousands of government contractors' employees in limbo.  —  The Defense Security Service suspended the program three weeks ago …

Seeking to Control Borders, Bush Turns to Big Military Contractors  —  WASHINGTON, May 17 — The quick fix may involve sending in the National Guard.  But to really patch up the broken border, President Bush is preparing to turn to a familiar administration partner: the nation's giant military contractors.

Egypt: where's the media?  —  Protests continue to roil Egypt, with tense standoffs between security forces and protestors, and 200-300 protestors (mostly Muslim Brothers) arrested.  The bad news: repression was fierce.  Ayman Nour's sentence to five years in jail was reaffirmed …

"Fairy Tales"  —  The (lack of) intelligence underpinning Bush's Iraq policy  —  During the 2003 invasion of Iraq, Saddam Hussein's Information Minister became the butt of a million jokes for predicting that American soldiers were being routed, even as U.S. troops were quickly closing in on Baghdad.

Troop Cuts Uncertain, Rumsfeld Testifies  —  Pentagon Chief Hopeful About 2006 Reduction in Iraq but 'Can't Promise It'  —  Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said he cannot guarantee that there will be substantial withdrawals of U.S. troops from Iraq this year, and warned instead …

No Rush to Impeachment  —  As Republicans have become increasingly nervous about whether they will be able to maintain control of the House in the midterm elections, they have resorted to the straw-man strategy of identifying a parade of horrors to come if Democrats gain the majority.

Nutroots video: Kos makes TV political ad debut  —  **Watch the video remix.  Geraghty calls it "perhaps the most surreal campaign ad I've ever seen."  Me, I've seen this movie before; the line "the call's coming from inside the house" figures prominently.

And if It's a Boy, Will It Be Lleh?  —  Chances are you don't have any friends named Nevaeh.  Chances are today's toddlers will.  —  In 1999, there were only eight newborn American girls named Nevaeh.  Last year, it was the 70th-most-popular name for baby girls, ahead of Sara, Vanessa and Amanda.