Trutheriness and Ron Paul  —  First, some corrections: Last week, on John Gibson's Fox News Channel show, "The Big Story," I was asked to comment on 9/11 conspiracy theorists and Ron Paul.  Here's the video.  In the segment, I referred to "Students and Scholars for Truth."

Iglesias recounts a lunch with politics on the menu  —  The fired U.S. attorney says he was targeted for not pressing charges that could have helped the GOP.  —  WASHINGTON — Weeks before the 2006 midterm election, then-New Mexico U.S. Atty. David C. Iglesias was invited to dine …

It Was 40 Years Ago Today  —  With 'Sgt. Pepper,' the Beatles indulged their whims — and changed rock forever  —  It's possible for two reasonable adults, probably older than 45, to argue for hours about the most significant pop music event of the 1960s.  My own vote would be cast in favor …

Sexual Perversion And Modern Conservatism: Joined At The Hip?  —  Via Atrios, I learned about the arrest of S.D. Republican Ted Klaudt on rape charges.  The charges are revolting: He duped foster children in his care into letting him perform "exams" on them to see if they qualified as egg donors.

Death Toll for Contractors Reaches New High in Iraq  —  Casualties among private contractors in Iraq have soared to record levels this year, setting a pace that seems certain to turn 2007 into the bloodiest year yet for the civilians who work alongside the American military in the war zone, according to new government numbers.

Circular Conservative Firing Squad Update  —  The hysteria on the far right (is there any other sort any more?) about the immigration bill is remarkable to me.  It's not that there aren't obviously good arguments against amnesty; it's the fever-pitch mania that drives these people.

U.S. House Democrat defends trade deal with Bush  —  Source: Reuters  —  A senior Democrat in the U.S. House of Representatives on Friday defended a trade deal reached last week with the Bush administration, in response to criticism from some party members.

The Saturday Profile: Sarkozy's Top Diplomat: Undiplomatic Opposite  —  BERNARD KOUCHNER, France's new top diplomat, would never describe himself as diplomatic.  —  Named as foreign minister, Mr. Kouchner is in many ways the political opposite of his new boss, President Nicolas Sarkozy.

The Saturday Cartoons  —  And here's Mark Fiore with another great animation called The Pentagon Film Fest in which he tells us about such stellar Pentagon fiction as "Saving Private Lynch" and "Officer and a Tillman."  —  Click on the screenshot above or go here to see it.

Mujahadeen-e-Khalq on agenda of Iran-U.S. talks May 28  —  A radical Iranian opposition group will be one of the key discussion issues during talks between Iranian and U.S. officials in Iraq on May 28, an Iraqi newspaper reported Saturday.  —  Al-Sabah newspaper, a publication financed …

House GOP Uses Procedural Tactic To Frustrate Democratic Majority  —  Motion to Recommit Employed to Delay or Alter Legislation  —  House Republicans, fighting to remain relevant in a chamber ruled by Democrats, have increasingly seized on a parliamentary technique to alter or delay nearly …

Crying Wolfowitz  —  . . . while the United Nations bankrolls dictators.  —  For two of Paul Wolfowitz's most prominent critics, Mark Malloch Brown and Ad Melkert, the war over the World Bank presidency could not have come at a better time.  Whatever else the ousting of Wolfowitz has achieved …

U.S. Embassy in Iraq to be biggest ever  —  WASHINGTON - The new U.S. Embassy in Baghdad will be the world's largest and most expensive foreign mission, though it may not be large enough or secure enough to cope with the chaos in Iraq.  —  The Bush administration designed the 104-acre compound …

In S.C., Romney slams immigration plan  —  COLUMBIA, S.C. - The crowd at South Carolina's Republican convention cheered Saturday when Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney criticized a new immigration proposal and booed a key ally of U.S. Sen. John McCain (news, bio, voting record) when he defended it.

RAISING MCCAIN  —  CUSSES GOP COMRADE IN SENATE TIRADE  —  Presidential hopeful John McCain - who has been dogged for years by questions about his volcanic temper - erupted in an angry, profanity-laced tirade at a fellow Republican senator, sources told The Post yesterday.

'Welcome To Teheran'  —  The Guardian has a scathing report on the British efforts in southern Iraq and the resultant influence of Iran in the Shi'ite militias vying to fill the power vacuum around Basra.  It demonstrates the futility of the approach used by the British in engaging militias instead …

Gonzales rapped as president's 'yes man'  —  WASHINGTON - Attorney General Alberto Gonzales says his long friendship with President Bush makes it easier to say "no" to him on sticky legal issues.  —  Gonzales' critics say the attorney is far more likely to say "yes," and they say that leaves …