K-Lo reports the news.

I’m devastated to report that our dear friend, mentor, leader, and founder William F. Buckley Jr., died this morning in his study in Stamford, Connecticut.

He died while at work; if he had been given a choice on how to depart this world, I suspect that would have been exactly it. At home, still devoted to the war of ideas.

More from The Associated Press…

UPDATE, by Mark Noonan: John McCain on Bill Buckley;

I am very profoundly saddened to hear of the passing of William F. Buckley Jr. and offer my deepest condolences to the Buckley family. Bill had many friends, including my parents, who he even took time to visit when they were stationed at the U.S. Pacific Command in Hawaii. My father and mother very much admired him and so did their son. With Bill’s passing, freedom has lost one of its greatest defenders. Bill was a great American who helped change the course of history. When conservatism was a lonely cause, he bravely raised the standard of liberty and led the charge to renew the principles and values that are the foundation of our great country. A man of tremendous vision and big ideas, he founded the National Review in 1955 and through its pages and his other endeavors, as a lecturer, commentator, debater and author of dozens of books, inspired many and advanced an intellectual rigor that transformed American politics. Bill was an American giant who shall be missed.

Debating tonight… Leave your thoughts…

UPDATE, 10:17 PM: Not a good night for Hillary… She’s coming across as desperate to get a word in..

The Times Online (UK) reports on a very shady deal involving Barack Obama and a British-Iraqi billionaire, that also involves Tony Rezko and the already shady land deal they had.

A British-Iraqi billionaire lent millions of dollars to Barack Obama’s fundraiser just weeks before an imprudent land deal that has returned to haunt the presidential contender, an investigation by The Times discloses.

The money transfer raises the question of whether funds from Nadhmi Auchi, one of Britain’s wealthiest men, helped Mr Obama buy his mock Georgian mansion in Chicago.

A company related to Mr Auchi, who has a conviction for corruption in France, registered the loan to Mr Obama’s bagman Antoin “Tony” Rezko on May 23 2005. Mr Auchi says the loan, through the Panamanian company Fintrade Services SA, was for $3.5 million. Three weeks later, Mr Obama bought a house on the city’s South Side while Mr Rezko’s wife bought the garden plot next door from the same seller on the same day, June 15.

Mr Obama says he never used Mrs Rezko’s still-empty lot, which could only be accessed through his property. But he admits he paid his gardener to mow the lawn. Mrs Rezko, whose husband was widely known to be under investigation at the time, went on to sell a 10-foot strip of her property to Mr Obama seven months later so he could enjoy a bigger garden.

Mr Obama now admits his involvement in this land deal was a “boneheaded mistake”.

Mrs Rezko’s purchase and sale of the land to Mr Obama raises many unanswered questions. It is unclear how Mrs Rezko could have afforded the downpayment of $125,000 and a $500,000 mortgage for the original $625,000 purchase of the garden plot at 5050 South Greenwood Ave….

MORE: Our Obama file…

Flipping through the television channels a few moments ago, I happened to catch Chris Matthews suggest that Hillary may concede to Barack Obama before the primaries in Ohio and Texas…

I don’t see that happening. Hillary will take this fight until the end. Hillary feels entitled to not only the nomination, but the presidency… and as the release of the Obama photo earlier shows, Hillary is more likely to be on the verge of unloading a slew of attacks on Obama… and by no means about to bow out.

The Washington Post gives the top five flip-flops for both Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton…

So now, let’s hear all our friends on the left with their spin explain why these aren’t flip-flops…

So start saying them…

More from Politico.

UPDATE: Of course it’s a non-issue. I’m not suggesting it implies anything. What should be the topic is that the Hillary campaign is apparently behind the release of the photo…

UPDATE: How predictable… our friends on the left are apparently either too stupid realize or just don’t care that it was Hillary’s campaign that put the photo out, because they’re blaming us “right wingers” for daring to talk about it.

UPDATE: Hillary camp denies having anything to do with the photos…

DNC Chairman Howard Dean is pursing an FEC complaint against John McCain for his withdrawing from the primary election public finance system…

The only problem is, in 2003 Howard Dean, during his presidential campaign, did the exact same thing. Time Magazine’s The Page blog posts a McCain backgrounder on Howard Dean’s hypocrisy.

Mike Huckabee certain got enough flack for using Boston’s “More Than A Feeling” without permission… so, I wonder how the left will spin Obama’s unauthorized use of of “Hold On, I’m Coming” on the the campaign trail.

Hold On: Stop using my song.

That’s the message to Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama from soul singer Sam Moore of Sam & Dave fame.

The singer said Saturday that he’s sent a letter to the Obama campaign asking them to stop using one of the duo’s signature songs, “Hold On, I’m Comin’,” at campaign rallies.

Moore says he’s not endorsing Obama or anybody else at this time for president.

“No one called me, no one sent a telegraph, no one did anything. They just did it, and I think that’s rather rude,” Moore said from his home in Scottsdale, Ariz.

Tommy Vietor, an Obama campaign spokesman, responded in a brief e-mail Saturday that they received the letter and will stop using the tune.

Moore, a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, said the song is played frequently at campaign events, with supporters sometimes changing the lyrics to “Hold On, Obama’s Comin’.”

First he was caught stealing Deval Patrick’s words, now he’s been caught using someone else’s song without permission. Is anything on the level with this guy?

And so it goes.

Ralph Nader said Sunday he will run for president as a third-party candidate, criticizing the top White House contenders as too close to big business and pledging to repeat a bid that will “shift the power from the few to the many.”

Nader, 73, said most people are disenchanted with the Democratic and Republican parties due to a prolonged Iraq war and a shaky economy. The consumer advocate also blamed tax and other corporate-friendly policies under the Bush administration that he said have left many lower- and middle-class people in debt.

His entry to race is pretty much irrelevant. After 2000, Democrats, determined not to let Nader siphon off votes from John Kerry in 2004, blocked Nader from getting on the ballot in many states, and with yet another likely close race for 2008, Nader will probably not see his name on the ballot except for in a handful of states.

…and its glory.

An artist killed herself after aborting her twins when she was eight weeks pregnant, leaving a note saying: “I should never have had an abortion. I see now I would have been a good mum.”

Emma Beck was found hanging at her home in Helston, Cornwall, on Feb 1 2007. She was declared dead early the following day – her 31st birthday.

Her suicide note read: “I told everyone I didn’t want to do it, even at the hospital. I was frightened, now it is too late. I died when my babies died. I want to be with my babies: they need me, no-one else does.”

It’s interesting that while the left makes up buzz phrases like “women’s rights,” “reproductive rights,” and “right to choose,” they absolutely ignore the negative effects of abortion on women.

UPDATE, by Mark Noonan: For more information on the devastating effects abortion has on its adult victims, please go to Silent No More. Matt and I were honored to meet some of the women from this organization and they stirred us greatly in our opposition to the practice of abortion.