Security Lapses Let Bomb Suspect Board Plane  —  WASHINGTON — Why was Faisal Shahzad permitted to board a flight for Dubai some 24 hours after investigators of the Times Square terrorism case learned he might be connected to the attempted bombing?  —  Though Mr. Shahzad was stopped …

Black Hopefuls Pick This Year in G.O.P. Races  —  Among the many reverberations of President Obama's election, here is one he probably never anticipated: at least 32 African-Americans are running for Congress this year as Republicans, the biggest surge since Reconstruction, according to party officials.

Dem Turnout Falls Off A Cliff  —  Turnout among Dem voters dropped precipitously in 3 statewide primaries on Tuesday, giving the party more evidence that their voters lack enthusiasm ahead of midterm elections.  —  In primaries in NC, IN and OH, Dems turned out at far lower rates than they have in previous comparable elections.

Meet Geo, The Male Prostitute Hired By NARTH Member & Family Research Council Co-Founder Dr. George Rekers  —  I was going to withhold the identity of the male prostitute hired by Dr. George Rekers, the virulently anti-gay NARTH board member and Family Research Council co-founder.

Why Charter Schools Fail the Test  —  THE latest evaluation of the Milwaukee Parental Choice Program, the oldest and most extensive system of vouchers and charter schools in America, came out last month, and most advocates of school choice were disheartened by the results.

Wash Post shifts leftward online  —  The once-cautious Washington Post has begun to invest heavily in the liberal blogosphere, transforming its online presence - a combination of accident and design - into a competitor of the Huffington Post and TalkingPointsMemo as much as the New York Times.

Lieberman's Weird Citizenship-Stripping Proposal  —  When Joe Lieberman mentioned the idea of not mirandizing US citizen terrorism suspects because they should be stripped of citizenship, I thought this was just some nonsense he said on television.  The proposal is obviously unworkable …

Washington Post Co. to Sell Newsweek  —  Chairman Donald E. Graham cites multi-year losses.  ‘We are exploring all options to fix that problem,’ he said.  —  Newsweek Web Exclusive  —  The Washington Post Co. announced today that it has retained Allen & Company to explore the possible sale of NEWSWEEK magazine.

Time for some oil spill perspective  —  Eleven people died when BP's Deepwater Horizon oil drilling platform exploded nearly two weeks ago in the Gulf of Mexico, 53 miles southwest of the Louisiana coast.  It's a sad measure of how much of the subsequent commentary on this disaster …

Fox refuses climate ad  —  Fox News last week refused to carry an advertisement from the liberal group VoteVets on the grounds that it was “too confusing,” a spokesman for the group said.  —  The ad, above, seeks to make the familiar case that climate legislation would have national security benefits …

Diane Wood, Supreme Court Contender, Interviewed By Obama And Joe Biden  —  WHAT'S YOUR REACTION?  —  President Obama and Vice President Biden both met separately today with potential Supreme Court pick Diane Wood, a source with knowledge of the conversations told the Huffington Post.

Amount of Spill Could Escalate, Company Admits  —  WASHINGTON — In a closed-door briefing for members of Congress, a senior BP executive conceded Tuesday that the ruptured oil well in the Gulf of Mexico could conceivably spill as much as 60,000 barrels a day of oil, more than 10 times the estimate of the current flow.

US takes early lumps in case against Mich. militia  —  DETROIT (AP) — Federal authorities touted the arrests of nine members of a Michigan militia as a pre-emptive strike against homegrown terrorists, declaring at an initial court hearing that the suspects with “dark hearts and evil intent” wanted to go to war against the government.

Wyden, Grassley want end to secret holds as part of Wall Street reform bill  —  The two senators have offered an amendment to the Senate's financial reform legislation.  —  Sens. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) are moving to end senators' ability to place secret holds as part of Wall Street legislation.

Pence invokes Katrina in slamming Obama's response to oil spill  —  A top House Republican on Wednesday slammed President Barack Obama's responsiveness to a massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, invoking the response to Hurricane Katrina.  —  House Republican Conference Chairman Mike Pence …

GOP House candidate runs TV ad calling for racial profiling  —  You absolutely have to see this TV ad that a House GOP candidate hoping to take on Dem Rep Alan Grayson has run in Florida.  It not only supports racial profiling, but urges it as a matter of policy — and even suggests explicitly …

GOP could gain by raising Arizona  —  The new hard-line Arizona immigration law that has sparked talk of boycotts and caused leading Republicans to fret about the party's frayed relationship with Hispanic voters may indeed pose a long-term threat to the GOP's prospects.