Congress, Up In Arms  —  There seems to be a strong sentiment in Congress that the only constitutional right suspected terrorists have is the right to bear arms.  —  “I think you're going too far here,” said Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina at a hearing of the Senate Homeland Security Committee on Wednesday.

Students punished for wearing American flags on Cinco de Mayo  —  Five students at a California high school were forced to leave school and then face disciplinary action yesterday for the crime of wearing clothing printed with American flag designs.  —  If you're wondering how being patriotic …

As Britain goes to polls, shake-up in Parliament is forecast  —  LONDON — Britain's Conservative Party was pressing for an outright victory as voters went to the polls here Thursday, following a hard-fought campaign that could produce this nation's most fragile government in a generation.

Rove, GOP plot vast network to reclaim power  —  The Republican Party's best-connected political operatives have quietly built a massive fundraising, organizing and advertising machine based on the model assembled by Democrats early in the decade, and with the same ambitious goal — to recapture Congress and the White House.

Trying to shirk responsibility for spill, BP CEO predicts ‘lots of illegitimate’ lawsuits because ‘this is America.’  —  BP is financially responsible for the massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, so it is desperately trying the limit the financial and legal fall out.

Supreme Court Upholds Freedom Of Speech In Obscenity-Filled Ruling  —  WASHINGTON—In a decisive and vulgar 7-2 ruling, the U.S. Supreme Court once again upheld the constitution's First Amendment this week, calling the freedom of expression among the most “inalienable and important rights that a motherf**ker can have.”

The Right and Journalism  —  Laura McGann has an interesting story in The Washington Monthly about conservative efforts to get into the reporting game: … To ruin the punchline, though, the subhead asks of these new outlets “can their reporting survive their politics?” and the answer seems to be “no, it can't.”

National Day of Prayer to go on despite ruling  —  Washington (CNN) — Some 58 years after President Truman signed a bill proclaiming a National Day of Prayer, Thursday's observance may be one of the last to be officially recognized by Washington.  —  A federal judge declared the law unconstitutional …

High Court Long Shot Has a Reputation for Persuasion  —  Kathleen Morris was not thrilled to be working on a dry bankruptcy case.  But when Ms. Morris, then a law clerk, shared her feelings with her boss, Sidney R. Thomas, a federal appeals court judge, his answer startled her.

Kentucky Poll: Paul holds commanding lead; Mongiardo ahead  —  FRANKFORT — A new Kentucky Poll shows novice political candidate Rand Paul with a commanding 12-point lead over Trey Grayson, the Republican Party establishment's choice in the GOP race for U.S. Senate in Kentucky.

U.S. Plans New Broadband Rules  —  WASHINGTON—In a move that will stoke a battle over the future of the Internet, the federal government plans to propose regulating broadband lines under decades-old rules designed for traditional phone networks.  —  The decision, by Federal Communications …

Truth is the First Casualty of Kos  —  Last Friday Markos Moulitsas, the Kos in DailyKos, put up a fundraising post titled “AR-Sen: Hell to Pay: Chamber-backed group runs racist ad against Bill Halter.”  After displaying the ad the bulk of the post starts with “The group running this ad is funded by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce...”

Arizona governor: Boycott is misguided  —  Jan Brewer, the governor of Arizona, responds to calls for sports boycotts of her state  —  In my 28 years of public service, I have made a lot of tough calls.  But with a federal government unwilling to secure our border for years and years, Arizona is left with little choice.

Freddie Mac asks U.S. for $10 billion as losses pile up  —  Freddie Mac, the bailed-out mortgage-finance giant, reported Wednesday that it continues to lose money and needs an additional $10.6 billion in assistance from U.S. taxpayers.  —  The most recent earnings report follows three straight quarters …

If Only the Tea Partiers Were More European  —  Sitting at breakfast last week in Oslo, I opened the newspaper Dagbladet and did a Tex Avery-like double take.  Is that a photograph of Tim Phillips, president of Americans for Prosperity and professional tax-hatin' bogeyman of the Rachel Maddow show, in a Norwegian newspaper?

Exclusive: Rubio Clarifies Critique of Arizona Law  —  Florida GOP Senate candidate Marco Rubio got himself into hot water with conservatives when he argued that Arizona's new illegal immigration law went “too far” and could possibly turn Arizona into a “police state.”

While Oil Slick Spread, Interior Department Chief of Staff Rafted with Wife on “Work-Focused” Trip in Grand Canyon  —  Though his agency was charged with coordinating the federal response to the major oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, Department of the Interior chief of staff Tom Strickland …

Newsweek Has Fallen Down and Can't Get Up … - Should We Be More Afraid of al-Qaida Affiliates Than We Are of al-Qaida Itself?  - What Crisis P.R. Experts Think BP Did Wrong- Living Without the Internet Is a Lot Easier Than I Thought It Would Be- So What if the Oil Spill Is Visible From Space.