U.S. Said to Allow Drilling Without Needed Permits  —  WASHINGTON — The federal Minerals Management Service gave permission to BP and dozens of other oil companies to drill in the Gulf of Mexico without first getting required permits from another agency that assesses threats to endangered species …

BREAKING: We Have Elena Kagan's College Thesis  —  This proves Elena Kagan is an open and avowed socialist.  The woman declares that socialists must stick together instead of fracture in order to advance a socialist agenda, which Kagan advocates.  1  —  You can see for yourself right here (PDF).

Tea party: Dark side of conservatism  —  Tea partiers proudly proclaim themselves conservatives.  And rightly so.  —  Tea party protesters repeat the conservative catchwords of Barry Goldwater and Ronald Reagan, who built their careers fighting the “creeping socialism” of civil rights legislation, Social Security and Medicare.

The New Normal on Abortion: Americans More “Pro-Life”  —  For second year straight, “pro-life” and “pro-choice” closely matched  —  PRINCETON, NJ — The conservative shift in Americans' views on abortion that Gallup first recorded a year ago has carried over into 2010.

Holder hasn't read Arizona law he criticized  —  Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr., who has been critical of Arizona's new immigration law, said Thursday he hasn't yet read the law and is going by what he's read in newspapers or seen on television.  —  Mr. Holder is conducting a review of the law …

New Jersey Gov. goes off on reporter  —  New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) had no patience for a reporter who questioned his “confrontational” tone.  —  At a press conference Thursday, Christie responded, “You know, Tom, you must be the thinnest-skinned guy in America …

Wall Street Fatcats Skip Obama Fundraiser  —  Hard to believe, isn't it?  You get trashed on a daily basis, demonized by the socialists, the media and union goons, and there's actual surprise when you don't line up like lemmings to pony up cash for the people who hate you and want to ruin you.

Yes, Even Orrin  —  Sen. Orrin Hatch, a Republican from Utah, has served in the upper chamber for 34 years.  But he's up for reelection in 2012, and with voters eagerly tossing out incumbents, his “safe seat” may be anything but.  “He's toast,” says Utah GOP delegate Saima Leon to Politico.

The good old days of low-information advertising  —  One of James Fallows's readers is skeptical about the long-term economics of online advertising: … What always interests me about this observation is the implication that offline advertising is similarly worthless.

More evidence that oil isn't as cheap as it looks  —  Yesterday, Sen. Lisa Murkowski rose to deny unanimous consent to Democrats trying to pass a bill increasing the cap on damages for oil spills from $75 million to $10 billion.  Murkowski saw a problem: “It would be impossible or perhaps close …

Charlie Crist unleashed: A wide-ranging interview with the newly independent one  —  ST. PETERSBURG — Something peculiar is going on with Charlie Crist.  —  He's on the cusp of losing public office, his lifelong party is attacking him mercilessly, and some of his closest friends are yanking …

The GOP's harsh immigration stance will cost it  —  Has the Republican Party become, as Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid recently charged, the “anti-immigrant party”?  —  The accusation is overbroad.  Republicans (and others) who are offended by chaos at the southern border …

Glimmers of Hope  —  If you're elected president or prime minister in pretty much any country in the developed world today, you're faced with the same set of challenges: to reduce national deficits without choking off a fragile recovery; to trim the welfare state and raise taxes while still funding …

Book: Rahm “begged” Obama for days not to pursue ambitious health reform  —  Rahm Emanuel spent nearly a week in the summer of 2009 aggressively trying to talk Obama out of moving foward with an ambitious version of health care reform, and by his own admission “begged” him not to do it, a book out next week reports.

We're Not Greece  —  It's an ill wind that blows nobody good, and the crisis in Greece is making some people — people who opposed health care reform and are itching for an excuse to dismantle Social Security — very, very happy.  Everywhere you look there are editorials and commentaries …