The Principles of Rand Paul  —  No ideology survives the collision with real-world politics perfectly intact.  General principles have to bend to accommodate the complexities of history, and justice is sometimes better served by compromise than by zealous intellectual consistency.

Op-Ed Columnist: Obama Versus the Corporations  —  So here's how it is: They're as mad as hell, and they're not going to take this anymore.  Am I talking about the Tea Partiers?  No, I'm talking about the corporations.  —  Much reporting on opposition to the Obama administration portrays it as a sort of populist uprising.

Sestak confirms WH job offer to get out of Senate race  —  Rep. Joe Sestak, winner of the Pennsylvania Democratic Senate primary, is refusing to provide more information on what job he was offered by a White House official to drop of that race, although he confirmed again that the incident occurred.

The Great Shame: America's Pathetic Response to the Gulf Catastrophe  —  Shame on us.  —  A calamity is unfolding before our eyes - the greatest oil spill in history - and America's response is little more than a big yawn.  —  Bob Herbert writes: … Where is the outrage?

After keeping us waiting for a century, Mark Twain will finally reveal all  —  The great American writer left instructions not to publish his autobiography until 100 years after his death, which is now  —  Exactly a century after rumours of his death turned out to be entirely accurate …

Despite Obama's Moratorium, Drilling Projects Move Ahead  —  WASHINGTON — In the days since President Obama announced a moratorium on permits for drilling new offshore oil wells and a halt to a controversial type of environmental waiver that was given to the Deepwater Horizon rig …

Blumenthal: “I have made mistakes and I am sorry.”  —  After nearly a week of criticism following revelations that he misrepresented his military record and five days after a press conference in which he expressed regret for his misstatements, Democratic U.S. Senate nominee Richard Blumenthal apologized.

Reid angles for tea party foe in Nev.  —  Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) has knocked down his leading Republican challenger, paving the way for a potential fall fight with a tea party favorite who may be easier to beat.  —  Reid's unceasing attacks on his biggest-name challenger …

Out with the Old  —  Don't trust a congressman over the age of 50.  —  As far as I can tell, Sean Duffy is the only world-champion lumberjack and reality television star running for Congress this year.  Duffy is the Republican candidate in Wisconsin's 7th Congressional District.

Major Change Down Below... Live Blogging...  [Regular updates will be tacked on to the bottom of this post through the day.]  OK— I moved updates to top of page to make it easier for me.  —  Those just arriving, please scroll down to the double lines, and start there... then come back to the top, here.

One false move in Europe could set off global chain reaction  —  If the trouble starts — and it remains an “if” — the trigger may well be obscure to the concerns of most Americans: a missed budget projection by the Spanish government, the failure of Greece to hit a deficit-reduction target, a drop in Ireland's economic output.