Helen Thomas retires after fallout from controversial Israel remarks  —  Helen Thomas announced Monday that “she is retiring, effective immediately,” according to a statement from Hearst newspapers.  —  Her decision comes after her controversial remarks about Israel hit the blogosphere.

Obama looking for ‘whose ass to kick’  —  (CNN) — President Barack Obama bluntly defended his administration's response to the undersea gusher fouling the Gulf of Mexico on Monday, telling an interviewer he has met with experts to learn “whose ass to kick.”

Our hard-core, adversarial press corps  —  On Friday, CNN's Ed Henry posted a series of giggly, adolescent updates on his Twitter feed, describing the events that took place at a “beach” party thrown by Joe Biden, at the Vice President's mansion, for various “reporters” and White House officials.

Mysterious Billboard Puts Obama's Face on $100,000,000,000,000 Bill, Asks: ‘But Who Will Pay the Piper?’  —  (CNSNews.com) - Thanks to an advertiser who wishes to remain anonymous, cars and trucks on Arizona Highway 260 in East Central Arizona are driving by a billboard advertisement that recently went up …

The ties that bind.  Remember Rahm Emanuel's rent-free D.C. apartment?  The owner: A BP adviser  —  In case you were tempted to buy the faux Washington outrage at BP and its gulf oil spill in recent days, here's a story that reveals a little-known corporate political connection and the quiet …

GOP bad dream: Birther on ticket  —  California Republicans optimistic about their prospects in November could find themselves with a bit of a problem after the votes are counted in Tuesday's primaries - a statewide ticket with the so-called “Birther Queen” as one of their candidates.

The 40 Best Conservative Blogs For 2010 (Version 2.0)  —  It's time for me to rank my favorite blogs for the 2nd quarter of 2010.  Do keep in mind that as the quarter has progressed, some blogs have, of course, moved up and others have dropped, based on how often I visit them, how much I like what I see when I get there, how often...

Vietnam, Not Afghanistan, Still Longest War: Holbrooke  —  Richard Holbrooke.  (Alex Wong / Getty Images)  —  Afghanistan hasn't become the U.S.' longest war; Vietnam still is, according to someone who should know, Richard Holbrooke, the Obama Administration's special representative …

California's Unpopular Politicians  —  We'd never done a public poll in California before last week and the thing I found most remarkable was how much voters in the state hate all of their politicians.  —  Arnold Schwarzenegger of course is the least popular Governor in the country with a 20/64 approval rating.

Human Experimentation at the Heart of Bush Administration's Torture Program  —  High-value detainees captured during the Bush administration's “war on terror,” who were subjected to brutal torture techniques, were used as “guinea pigs” to gauge the effectiveness of various torture techniques …

Move On, MoveOn!  —  What's Your Reaction: … An Open Invitation to MoveOn.org from the Left (AKA anti-party) Wing of the Independent Movement  —  Co-authored by Harry Kresky and Jason Olson  —  On May 2, 2010 MoveOn.org launched its “most important campaign ever,” an effort to …

Left to Obama: We're not happy  —  And like Obama's critics on the right, many progressives seized on the administration's response to the Gulf oil spill to vent their larger frustrations.  —  “We thought that an election was victory.  We forgot that candidates don't deliver change …

49% Say Pro-Palestinian Activists To Blame in Gaza Ship Incident  —  Forty-nine percent (49%) of U.S. voters believe pro-Palestinian activists on the Gaza-bound aid ships raided by Israeli forces are to blame for the deaths that resulted in the high-profile incident.