Boehner: Government—i.e. Taxpayers—Should Help Pay For Oil Spill  —  Congressional Democrats and the White House are toying with different ways to force BP to cover the costs of damages from the Gulf oil spill.  But they face stiff opposition from industry...and it seems leading Republicans.

Editor Tina Brown Slams Female GOP Primary Winners: These ‘Wingnuts’ Are a ‘Blow to Feminism’  —  Former New Yorker editor Tina Brown appeared on Thursday's Good Morning America to deride the mostly Republican women who won primaries on Tuesday as “wingnuts” and to sneer that they represent a “blow to feminism.”

Clyburn says S.C. Dem Senate candidate a ‘plant’; calls for probe  —  The man nominated as Democrats' candidate for Senate in South Carolina might have been a “plant,” a high-ranking Democrat suggested Thursday.  —  House Majority Whip James Clyburn (D-S.C.) called for in South Carolina …

SENATE REJECTS ‘BIG OIL BAILOUT’ — BARELY.... The very idea was absurd.  The government is going to have regulate carbon emissions to combat global warming, and if Congress refuses to act, the Environmental Protection Agency can use the Clean Air Act to move forward.

Goat spears Rep. Weiner, draws blood  —  Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-N.Y.) was injured by a mohair goat on Thursday during a press conference to highlight subsidies to the mohair industry.  —  The goat nicked Weiner's right hand with one of its pointy, foot-long horns, hard enough to draw blood.

Shocking Video: Gaza O Gaza!  —  Muslim propaganda video.  —  h/t Star

Judicial Watch Obtains New FBI Documents Regarding ACORN Voter Fraud Investigation  —  Judicial Watch, the public interest group that investigates and prosecutes government corruption, announced today that it has obtained documents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) …

Are Obama staffers overexposed?  —  When two White House aides last weekend stripped off their shirts for an afternoon of drinking with friends at a Georgetown bar, there was widespread agreement that it exposed something — beyond the pectorals of speechwriter Jon Favreau and press aide Tommy Vietor …

White House officials make nice with labor  —  In a private meeting currently under way with labor leaders, top White House officials are working hard to smooth over tensions in the wake of an anonymous administration official's claim that unions had flushed $10 million down the toilet in Arkansas …

Obama up in 2012 contests  —  Barack Obama leads all of his potential Republican opponents in hypothetical 2012 match ups, and it's becoming increasingly clear from this monthly poll that there are two tiers of GOP candidates when it comes to electability.  —  Polling close to Obama are Mike Huckabee and Mitt Romney.

My mic was on?  Senate hopeful Fiorina mocks Barbara Boxer's hair, moans about Fox's Sean Hannity  —  Carly Fiorina spent her first day as California's Republican U.S. Senate candidate with one of her custom shoes planted firmly in her mouth.  —  Unaware of an open mic before a television interview …

Top Arlington officials expected to be fired  —  After Salon's yearlong investigation into Arlington's scandals, Army secretary expected to announce overhaul  —  A year-long investigation by Salon.com into the questionable management at Arlington National Cemetery is coming to a head today …

The Daniels Truce — By: Ramesh Ponnuru  —  From Andrew Ferguson's excellent profile of Mitch Daniels: … A lot of people will cheer that statement: Truces are usually popular, and most people see the economic issues as more important than the social ones at this moment.  But I'm not sure how a truce would work.

Senators fret over Big 12 collapse, explore options  —  Plains state senators fretted Thursday over a major impending realignment in college football's major conferences.  —  Lawmakers representing states with universities in the Big 12 conference urged against moves that would break up the conference …

Dems' tough new immigration pitch  —  Long pilloried for being soft on illegal immigration, top Democratic officials have concluded there's only one way they can hope to pass a comprehensive immigration bill:  —  Talk more like Republicans.  —  They're seizing on the work …

VIDEO: Man Punched During Protest Against Government Bailouts  —  GREENSBORO, N.C. - A protest in Greensboro turned violent Tuesday when a former candidate for Congress and NC Senate was punched in the face.  —  Nathan Tabor, a business owner and head of the Forsyth County Republican Party …

The Democratic Party and Blanche Lincoln  —  The run-off between Democratic Senate incumbent Blanche Lincoln and challenger Bill Halter, which culminated on Tuesday night in Lincoln's narrow victory, brightly illuminates what the Democratic Party establishment is.

Nikki Haley and the New Racial Face of the South  —  Blogs and Stories  —  I do wonder, sometimes, whether America's toxic black-white history and its legacy create a need for a “third way”—for emblems of the Other that are not part of the toxic mix, especially in the South.

New Estimates Double Rate of Oil That Flowed Into Gulf  —  A government panel on Thursday doubled its estimate of the amount of oil that had gushed for weeks from the out-of-control BP well even before the latest attempt to cap it.  —  The new calculation suggested that an amount of oil equivalent …

Cato scholar jokes about using undocumented immigrants to soak up oil: 'they're very absorbent.'  —  Michael Cannon, a health policy expert for Cato, the libertarian think tank founded by Charles Koch of the oil conglomerate Koch Industries, took to Twitter today to trade jokes about the oil spill.

Op-Ed Contributor: Talking About Israel, Without the Clichés  —  THE Israeli raid on the Free Gaza flotilla has generated an outpouring of clichés from the usual suspects.  It is almost impossible to discuss the Middle East without resorting to tired accusations and ritual defenses …