The Playboy Article on the Tea Party  —  I can't wait to tell my Baptist mother that her daughter is in Playboy.  —  This month's issue of Playboy features an interesting article on the tea party movement and in particular, focuses on a particular group of activists, myself included.

Language guru: Obama speech too ‘professorial’  —  (CNN) — President Obama's speech on the gulf oil disaster may have gone over the heads of many in his audience, according to an analysis of the 18-minute talk released Wednesday.  —  Tuesday night's speech from the Oval Office of the White House …

Bullied into a £13bn cave-in: Obama forces BP to set up huge compensation fund for U.S. oil spill victims - and British pensioners will pick up the bill  —  The crisis engulfing BP plumbed new depths last night as President Obama bullied the company into depositing £13.5billion …

New RNC ad: How many rounds did you golf while the oil was leaking, champ?  —  A snappy montage illustrating Obama's “bloodless quality” and “emotional detachment” from the spill, as rabidly right-wing NYT columnist Maureen Dowd put it this morning.  Sad to say, I don't think this meme's …

In Illinois Race, a Teaching Career Is Questioned  —  WASHINGTON — Representative Mark S. Kirk of Illinois, a Republican candidate for the United States Senate, has often reminisced about his time as a teacher.  —  On the floor of the House, in campaign commercials and during interviews …

More Than 90 Banks Miss TARP Payments  —  More than 90 U.S. banks and thrifts missed making a May 17 payment to the U.S. government under its main bank bailout program, signaling a rising number of lenders are struggling to meet their obligations.  —  The statistics, compiled by SNL Financial …

The Boring Speech Policy  —  On Monday night in Ohio, a 62-foot-tall statue of Jesus got hit by lightning and burned to the ground.  (The adult bookstore across the street was unscathed.)  Less than 12 hours later, Gen. David Petraeus — who is not God, although certain members of Congress …

Navigating congressional hearings  —  Most congressional hearings don't possess the same drama or rivet public attention as many expect BP Chief Executive Officer Tony Hayward's testimony will today.  —  But for any company or interest group, the stakes of testifying at a congressional hearing can still be enormous.

Amy Bishop charged with murder for 1986 shooting of brother  —  CANTON — Amy Bishop has been charged with murder for the 1986 shotgun slaying of her 18-year-old brother in their Braintree home, Norfolk District Attorney William R. Keating said this afternoon.

Twitterati report: Syria trip mixes work with play  —  The State Department's two leading Twitterati, Special Advisor on Innovation Alec J. Ross (@alecjross) and Policy Planning staffer Jared Cohen (@jaredcohen), are in Syria this week leading a delegation of tech companies hoping to …

BRIAN TAMANAHA: Wake Up, Fellow Law Professors, to the Casualties of Our Enterprise. … Just casualties of the recession?  Or more signs of a bursting bubble?  The only positive angle I can contribute is this: With a college degree now functioning, essentially, the way a high-school diploma used to …

Once again we must ask: ‘Who governs?’  —  In 1974, Edward Heath asked: “Who governs - government or trade unions?”  Five years later British voters delivered a final verdict by electing Margaret Thatcher.  The equivalent today would be: “Who governs - government or financial markets?”

Bizarre getaway as student hurls puppy at German biker gang  —  A German student “mooned” a group of Hell's Angels and hurled a puppy at them before escaping on a stolen bulldozer, police have said.

Obama oil spill address draws 32 million  —  Barack Obama's first address from the Oval Office delivered 32.1 million viewers Tuesday evening.  The speech ranks as the president's second least-watched major cross-network primetime event.  —  Obama discussed the Gulf Coast oil spill and called for energy policy changes.

It's Too Early for Christie, but Americans Are Yearning for His Style  —  It seems like every week or so, you see blogs and Twitter comments in the vein of, “Hey, did you see this great speech by Chris Christie?”  —  And they're not actually great speeches, at least not the way we've …

Jon Stewart on Obama's executive power record  —  When ACLU Executive Director Anthony Romero last week addressed the progressive conference America's Future Now, he began by saying: “I'm going to start provocatively . . . I'm disgusted with this president.”

Context Matters: A Better Libertarian Approach to Antidiscrimination Law  —  Kentucky Senate candidate Rand Paul, a Republican with libertarian leanings, recently questioned the provision of the 1964 Civil Rights Act that bans discrimination in restaurants, hotels, and other businesses.

Jobs Bill Bombs In Senate, 45-52  —  WHAT'S YOUR REACTION?  —  Deficit concerns trumped jobless aid in the Senate Wednesday as a key vote on a bill to reauthorize several expired programs, including extended unemployment benefits, failed 45-52, with 12 Democrats voting against it.

Gulf Oil Spill, Day 57: House: BP Cut Corners; Pickens: Investigation Can Wait … More revelations emerged Monday about BP's cost and safety decisions during the days leading up to the oil rig explosion in the Gulf of Mexico.  —  The disclosures are from internal documents released by a House committee.

CHANGE!  53 Days Later Obama Administration Decides to Accept Dutch Offer to Help With Spill  —  Remember: The Gulf Oil Spill Is Like 9-11  —  Three days after the Gulf oil rig explosion, the Netherlands offered to send in oil skimmers to pump oil off of the surface of the ocean.

June 28, 1969: Turning Point in Gay Rights History  —  “The average homosexual, if there be such, is promiscuous.  He is not interested in, nor capable of, a lasting relationship like that of a heterosexual marriage.”  —  So declared Mike Wallace in authoritative voice-of-God tones in …

Winston Churchill's Cigar Goes Down the Memory Hole … Those who control the present share Adolf Hitler's disdain for smoking, so they went back in time and snatched away Winston Churchill's trademark cigar:  —  We are living in the novel 1984.  —  Worse still might befall Churchill …

Liveblogging Closing Arguments: Part IV  —  The last thread was getting a bit long so here is a new one.  —  Cooper: Only 16 states had a prohibition against inter-racial marriage.  They actually made people have illegitimate children.  The purpose of marriage is to have legit children.

Realism in Afghanistan: Rethinking an Uncertain Case for the War  —  There is nothing more tragic than watching beautiful theories being assaulted by gangs of ugly facts.  It is time, however, to be far more realistic about the war in Afghanistan.  It may well still be winnable …