Jon Kyl gives away the game on deficits  —  “[Y]ou should never raise taxes in order to cut taxes,” Jon Kyl said on Fox News Sunday.  “Surely Congress has the authority, and it would be right to — if we decide we want to cut taxes to spur the economy, not to have to raise taxes in order to offset those costs.

Democrats Gone Wild: Rep. Ciro Rodriguez Loses It  —  I've often noted that I expect this to be a long, hot summer.  The mid-term elections are inching closer and Democrats are having to finally admit that they are in real political trouble.  For those keeping score at home, let's recap …

2012: What Palin Is, and Isn't, Doing  —  Sarah Palin's PAC disclosure release has occasioned a new round of “Will she or won't she?”  If we take the dictum that one's judgment is more easily interrogated than one's motivation, we're left with a simple answer: she's seriously thinking about running for president.

Felons Voting Illegally May Have Put Franken Over the Top in Minnesota, Study Finds  —  The six-month election recount that turned former “Saturday Night Live” comedian Al Franken into a U.S. senator may have been decided by convicted felons who voted illegally in Minnesota's Twin Cities.

GOP ‘Young Guns’ to release book  —  Three top House Republicans are set to release a book this fall about the future of conservative politics, placing a younger set of GOP lawmakers center stage as the party makes its final push to win control of the House.

Brown to support Wall Street reform; Dems edge closer to 60  —  Sen. Scott Brown (R-Mass.) announced Monday he will vote for Wall Street reform when it comes up for a final vote, all but assuring Democrats the 60 votes they need to pass the legislation.  —  Brown voted for the bill …

In the heat wave, the case against air conditioning  —  Washington didn't grind to a sweaty halt last week under triple-digit temperatures.  People didn't even slow down.  Instead, the three-day, 100-plus-degree, record-shattering heat wave prompted Washingtonians to crank …

The Class War We Need  —  The rich are different from you and me.  They know how to game the system.  —  That's one interpretation, at least, of last week's news that Americans with million-dollar mortgages are defaulting at almost twice the rate of the typical homeowner.

Cleveland comic-book legend Harvey Pekar dead at age 70  —  CLEVELAND HEIGHTS, Ohio — Harvey Pekar's life was not an open book.  It was an open comic book.  —  Pekar chronicled his life and times in the acclaimed autobiographical comic-book series, “American Splendor,” portraying himself as a rumpled …

The Feckless Fed  —  Back in 2002, a professor turned Federal Reserve official by the name of Ben Bernanke gave a widely quoted speech titled “Deflation: Making Sure ‘It’ Doesn't Happen Here.”  Like other economists, myself included, Mr. Bernanke was deeply disturbed by Japan's stubborn …

Americans Unsure About “Progressive” Political Label  —  More than twice as many say label does not describe them as say it does  —  PRINCETON, NJ — Gallup polling reveals widespread public uncertainty about the “progressive” political label — a label recently embraced by no less than Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan.

Polanski Is Free After Swiss Reject U.S. Extradition Request  —  Updated  —  Article: Swiss Reject U.S. Request to Extradite Polanski  —  The justice ministry of Switzerland said on Monday that it had denied a request to extradite the director Roman Polanski to the United States …

When Was The New Black Panther Case Downgraded?  —  I did an interview with New York Daily News Columnist Errol Louis about the New Black Panther Party case today and realized that there's a specific data point that has been lost in all the breathless coverage of this case and whether …

On second thought...  Boston city councilors backtrack on Arizona boycott bid  —  Red-faced Boston city councilors who boldly voted to shun the state of Arizona over its new immigration crackdown are now showing signs of boycotter's regret.  —  The grandstanding pols kept a low profile …

EXCLUSIVE NEW AUDIO: Mel Gibson Admits Hitting Oksana, Threatens To Kill Her - Listen To It Here  —  WARNING: This audio may not be reproduced or republished.  —  Mel Gibson, under investigation for domestic violence, admits to hitting Oksana Grigorieva and TWICE threatens to kill …

Historic oil spill fails to produce gains for U.S. environmentalists  —  For environmentalists, the BP oil spill may be disproving the maxim that great tragedies produce great change.  —  Traditionally, American environmentalism wins its biggest victories after some important piece …

Stuff  —  As I mentioned in my last entry, I've been watching Babylon 5 lately.  It's not a perfect show, but it has one big advantage: it's consistent and believable.  —  Contrast this with Doctor Who.  Doctor Who is fun to watch, but if you think about it for more than two seconds …

The Senate Kills International Relations.  —  There was plenty of attention paid to — and condemnation of — Republican office-seeker Mitt Romney's op-ed on the New START Treaty, an arms-control agreement designed to reduce the number of nuclear warheads in Russia and the United States …

Senator LeMieux Endorses Rubio and Discusses Victory Strategies (VIDEO)  —  Regular readers of the Tank know that we have pulled no punches towards soon-to-be Democrat Governor Charlie Crist, which is why we're reposting Senator George LeMieux's endorsement of Marco Rubio.

New group to oppose Mideast policy  —  Leading conservatives will launch a new pro-Israel group this week with a scathing attack on Rep. Joe Sestak, the Democratic Senate candidate in Pennsylvania, the first shot in what they say will be a confrontational campaign against the Obama administration's …

GOP's Angle rejects political makeover  —  Candidate focuses on economy  —  Republican Sharron Angle said Saturday she won't change her staunch conservative views to win the U.S. Senate race, although she acknowledged softening some of her rhetoric to avoid giving Sen. Harry Reid and other Democrats more sound bites to attack.

Wasted interviews  —  This New York Times article on Paul Volcker's view of the financial regulation bill is clearly and proudly set around a wide-ranging, on-the-record interview with Volcker himself.  But that interview, aside from a few isolated quotes, is nowhere to be found.