THE VETTING: BEN SMITH RELEASES SELECTIVELY EDITED OBAMA RACE VIDEO  —  Earlier today, Buzzfeed's Ben Smith announced on Twitter that video researcher Andrew Kaczynski had released “the mysterious Harvard/Obama/race video that the Breitbart folks have been talking about.”

Rush Limbaugh: Over 40 Advertisers Flee, Host Says 'Everything's Cool'  —  Talk show host Rush Limbaugh sought to reassure listeners Wednesday after the tally of local and national companies that have pulled their advertisements from his time slot topped 40, insisting that the show …

The Party of Hate  —  Millions of Americans voted for Barack Obama in the hope that he would be a trailblazer who would conduct the presidency in a new way.  Well, he has: Obama has been the most divisive president in our modern history, unabashedly stirring up hate against not only his political enemies …

Won't Be Long Now, Folks!  —  And the odds that we'll get to somebody dropping the ni-CLANG word on President Obama took a really big step forward today, along with bonus misogyny to boot.  They say a picture's worth a thousands words, and judging from the latest Mike Lester political cartoon from the Rome …

$1B of TSA Nude Body Scanners Made Worthless By Blog — How Anyone Can Get Anything Past The Scanners  —  This video is here to demonstrate that the TSA's insistence that the nude body scanner program is effective and necessary is nothing but a fraud, just like their claims that the program is safe …

TPM2012  —  Bachmann: ‘Health Care Dictator’ Could Decide How Many Babies You Can Have  —  Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) is warning that the Obama administration's contraception insurance mandate could put America on a slippery slope — to a totalitarian one-child policy.

Romney campaign says losing nomination would take ‘act of God’  —  By NBC's Garrett Haake and Jamie Novogrod  —  BOSTON — Mitt Romney's campaign gathered the national press corps in their campaign war room this morning to deliver a simple message: It would take an “act of God” …

Massive solar storm heading for Earth  —  Airlines and energy suppliers are on alert as the largest solar storm in five years threatens to disrupt flights and power lines  —  Airlines and energy suppliers are on alert as the largest solar storm in five years heads toward Earth, threatening to disrupt flights and power lines.

Guest post: Joseph Kony is not in Uganda (and other complicated things)  —  Thanks to an incredibly effective social media effort, #StopKony is trending on Twitter today.  The campaign coincides with a new awareness-raising documentary by the group Invisible Children.

Subject for Debate: Are Women People?  —  I've always assumed that women are fully autonomous human citizens—who vote, even!—but now I'm not so certain  —  From left: Catholic Bishop William Lori, the Rev. Matthew Harrison, Dr. Ben Mitchell, Rabbi Meir Soloveichik and Craig Mitchell …

Channel 4 booting anchorwoman Sue Simmons after 32 years  —  After more than three decades, WNBC/Channel 4 is tossing anchorwoman Sue Simmons overboard.  —  Last week, the station gave her the bad news that her contract would not be renewed — and come June, she's history.

Afghan concern over ‘guidelines for women’  —  MP Fawzia Koofi says that the religious council ruling is the beginning of “a process of Talibanisation” in Afghanistan  —  Afghanistan's top religious council has said women should not mix with men in school, work or other aspects of daily life.

Clay clerk accuses U.S. Rep. Cliff Stearns of trying to buy him out of race  —  GREEN COVE SPRINGS — Clay Clerk of Courts James Jett told a group of Republicans today the FBI is looking into Rep. Cliff Stearns for what Jett said is a plot to buy him out of this fall's congressional primary.

Conspiracy, Again  —  As Maricopa County sheriff Joe Arpaio beclowns himself and his wayward admirers, it is worth bearing in mind that the manufactured controversy surrounding President Barack Obama's birth certificate has its origins in anonymous e-mails sent by Hillary Clinton partisans during the 2008 Democratic primary.

Dennis Kucinich concedes defeat to Marcy Kaptur in Ohio Democratic primary  —  Rep. Dennis Kucinich, a liberal establishment in the House, conceded defeat Tuesday night in Ohio's 9th district Democratic primary to longtime Rep. Marcy Kaptur.  —  The Democratic primary was overshadowed Tuesday night …

Missing Kucinich  —  America has reached the point where its politics are conformist and polarized at the same time.  That's maybe not such a paradox: when there's little substantive disagreement between the party of Obamacare and the party of Romneycare, the party of foreign intervention …