IRS's Shulman had more public White House visits than any cabinet member  —  Publicly released records show that embattled former IRS Commissioner Douglas Shulman visited the White House at least 157 times during the Obama administration, more recorded visits than even the most trusted members of the president's Cabinet.

Release Detail  —  May 30, 2013 - American Voters 4-1 Want Special Prosecutor For IRS, Quinnipiac University National Poll Finds; But Fixing Economy Is More Important, Voters Say 3-1  —  American voters say 76 - 17 percent, including 63 - 30 percent among Democrats, that a special prosecutor …

Bobby Rush rips Mark Kirk's mass gang arrests proposal as ‘elitist white boy solution’  —  Rep. Bobby Rush (D-Ill.) is highly critical of a proposal by Sen. Mark Kirk (R-Ill.) for mass arrests of 18,000 Gangster Disciples, telling the Sun-Times on Wednesday that Kirk's approach is …

SYRIAN OPPOSITION WON'T PARTICIPATE IN PEACE TALKS  —  You are here  —  Home » Bashar Assad » Syrian opposition won't participate in peace talks  —  BEIRUTCopyright 2013 The Associated Press.  All rights reserved.  This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Salvadoran Court Denies Abortion to Ailing Woman  —  MEXICO CITY — El Salvador's highest court on Wednesday denied an appeal from a woman with a high-risk pregnancy to be allowed to undergo an abortion, upholding the country's strict law banning abortion under any circumstances.

The Lois Lerner state  —  It is appropriate that the worst scandal of the Obama administration— the IRS targeting of conservatives — is a scandal of administrators and bureaucrats, of otherwise faceless people endowed with immense power over their fellow citizens and running free of serious oversight from elected officials.

Annals of the Security State: ‘Is Puerto Rico in America?’  —  Here are two more, from people willing to go on the record under their real names.  Previous entries here, here, here. … Now, from David Rivera, who runs a small business in San Diego: … No more “analysis” at the moment.

Lincoln Chafee switches affiliation to Democrat  —  Obama has returned the favor: he declined to endorse a Democrat for governor in 2010, when Chafee was running as an independent in a three-way race.  And when Chafee ran TV ads featuring archival footage of the president praising him, Obama and his aides did not object.

TV Ratings: MSNBC Falls Below HLN in May, Rachel Maddow Hits Lows  —  Fox News Channel maintains a handsome lead in primetime and total day, while primetime runner-up CNN continues a healthy climb from the lows of 2012.  —  “The Rachel Maddow Show”  —  HLN's wall-to-wall coverage …

Officials: Man who knew Boston bombing suspect was unarmed when shot  —  A Chechen man who was fatally shot by an FBI agent last week during an interview about one of the Boston bombing suspects was unarmed, law enforcement officials said Wednesday.  —  An air of mystery has surrounded …

McCain Wasn't Posing With Rebel Kidnapper, Spokesman Says  —  “Regrettable” if true, McCain spokesman says.  —  Via: Handout/Reuter / Reuters  —  WASHINGTON — Senator John McCain's office is pushing back against reports that while visiting Syria this week he posed in a photo with rebels who kidnapped 11 Lebanese Shi'ite pilgrims.

Conservative Icon Calls GOP's Need To Court Hispanics A ‘Great Myth’  —  Phyllis Schlafly of the pro-family group Eagle Forum called the GOP's need to reach out to Hispanic voters a “great myth” during a conservative radio program Wednesday.  —  “The Hispanics who have come …

Arrested Development's Crazy, Existential Message: We're All In This Together  —  Netflix's absurd fourth season of the show has a surprising lot to say about the real world.  —  This is the first (not-spoilery!) post in a series from Atlantic writers on Arrested Development's fourth season.

With campaign in rearview, Ann Romney says there were mistakes  —  (CNN) - No presidential campaign is perfect, Ann Romney admitted Thursday - even her husband's bid for the White House in 2012.  —  Speaking solo for the first time since November's election loss, Romney said on CBS …

Rob Ford video scandal: Mayor Ford said he knew where video was, sources say  —  The mayor cited “our contacts” as the source of his information, according to insiders familiar with an unusual May 17 session in his office. … Toronto Mayor Rob Ford speaks during a press conference at City Hall …