“A Southwest Airlines employee called police after finding human heads in a package set to be transported to a Fort Worth medical research company, the airline said. ‘It wasn’t labeled or packaged properly,’ said Ashley Rogers, a Southwest spokeswoman.” [NBC DFW]

Time was when Republicans would criticize the President for kowtowing to foreign heads of state. Now we’re learning that the problem wasn’t the action, but the recipient:

Rep. Joe Barton , R-Arlington, apologized to BP CEO Tony Hayward on Thursday morning for the “political pressure” his company is facing.

Barton condemned the White House’s handling of a meeting Wednesday with BP officials, in which President Barack Obama pushed the company to create a $20 billion escrow account for damage claims from the Gulf of Mexico oil spill. The congressman called the account a “slush fund.”…

“I am ashamed of what happened at the White House yesterday,” said Barton, the top Republican on the [House Energy and Commerce] committee. “It is a tragedy in the first proportion that a private corporation can be subjected to what I would characterize as a shakedown — in this case a $20 billion shakedown.”

Other genuflectors lining up at BP’s confessional include Michele Bachmann, Haley Barbour, the wingnut “Republican Study Committee”, Rush Limbaugh, and Sean Hannity. We’re not sure how the spin works on this one, but we imagine it requires a lot of grease.

U.S. Rep. Joe Barton apologizes to BP CEO for ‘$20 billion shakedown’ [Dallas Morning News]

Say What? GOPers Slam White House Over BP Gulf Spill Fund [TPM]

You may have heard that Sarah Palin wants to travel to The Land That Goalies Failed to meet Maggie Thatcher. You may also have heard that there’s little light in the Baroness’s attic these days, which won’t stop Talibunny from getting a photo op, and may force us to reopen the Human Prop category in the 2010 Stinque Awards.

You probably haven’t seen the photos that accompanied the Daily Mail’s story on the subject, however. We reproduce them above, mainly because it took us ten minutes to come up with our headline, and the sole purpose of this post is to justify it.

“People seeking unemployment benefits or welfare would have to first pass a drug test under a proposal Sen. Orrin Hatch will try to add to legislation extending the social safety net during this time of economic turmoil.” [Salt Lake Tribune]

[ Comedy Central Flash video not available. ]

We’ve been promising for ages to work up a Bagram Post, always putting it off because (1) it’s complicated, (2) it depresses the hell out of us, (3) we don’t have a clever angle on it, and (4) we’d just end up copying and pasting giant clumps of Greenwald.

So we’d like to thank Jon Stewart’s industrious researchers for picking up our slack. Also, for reminding us about the candidate we voted for, rather than the president he became.

In Hong Kong, cars drive on the left. Elsewhere in China, cars drive on the right. Problem solved!

This also serves a geek illustration for interfacing two systems. And a very expensive DNA model.

Also, U.S. energy policy. But we’re too tired to work that one out.

The flipper bridge [Kottke]

How cool would it be if five minutes in, the camera pulls back, the staff pours in from the Secret Door, and we’re treated to a production number?

Short of that, how bad are we for planting “You’re the One That I Want” in your head for a dream revival at 2 a.m.?

Well, if we haven’t already ruined your evening, stick around for our Obama speech Open Thread/Brylcreem Sale. A little dab will do ya on those hot Summer Nights.