In Friday's opening segment, Rachel talked about changing regulations to do with gas pump nozzles and vapor recovery.

From the transcript:

But now, because auto manufacturers are taking account of it, they are taking care of that problem inside the car.  They have rebuilt gas tanks so the gas tanks themselves, in the car, actually deal with most of the problem.  Because of that, those big, black, plastic, rubbery hood things that go over the gas pump nozzle ... are going to go away.

Like Ms. Jacobson above, I figured vapor recovery was all about the gas coming out of the pump and didn't see how a change in the tank (Rachel didn't actually say "engine" but I think we're on the same page) would help anything. After digging around a little I have a new idea of what the answer is, but I'm going to need some help from any motorheads out there who know for sure.

The EPA site has a lot of explanation of the regulations (including implementation dates that make clear why the regulation is changing now), but not so much about the mechanics. Presumably that was left up to the individual car makers. 

I got this diagram of an On-board Refueling Vapor Recovery System from a Subaru Impreza discussion forum:

Tonight's guests include:

Elizabeth Warren, Democratic Massachusetts Senate candidate, helped create the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau

Nancy Keenan, NARAL Pro-Choice America president

While watching tonight's video preview, take a listen to tonight's soundtrack. (Just be sure to allow the ad below to play out entirely, before starting the song.)

Executive producer Bill Wolff shares a preview of tonight's show:

Last month, Mississippi Governor Phil Bryant signed a law requiring doctors at abortion clinics to have admitting privileges in a local hospital. Mississippi has one clinic left, where, because of the state's anti-abortion climate, they commute to work from Alabama. It's no secret that Mississippi Republicans, in particular, are delighted by the prospect that they might put the state's one and only clinic out of business.

Mississippi State Representative Bubba Carpenter, speaking to the Alcorn County GOP on Thursday, said as much:

"We have literally stopped abortion in the state of Mississippi. Three blocks from the Capitol sits the only abortion clinic in the state of Mississippi. A bill was drafted. It said, if you would perform an abortion in the state of Mississippi, you must be a certified OB/GYN and you must have admitting privileges to a hospital. Anybody here in the medical field knows how hard it is to get admitting privileges to a hospital...

"It's going to be challenged, of course, in the Supreme Court and all -- but literally, we stopped abortion in the state of Mississippi, legally, without having to--  Roe vs. Wade. So we've done that. I was proud of it. The governor signed it into law. And of course, there you have the other side. They're like, 'Well, the poor pitiful women that can't afford to go out of state are just going to start doing them at home with a coat hanger. That's what we've learned over and over and over.'

"But hey, you have to have moral values. You have to start somewhere, and that’s what we've decided to do. This became law and the governor signed it, and I think for one time, we were first in the nation in the state of Mississippi."

I got a chance to ask Representative Carpenter about the coat hanger part today. "That was what a lot of our critics on the House floor said during the debate," he told me. "That was just some language that some of the African-Americans used." A few white Democrats also spoke out about the old "home remedies," he remembered, but in the end the measure passed with support from several Democrats.

The owner of the state's lone clinic says she'll sue to block the law, which takes effect July 1, if her doctors can't get admitting privileges. Tonight on the show, yet more anti-abortion legislation in the states.

(The video above comes by way our pal James Carter. You can see a slightly longer version on the Alcorn County GOP's channel.)

Today's edition of quick hits:

* Problems persist in Greece: "Political deadlock in Greece on Monday stoked a renewed sense of crisis about the fate of the European economy as new data confirmed a downturn in one of the world's major trading blocks."

* Are sanctions taking a toll on Iran? Yep.

* Gay marriage is not yet legal in Rhode Island, but Gov. Linc Chafee (I) issued an executive order today, recognizing same-sex marriages from other states.

* Jeffrey Toobin has a fascinating piece on Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts orchestrating the Citizens United decision.

* It sure does seem as if Norm Ornstein and Tom Mann would make fine Sunday show guests.

* Given Edward Klein's background, it's going to be difficult to take his new attack book against President Obama seriously.

* Though Republicans no longer seem sure what to say about marriage equality, Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) told an Iowa audience about the president over the weekend, "Call me cynical, but I wasn't sure his views on marriage could get any gayer."

* And speaking of Obama, the president delivered quite a commencement address at New York's Barnard College earlier today. It's about a half-hour long, but it's worth watching.

Anything to add? Consider this an open thread.

Associated Press

Following up on a report from February, Rep. Vern Buchanan (R-Fla.) has been in quite a bit of hot water over alleged misdeeds, and last week, the House Ethics Committee offered the conservative Floridian a little good news and a little bad news.

The good news for Buchanan is, the ethics panel has decided to narrow the focus of its investigation. The bad news is, the committee found "substantial reason to believe" Buchanan violated the rules, and the investigation into his alleged reimbursements for campaign donations will continue.

The committee released a 184-page report by the Office of Congressional Ethics that cites ­e-mails, voice mails and documents alleging that Buchanan offered a former business partner $2.9 million if he signed a false affidavit claiming he knew nothing about plans to reimburse employees of Buchanan's car dealership. The committee did not say why it does not plan to launch a full-scale investigation.

"There is substantial reason to believe that Representative Buchanan attempted to influence the testimony of a witness," the report said. It stated that the business partner, Sam Kazran, refused to sign the affidavit because he knew that Buchanan had reimbursed employees.

The revelations could further complicate the political fortunes of Buchanan.

Well, yes, it could. House Republicans tapped Buchanan to lead the party's national fundraising efforts for 2012, and the ethics committee appears to believe the Florida lawmaker engaged in some pretty serious wrongdoing related to his own fundraising.

Buchanan has already been investigated by the Federal Election Commission, and the FBI and the IRS have also taken an interest in the Republican's alleged crimes. A Florida grand jury has also heard evidence about accusations surrounding Buchanan.

Specifically, the wealthy congressman, who owns a number of car dealerships throughout Florida, has been accused of using his business to reimburse employees who donated to his campaigns -- a practice that, if true, would be a federal offense.

In the wake of the JPMorgan fiasco, and with growing discussion about how best to regulate Wall Street, the secretive, far-right American Future Fund is reportedly investing $3.4 million in this attack ad, which will air in seven 2012 battlegrounds. I'm not sure if AFF has thought this one through.

The gist of the minute-long ad is that while President Obama says he's helped crack down on financial-industry excesses, American Future Fund would have voters believe he's actually a close Wall Street ally. We learn, for example, about the $42 million Obama received from "Wall Street bankers and financial insiders" in 2008, and the vote he cast before becoming president in support of the Bush bailout of the financial industry.

There's nothing especially inaccurate about the ad -- which is more than I can say for most secretive, far-right groups airing anti-Obama attacks -- but the whole point of the criticism strikes me as bizarre.

For years, conservatives have said Obama is an anti-business socialist, imposing harsh regulations on Wall Street and using antagonistic rhetoric towards those in the financial industry. But the new message is that Obama is quietly a close buddy of the Wall Street elite?

The American Future Fund is spending $3.4 million on an attack ad that, in effect, says conservatives have had it backwards for nearly four years: the president isn't too mean to Wall Street; he's too cozy with Wall Street.

I've heard Obama's liberal detractors make this case in compelling ways, but there are two main problems with it coming from the right.

Senate Democrats know the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) faces long odds, but they're moving forward on the pending legislation anyway. Aside from a modicum of moderate Republican support, the bill appears to have no realistic shot of success anytime soon.

Or does it? NBC's David Gregory asked Republican National Committee Chair Reince Priebus if he believes "gays and lesbians in America deserve equal rights." His response was unexpected (via Tim Murphy).

For those who can't watch clips online, Priebus specifically said, "I think they deserve equal rights in regard to, say, discrimination in the workplace."

Rachel made the case last week that the RNC chair may not be especially good at his job, and this clearly reinforces the thesis. Republicans overwhelmingly oppose giving gays and lesbians equal rights with regards to discrimination in the workplace, and yet Reince Priebus, hoping to find evidence of his party's elusive tolerance, said the opposite.

I suspect the RNC will walk this back quickly, if it hasn't already, but I also imagine congressional Democrats will use this going forward. After all, how often does the RNC chair inadvertently endorse the progressive line on a gay rights issue on national television?

How about we do elections coverage like this from now on?***

***Manchester City wins English Premier League title with two goals in stoppage time.

Among all the big names sharing their sagacity with America's freshly minted  college grads this week (President Obama, Mitt Romney, Michelle Obama, Colin Powell et al.)  was award-harvesting film/TV writer Aaron Sorkin, who spoke at his alma mater, Syracuse, yesterday.

For anyone weary of the usual commencement if-you-can-dream-it-you-can-do-it uplift, Mr. Sorkin's remarks will come as a welcome antidote:

"Make no mistake about it, you are dumb. You're a group of incredibly well-educated dumb people. I was there. We were all there, you're barely functional.

"There are some screw-ups headed your way. I wish I could tell you there was a way avoid the screw-ups, but the screw-ups, they're a-comin' for ya.  It’s a combination of life being unpredictable and you being super dumb."

Associated Press

Mitt Romney has assembled quite a few advisors on foreign policy, many of whom worked for the Bush/Cheney team, and given the former governor's inexperience and limited understanding of international affairs -- Swiss bank accounts don't count as proficiency in this area -- those who have his ear are getting a closer look.

With that in mind, the New York Times reports today that many members of Team Romney disagree with one another -- and at times, even the candidate -- about foreign policy, and occasionally, Romney's own advisors have no idea what he's trying to say.

On Afghanistan, for example, Romney's advisors support negotiations with the Taliban, as do most U.S. military leaders. The candidate, however, instead boasted at a GOP debate, "We should not negotiate with the Taliban. We should defeat the Taliban." A Romney advisor conceded, "none of us could quite figure out what he was advocating."

Similar problems have come up when Romney has talked about Iran, China, Russia, and nuclear proliferation -- he contradicts himself and his advisors, who in turn contradict one another.

So, how would Romney operate in his capacity as leader of the free world? Apparently, he'll figure that out a year from now.

"There are two very different worldviews in this campaign," said one adviser who aligns more often with [John] Bolton. "But as in any campaign, there are outer circles, inner circles and inner-inner circles, and I'm not sure that anyone knows if the candidate has a strong view of his own on this." Another adviser, saying he would be "cashiered" if the campaign caught him talking to a reporter without approval, said the real answer was that "Romney doesn't want to really engage these issues until he is in office."

How reassuring. Neither Romney nor his team has a coherent vision on foreign policy, despite a multitude challenges around the globe, but once the former governor is the president, then he'll "engage these issues."

In this case, Romney isn't being secretive so much as he's being lazy -- he hasn't bothered to give international affairs a lot of thought so far, and he doesn't feel the need to do so now.

About a month ago, Romney said President Obama's campaign strategy is to "re-elect him so we can find out what he will actually do.... Unlike President Obama, you don't have to wait until after the election to find out what I believe in -- or what my plans are." Looking back, it was one of the more ironic things the Republican has ever said.

Today's installment of campaign-related news items that won't necessarily generate a post of their own, but may be of interest to political observers:

* Following President Obama's endorsement last week of marriage equality, new polling shows most Americans support at least some legal recognition of same-sex unions.

* Rick Santorum, meanwhile, wants Mitt Romney to go on the attack on marriage rights, calling Obama's comments "a very potent weapon" Republicans can use against him.

* The Detroit News published a new poll showing Obama leading Romney in Michigan, where the Republican was born, 45.1% to 39.5%.

* It's election day in Nebraska tomorrow, and in the race for the Republican U.S. Senate nomination, there's an increasingly-fierce fight between state Treasurer Don Stenberg, state Attorney General Jon Bruning, and state Sen. Deb Fischer.

* In Wisconsin, former Gov. Tommy Thompson (R) enjoys the support of the party establishment in this year's Senate race, but the GOP's rank and file appears to have other ideas.

* In the state of Washington, the gubernatorial race is getting more interesting, with KING-TV releasing a new poll showing state Attorney General Rob McKenna's (R) lead shrinking against Rep. Jay Inslee (D).

* And in the religious right, Romney's speech at Liberty University was well received by many evangelicals, and it led to this awkwardly-worded endorsement from radical TV preacher Pat Robertson this morning.

Getty Images

While teen births continue to decline in the United States, the regional differences are hard to miss. According to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, nearly all of the states with the highest rates for teen pregnancies are in the Deep South (a.k.a., the "Bible Belt"), where abstinence-only policies are the norm.

So, while Vermont, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire lead the nation with the lowest rates, states like Mississippi and Arkansas lead the nation in the other direction.

Tennessee, meanwhile, is roughly tied with Alabama in the top 10 (or bottom 10, depending on how you look at it), and policymakers in the Volunteer State are eager to address the problem. Might that include scrapping ineffective abstinence-only policies that clearly only lead to more teen births? Well, no. The new solutions involve banning "gateway sexual activities."

Tennessee teachers can no longer condone so-called "gateway sexual activity" such as touching genitals under a new law that critics say is too vague and could hamper discussion about safe sexual behavior.

Gov. Bill Haslam's office Friday confirmed to Reuters that Haslam had signed the bill.... Under the law, Tennessee teachers could be disciplined and speakers from outside groups like Planned Parenthood could face fines of up to $500 for promoting or condoning "gateway sexual activities."

Parents could sue outside sexual education instructors, according to the Tennessean newspaper, while school district employees would be exempt from prosecution.

What constitutes a "gateway sexual activity"? That's not nearly as clear as it should be -- the proposal defines "gateway sexual activity" as "sexual conduct encouraging an individual to engage in a non-abstinent behavior."

Similarly, the new state law doesn't explain what "condone" means, either. Educators are left with no idea how or whether they discuss certain aspects of sexual health in a classroom setting without being accused of condoning and/or encouraging that behavior.

Though interpretations of the law vary, some have suggested hand-holding might even be problematic, which would presumably make The Beatles guilty of condoning gateway sexual activity in 1964.

It's probably too off the wall to even consider in Nashville, but wouldn't a reevaluation of failed abstinence policies be easier and more effective than combating alleged and ill-defined "gateway" behaviors?

Last week, Mitt Romney chatted with Fox's Neil Cavuto and argued that in politics, "[Y]ou don't change your position to try to win states or certain subgroups of Americans. You have the positions you have."

For the Republican presidential hopeful, it was a rather meta moment. Romney has traditionally defended flip-flopping, but as of last Thursday, he's apparently flip-flopped on flip-flopping.

The depths of the irony are amazing. Consider, for example, how this relates to Romney's take on gay adoptions.

In the same Fox interview, the Republican candidate said, "I know many gay couples that are able to adopt children. That's fine.... [I]f two people of the same gender want to live together, want to have a loving relationship, or even to adopt a child -- in my state individuals of the same sex were able to adopt children. In my view, that's something that people have a right to do."

This won some plaudits, and reinforced perceptions that Romney might be Etch A Sketching towards the center, but on Friday, Mr. You Have The Positions You Have decided to walk that back.

The interviewer noted that Romney "endorsed" gay adoption, but the former governor said that's not quite right -- he "simply acknowledged the fact that gay adoption is legal in all states but one."

So, when Romney said gay adoption is "fine" and something "people have a right to do," this wasn't an endorsement or even an expression of his own views. He was merely giving a brief recitation of existing law in most states.

Oh my.