At Glenn Beck Tea Party: ‘Burn the Books!’  —  At a “Project 912 Glenn Beck Tea Party,” an unnamed speaker rants about “infiltration by the Communist Party” (a John Birch Society talking point), says that digital cable boxes are “brainwashing machines” planted in our homes by the government, and swears to stop paying taxes.

The Tea Tantrum Movement  —  I spent the better part of an hour earlier today scanning the various sites and blogs to try and understand what specifically the Fox-Pajamas tea parties are about.  Having absorbed about as much of the literature as I can, I have to say I'm still befuddled.

Karl Rove accosted by ex-GOP chief of staff  —  Former Bush adviser Karl Rove was verbally accosted Thursday evening by an ex-chief of staff to former Rep. Tom Feeney (R-Fla.).  —  Rove was quietly having dinner at the tony restaurant Charlie Palmer Steak on Capitol Hill when he was aggressively approached …

EXCLUSIVE PIC: Clinton and Obama, in the Sandbox Again  —  Another busy day at the White House: First Lady Michelle Obama hosted students from Bancroft High School in Washington, who helped her plant and water the brand-new White House garden.  She and Agriculture secretary Tom Vilsack spoke …

Hostage killed as French storm yacht held by pirates  —  • Four freed as two Somali pirates are killed in ocean raid  —  • Operation highlights plight of US captain Richard Phillips  —  A French military operation to free a yacht hijacked by Somali pirates backfired today …

It's Your Country Too, Mr. President  —  In his major foreign policy address in Prague committing the United States to a world without nuclear weapons, President Obama took note of North Korea's missile launch just hours earlier and then grandiloquently proclaimed:  —  “Rules must be binding.

Obama may get ASU honor after all  —  Michael M. Crow, president of Arizona State University, tells POLITICO that the school is reconsidering its widely mocked plans not to give President Barack Obama an honorary degree when he speaks at commencement on May 13 and will “honor him in every way possible.”

More Quickly Than It Began, The Banking Crisis Is Over  —  Investors find it disconcerting to see the stocks in the huge financial institutions that are at the foundation of the global capital system trading up and down 25% a day, and, in some cases trading in the pennies.

The Full McCarthy  —  Rep. Spencer Bachus (R-AL) decides to imitate one of modern conservatism's greatest heroes: … To take this more seriously than it deserves, the number of members of the House who would be inclined to support the sort of agenda advocated by what would, in Europe …

Barack Obama: President Pantywaist - new surrender monkey on the block  —  President Barack Obama has recently completed the most successful foreign policy tour since Napoleon's retreat from Moscow.  You name it, he blew it.  What was his big deal economic programme that he was determined to drive through the G20 summit?

Anti-Gay Rights Group Calls its Marriage Campaign ‘2M4M’  —  Now that activist legislators are legislating from their legislatures to legalize gay marriage, activists are turning up the volume on anti-gay marriage rhetoric.  —  There's just one, ahem, kink.

Gov't. commits a crime against you — the taxpayers  —  I'd like to report a crime.  —  A young man was robbed on Tuesday night inside a hospital while federal security guards watched.  The victim was surrounded by seven men and women, and most of them had guns.

Steele Laughs Off The Recession: ‘The Malls Are Just As Packed On Saturday’ As They Were Before  —  This morning, GOP chairman Michael Steele guest-hosted Bill Bennett's talk radio show.  During the program, one caller said he could “debate” whether or not the U.S. is currently in the midst of an economic crisis.

The Heroes of Financial Fraud  —  The scale of Bernie Madoff's crimes has largely eclipsed the more interesting scam that broke around the same time: the antics of Mark Dreier, who bilked institutional investors for millions with faked securities.  What we know about Madoff suggests …

The Housing Crisis Isn't A Crisis  —  Stand back, says Todd Zywicki, and let the markets clear.  —  Law professor Todd Zywicki of George Mason University is composing a book, Bankruptcy Law and Policy in the Twenty-First Century, in which Zywicki picks a couple of fascinating fights.

Introducing The Cook Political Report Partisan Voting Index (PVI) for the 111th Congress  —  Cook Partisan Voter Index by State and District  —  Cook Partisan Voter Index by Partisan Rank  —  The Cook Political Report Partisan Voter Index (PVI) Explained

Murphy Ahead By 49 Votes (Right Now) 46 Votes  —  The latest score in NY-20 shows that Democrat Scott Murphy is currently ahead in this nail-biter of a result — but if GOPer Jim Tedisco doesn't like it, he could just wait 15 minutes.  —  The official state results show that Murphy has taken …

GOP govs get dose of stimulus reality  —  The list of governors threatening to decline federal stimulus money last month read like a list of Republicans considering running for president in 2012: Governors Mark Sanford, Bobby Jindal and Sarah Palin led the anti-stimulus charge.

PETA asks Pet Shop Boys to change name  —  LONDON, England (CNN) — Just because they named their new CD “Yes,” does not mean that British electro-pop duo, the Pet Shop Boys, will agree to just about anything.  —  The band has turned down a request from an animal rights group to rename itself the Rescue Shelter Boys.

The Ethics of Homo Economicus  —  Paul Krugman makes a joke: … This is reminiscent of a little dispute I was having on a secret off-the-record email list dedicated to plotting Ezra Klein's march to world domination.  I was saying that whatever one thought should be done …