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.

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 …

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.

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 …

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.

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.

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 …

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.

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.

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.

Rumor of the day: Jindal to challenge Vitter for Louisiana senate seat?  —  So says lefty political analyst John Heilemann, sowing the seeds of Republican discord.  It's the Palin/Murkowski scenario all over again! … The idea, I guess, is that Vitter's so tarnished by the prostitution scandal …

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.

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.

Under tyranny of everyday hypocrisy  —  The fatal flaw in former Gov. Rod Blagojevich's alleged schemes of pay-to-play politics could come down to the quid being too close to the quo.  Had the separation been wider, it would have been business as usual among politicians in Springfield or Washington.

Faith Groups Increasingly Losing Legal Battles Over Gay Rights  —  Faith organizations and individuals who view homosexuality as sinful and refuse to provide services to gay people are losing a growing number of legal battles that they say are costing them their religious freedom.