The Big Hate  —  Back in April, there was a huge fuss over an internal report by the Department of Homeland Security warning that current conditions resemble those in the early 1990s — a time marked by an upsurge of right-wing extremism that culminated in the Oklahoma City bombing.

Oh my: NOW inducts Letterman into its “Media Hall of Shame”  —  Credit where credit's due. … People on Twitter are grumbling about that last paragraph but (a) given how peeved the sisterhood will be that they're defending Palin, surely you won't begrudge NOW some sort of ass-covering knock …

Obama cronyism: Going after AmeriCorps IG on behalf of contributor; Update: A Michelle Obama connection?  —  David Freddoso tried to explain that the only change Barack Obama would bring to the Beltway would be an introduction of the Chicago Machine politics that made him successful to the Beltway.

Obama Gives Up on Resettling Cleared Guantanamo Detainees in U.S., Officials Say  —  Administration Gives Up on Bringing Cleared Inmates to U.S., Officials Say  —  The Obama administration has all but abandoned plans to allow Guantanamo Bay detainees who have been cleared for release to live …

Has Kent Conrad Solved the Public Plan Problem?  An Interview.  —  (Earlier today, Sen. Kent Conrad, the North Dakota Democrat who chairs the Senate Budget Committee, introduced a “potential compromise” on the public plan: A system of federally-chartered co-ops that could offer …

Lebanon's Triumph, Iran's Travesty  —  WITH elections in Lebanon and Iran occurring in the same week, it's inevitable that they are viewed as twin tests of efforts to spread democracy to the Muslim world.  Should we celebrate the outcome in Lebanon and push for elections throughout the Middle East …

Barack Obama Surveys the World  —  “And the Spirit of God hovered upon the face of the waters”  —  When President Obama returned from his first European trip, I observed that while over there he had been “acting the philosopher-king who hovers above the fray mediating” between America and the world.

A Daring Trade Has Wall Street Seething  —  Texas Brokerage Firm Outwits the Big Banks in a Mortgage-Related Deal, and Now It's War  —  A canny trade by a small brokerage firm in two markets at the heart of the financial crisis has left some of the biggest players on Wall Street crying foul.

Senators who opposed tobacco bill received top dollar from industry  —  WASHINGTON — Among the 17 senators who voted against allowing the Food and Drug Administration to regulate tobacco are some of the top recipients of campaign contributions from the tobacco industry …

Blaming the Guy Who Came Before Doesn't Work Long  —  WASHINGTON — As President Obama struggles to turn around the moribund economy and confront multiple international issues, he wastes few opportunities to remind the country that the problems are not of his making.

Tax Man's Target: The Mobile Phone  —  The use of company-issued mobile phones could trigger new federal income taxes on millions of Americans as a “fringe benefit.”  —  The Internal Revenue Service proposed employers assign 25% of an employee's annual phone expenses as a taxable benefit.

The Ice Age Cometh  —  Despairing Republican friends have been asking me what I think we should do to rebuild the GOP and begin our certain and inevitable comeback.  My answer disappoints them: “Build an ark.”  —  I say this because I've made a career out of counting votes …

Delay the Minimum-Wage Hike  —  A recession is the worst time to raise the cost of low-skilled employment.  —  Printer  —  Friendly  —  Despite severe economic difficulties confronting businesses, and soaring unemployment among youths and minorities, the federal minimum wage is slated to increase to $7.25 in July from $6.55 today.

About That DHS Report  —  Balko doesn't approve of the partisan spin on the Holocaust Museum shooting:  —  Trying to string together three homicidal incidents out of hundreds from the last few months as evidence of some rising, violent, anti-government movement is just as absurd …

Dems brace for CBO score  —  Senate Democrats are bracing for what they expect will be a huge price tag connected with revamping the nation's healthcare system.  —  The soon-to-be-delivered estimate on Democratic healthcare reform proposals is expected to be so expensive that lawmakers …

If There's a Knock on Sotomayor, It's Not Inexperience  —  The battle over Judge Sonia Sotomayor's confirmation to the Supreme Court has moved into high gear, with the Senate Judiciary Committee setting hearings for July 13.  Some on the Hill are predicting an all-out Republican fight on this one.