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's Americorps scandal — and the First Lady's meddling  —  President Obama is hoping you won't notice his abrupt change of inspectors general over at Americorps, the government-run, taxpayer-subsidized “community service” boondoggle (which Republicans helped expand as part …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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.

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 …

Hundreds protest Obama's visit  —  GREEN BAY - Organizers said about 1,000 people lined the east side of Packerland Drive Thursday morning to protest President Obama's stop in Green Bay.  Stretching four blocks long, the protest parked itself along the motorcade route between Austin Straubel Airport and Green Bay Southwest High School.

Obama defends DOMA in federal court.  Says banning gay marriage is good for the federal budget.  Invokes incest and marrying children.  —  Joe and I have been trying since last night to get a copy of the government's brief just filed in this case.  This is not the GLAD case that we've written …

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 …