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.

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 …

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 …

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 …

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.

Right-Wing Neocons Rooting For Ahmadinejad Win  —  American neoconservatives have often used the presidency of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to bolster their case for aggressive action against Iran.  So the assumption might be that they would be rooting for Iranians to take care of the problem themselves …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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.

Abuse Photos Part of Agreement on Military Spending  —  WASHINGTON — Congressional negotiators reached tentative agreement on Thursday on a $105.9 billion spending measure that would provide money for military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan through September but would drop a ban …

Democrats Target A Dozen GOP Senators In Quest For Health Reform Deal  —  Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus and other Democratic leaders are targeting more than a dozen moderate and conservative Republicans as they pursue a bipartisan deal to extend health care coverage to nearly 46 million uninsured Americans.

Netanyahu yields on Palestinian sovereignty  —  Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in a major shift, will accept the notion of a Palestinian state — a policy pushed by the Obama administration but resisted until now by Mr. Netanyahu, Israeli officials and Americans briefed on the Israeli leader's thinking said.

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.

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 …

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.

Happy Birthday, Dad  —  Blogs and Stories  —  On George H.W. Bush's 85th birthday—which he'll celebrate by skydiving—former President George W. Bush shares a personal written tribute from son to father, 43 to 41.  —  Exactly 10 years ago, coinciding with former president George H.W. Bush's 75th birthday …