Most transparent White House ever...  Police chased reporters away from the White House and closed Lafayette Park today in response to a gay rights protest in which several service members in full uniform handcuffed themselves to the White House gate to protest “Don't Ask, Don't Tell.”

Is Goldman Obama's Enron?  No, it's worse (Updated)  —  Campaign contributions from Goldman Sachs employees to President Obama are nearly seven times as much as President Bush received from Enron workers, according to numbers on OpenSecrets.org.  —  President Bush's connections to Enron …

Head Lock  —  The inside story of how Goldman and the banks are getting clobbered on financial reform.  —  Some two dozen executives from large corporations will be descending on Capitol Hill today to make the case against over-regulating derivatives.  The “fly-in” is being organized in part …

Next Up?  Obama Calls Sen. Scott Brown About Immigration  —  President Barack Obama called Massachusetts' new Republican senator, Scott Brown, from Air Force One today to deliver some news: Democrats are moving forward with an immigration overhaul in a month.

Ronald Reagan and James Dean: Rare Video From 1954  —  Today, it's an astonishing, even eerie, scene: the icon of modern American conservatism, whose rise to political prominence was galvanized by the cultural rebellion of the 1960s, fighting off an attack-at-gunpoint by the quintessential modern American rebel.

McCaskill presses GOP to reveal holds  —  Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) is trying to flush out Senate Republicans who have placed secret holds on nearly 80 of President Barack Obama's nominees.  —  McCaskill asked for unanimous consent to vote on the 18 nominees.

McCain: I won't support Crist if he runs as an Independent candidate  —  Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) said Tuesday he will not support Florida Gov. Charlie Crist (R) in his Senate race if he runs as an Independent.  —  Crist, who helped McCain win Florida in the 2008 presidential GOP primary …

Arizona legislature demands immigrants and President of the United States verify their status.  —  Just a few days after Arizona lawmakers passed an immigration law that will essentially require anyone who is or looks like an immigrant to carry their proof of residency at all times …

FDA plans to limit amount of salt allowed in processed foods for health reasons  —  The Food and Drug Administration is planning an unprecedented effort to gradually reduce the salt consumed each day by Americans, saying that less sodium in everything from soup to nuts would prevent thousands …

Hitler Is Very Upset That Constantin Film Is Taking Down Hitler Parodies  —  For my money, memes on the Internet don't get any better than the Hitler one.  You know, the one in which you take some current event (the more mundane, the better) and shove it into the scene from the German film Downfall …

Supreme Court voids law aimed at banning animal cruelty videos  —  The Supreme Court struck down a federal law Tuesday aimed at banning videos depicting graphic violence against animals, saying that it violates the constitutional right to free speech.  —  Chief Justice John J. Roberts Jr. …

Halperin Takes A Stand  —  It isn't every day that a consumate inside-game reporter/pundit type like Mark Halperin aggressively calls out one party for lying, but that's exactly what Halperin did early this morning on MSNBC, talking about the GOP claim that the Dem financial reg reform bill will lead to a permanent bailout.

McCain's Integrity  —  There is a new round of “where have you gone, John McCain?” liberal commentary starting up.  I used to find this amusing, but it is all based on a profound misunderstanding of McCain the politician.  Recently, McCain has been making a fool of himself by repudiating …

Obama Approval Slips Further in Fifth Quarter to 48.8%  —  Ranks among lowest fifth-quarter averages for elected presidents  —  PRINCETON, NJ — President Barack Obama averaged 48.8% job approval for his fifth quarter in office, spanning Jan. 20-April 19 Gallup Daily tracking.

Bernard Goldberg Admits Jon Stewart is Right About His Generalizations and Then Attacks Him  —  I said last week that Bernard Goldberg wasn't going to be happy after Jon Stewart ended his segment Fox News Pundits Don't Agree With Demonizing an Entire Group Unless it's the Liberals by telling Bernard Goldberg to go f**k himself.

California senator complains of harassment from Palin fans  —  California State Senator Leland Yee, who has been battling a state university over disclosing Sarah Palin's speaking contract, complains in a press release today that he's been getting nasty emails and faxes.

Bill Black Testimony on Lehman Bankruptcy - Transcript and Video  —  FDL Contributor Bill Black scorched everyone with his testimony on the failure of Lehman Brothers before the House Financial Services Committee today.  His prepared remarks can be found here (PDF).

Burns leads Critz 44-41  —  Buoyed by an electorate that is exceptionally sour on national Democrats, Republican Tim Burns has a 44-41 lead over Democrat Mark Critz in the special election to replace John Murtha in the House.  —  It's a rare election these days where both candidates are viewed pretty favorably in the district.

Obama to Save Boxer Like He Saved Corzine!  —  Do Obama and Boxer realize they are on the wrong side of a tsunami of voter discontent with a government run by and for the public employee unions?  —  President Obama is “swooping” into Los Angeles today to try to save Senator Barbara Boxer …

Rubio: 'I Don't Think Any Of Us Are Going To Blame Israel' If They Decide To Attack Iran  —  Yesterday, a conservative Florida blogger interviewed Republican GOP Senate candidate Marco Rubio about “the struggle against Radical Islam and Global Terrorism.”  When asked if he would support …

Poll: Sen. Bob Bennett (R-Utah) in deep trouble with GOP voters  —  So, why is Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff so confident that Sen. Bob Bennett (R-Utah) is on track to lose at the state GOP convention on May 8?  I got an early look at a survey of state GOP delegates conducted by a Utah firm.

Waco  —  Bill Clinton's invocation of Timothy McVeigh in connection with the Tea Party movement caused me to recall my review of a book on the Waco massacre that was a motivation for McVeigh.  The book under review was Reavis, The Ashes of Waco, and it appeared in the Times Literary Supplement in 1995.