Brewer vetoes birther, campus gun bills  —  Also vetoes health care compact law  —  Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer vetoed a bill Monday that would have required presidential candidates to provide their birth certificates to appear on the ballot, and another that would have allowed guns to be carried on school grounds.

Boehner Hires $5 Million Lawyer To Defend Unconstitutional Law  —  Earlier today, Speaker John Boehner's (R) office announced that American taxpayers would pay former Bush Solicitor General Paul Clement to defend the discriminatory Defense of Marriage Act.  Clement, a former law clerk …

Today's (Needless) Hysteria: the S&P Panic  —  I agree with Clive Crook's puzzlement about the S&P downgrade “bombshell” today: … And I like James K. Galbraith's derisive guffaw, as reported by Dave Lindorff: … I know that markets run on fear, greed, instinct, and panic as much as on logic.

Krauthammer doubles down on the 'Trump is the GOP's Al Sharpton' claim  —  It turns out that George Will isn't the only conservative who isn't impressed with the Donald's effort to pump himself up for the White House.  —  On last weekend's broadcast of the syndicated weekend public affairs program …

2011 Pulitzer Prize Winners Announced  —  The New York Times won Pulitzer Prizes on Monday for its economics commentary and for its reporting on Russia in 2010, while The Los Angeles Times received the coveted public service Pulitzer.  —  The prizes, which are administered by Columbia University …

Roger Ailes Caught Spying on the Reporters at His Small-Town Newspaper  —  The small-town newspapers in New York's Hudson Valley that Fox News chief Roger Ailes owns with his wife Elizabeth are in a staff revolt after employees caught Ailes spying on them with News Corp. security goons.  More »

President Obama and Vice President Biden's Tax Returns and Tax Receipts  —  Today, the President released his 2010 federal income and gift tax returns.  He and the First Lady filed their income tax return jointly and reported an adjusted gross income of $1,728,096.

Will House Democrats Hold Firm On The Debt Ceiling?  —  In a savvy piece of analysis, Brian Beutler notes that the posture of the usually irrelevant House minority could actually make a big difference in the debt ceiling fight: … That said, it seems to me that it'll be difficult for Pelosi …

Justices Decline to Hear Appeal From Chinese Detainees  —  WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court said Monday that it would not hear an appeal from five Chinese Muslims detained at Guantánamo Bay who seek to be released into the United States.  There were no noted dissents …

Why Did The Union Fight?  —  I've always thought there was something about the Lincoln administration's determination to fight and win the Civil War that was a bit odd.  Secession gave the regionally based Republican Party large congressional majorities that wouldn't exist if southern states had representation in congress.

Why did the anti-Palin protesters think it was right and good to shout her down?  —  The more I think about it, the less sense it makes to me.  On Saturday, there was a planned Tea Party rally to take place at the King Street side of the Wisconsin Capitol.  It was the usual “tax day” event …

S&P  —  OK, so Standard and Poors has warned that it might downgrade the US one of these days.  At first read, what it says doesn't seem too silly: it lays stress, rightly, on political gridlock.  The point should be that the US is perfectly capable both of running large deficits now and getting …

Andres Serrano's Piss Christ destroyed by Christian protesters  —  • Intruders vandalise photo day after Christian protest  —  • Exhibitor blames Sarkozy speech for inflaming issue  —  When New York artist Andres Serrano plunged a plastic crucifix into a glass of his own urine …

Obama, the Interpreter of the Message of Passover  —  Follow Israel news on and .  —  Passover recalls the bondage and suffering of Jews in Egypt and the miracle of the Exodus, but U.S. President Barack Obama says its message is reflected in Muslim uprisings.

Ten Thousand Commandments 2011  —  President Barack Obama's new federal budget proposal for fiscal year (FY) 2012 seeks $3.729 trillion in discretionary, entitlement, and interest spending.  In the previous fiscal year, the president had proposed outlays of $3.83 trillion.

Enron Writ Large  —  Standard & Poor's decision to downgrade the long-term outlook for U.S. sovereign debt came as a shock.  It shouldn't have.  Credit-rating agencies (CRAs) such as S&P are a government-chartered cartel, with constraints on competition and a customer base guaranteed by statute.