The Hollywood Liberal

Foreign students get ominous warnings
Security official: ?I have determined that you pose a security threat.?

Richest member of Congress a Dem
Harman worth $409m; Sen. Clinton had fastest financial climb in years.

ThinkFast: May 13, 2008
A House Judiciary Committee deadline passed yesterday “with former White House adviser Karl Rove standing by his refusal to testify about allegations that he pushed the Justice Department to prosecute former Alabama Gov. Don Siegelman.” Rove instead sent a letter offering to respond to questions in writing, rather than testify publicly under oath. With the housing […]

A House Judiciary Committee deadline passed yesterday “with former White House adviser Karl Rove standing by his refusal to testify about allegations that he pushed the Justice Department to prosecute former Alabama Gov. Don Siegelman.” Rove instead sent a letter offering to respond to questions in writing, rather than testify publicly under oath.

With the housing crisis and volatile markets slowing the economy, the Treasury Department reported yesterday that “corporate income-tax revenue over the first seven months of the fiscal year” was 14.7 percent “lower than during the same period a year earlier” while “the federal deficit ballooned to $152 billion, 88 [percent] higher than the same period last fiscal year.”

$0.109: the cost that the average gallon of gasoline increased in one week, up to $3.722, setting a fourth consecutive record.

The House and Senate are expected to defy the White House today and pass legislation that would require the administration to halt oil shipments to the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. “The strong bipartisan support represents a major shift for Republicans, who until now have generally followed the lead of President Bush.”

In order to “counter the Democratic push for change,” House Republicans have adopted a new message: “The Change You Deserve.” But “the change you deserve” is also the advertising slogan of Effexor XR, a drug used to treat depression, generalized anxiety disorder, social anxiety disorder, and panic disorder in adults. (more…)

Clinton Handily Defeats Obama in West Virginia
Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton routed Sen. Barack Obama in the West Virginia primary yesterday, scoring one of her most lopsided victories of the long campaign even as she continued to battle overwhelming odds in her bid for the Democratic presidential nomination.

Democrats Agree on Budget Plan That Avoids the Biggest Decisions
Congressional Democratic leaders have reached agreement on a $3 trillion budget blueprint that would authorize a small increase for domestic priorities and spare millions of households from an unpopular tax. But it postpones most major budget decisions until after this fall’s presidential election.

Primary Battle Has Helped, Hurt Clinton
E. J. Dionne, Washington Post