GOP to rebrand Dems as ‘socialists’  —  A member of the Republican National Committee told me Tuesday that when the RNC meets in an extraordinary special session next week, it will approve a resolution rebranding Democrats as the “Democrat Socialist Party.”  —  When I asked if such a resolution …

President Obama Reverses Course on Releasing More Detainee Abuse Photographs  —  President Obama defended his decision to fight the release of photos showing detainee abuse, saying it would only put American troops in harms way and create a backlash against Americans.

Not one dime to the NRSC  —  If you have Facebook, I encourage you to join the group.  —  You know, I can slightly understand the NRSC getting into the Chaffee race, though it was a stupid waste and mismanagement of funds.  —  I can kind of understand them getting behind Specter.

Reid: Johnsen Doesn't Have Votes for DOJ Post  —  As Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) moves to ease a backlog of executive branch nominations, he suggested on Tuesday that he does not have the votes to bring up President Barack Obama's pick to run the Department of Justice's Office of Legal Counsel.

No Clamor for High Court Appointee to Be Woman, Minority  —  As in 2005, majority of Americans say gender, race, and ethnicity of appointee don't matter  —  PRINCETON, NJ — Despite the widely reported expectation that President Barack Obama will be looking for a qualified woman …

PREDICTION: PRESIDENT OBAMA WILL NOMINATE JUDGE DIANE WOOD OF SEVENTH CIRCUIT  —  With all the talk about whom the President should nominate, there's been less focus on whom the president will nominate.  You can look at the Intrade predictions market here, which reflects Judge Sotomayor in the lead …

Source: Aide told Pelosi about waterboarding  —  CNN Congressional Producer  —  WASHINGTON (CNN) — A source close to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi now confirms that Pelosi was told in February 2003 by her intelligence aide, Michael Sheehy, that waterboarding was actually used on CIA detainee Abu Zubaydah.

Barack Obama, Wanda Sykes and the Politics of Humorlessness  —  There's nothing un-funnier than Saturday night's jokes reviewed by the caffeinated light of Monday morning.  —  Which is why we probably shouldn't quarterback a comedian over coffee when she was performing for a crowd primed on cocktails.

Foreclosures: ‘April was a shocker’  —  A record number of foreclosure filings took place during April, but the number of repossessions fell 11%.  —  NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — Foreclosures in April exceeded even March's blistering pace with a record 342,000 homes receiving notices of default …

Chrysler and the Rule of Law  —  The Founders put the contracts clause in the Constitution for a reason.  —  Printer  —  Friendly  —  The rule of law, not of men — an ideal tracing back to the ancient Greeks and well-known to our Founding Fathers — is the animating principle of the American experiment.

Rogue Diva of Doom  —  When Bush 41 was ramping up to the Gulf War, assembling a coalition to fight Saddam, Jimmy Carter sent a letter to members of the U.N. Security Council urging them not to rush into conflict without further exploring a negotiated solution.

Working the refs.  It works!  —  At least it worked in Philly, where the Inquirer turned to disgraced Torture Memo Man John Yoo to write a monthly column.  Why would the newspaper want someone like Yoo to pontificate in its pages?  According to today's report in the NYTimes …

Officials Knew of AIG Bonuses Months Before Firestorm  —  As American International Group chief executive Edward M. Liddy returns to Washington to face Congress today, new details are emerging about how long federal officials were aware of the company's recent bonus payments to its executives …

Graham: Bush admin saw law as unaffordable ‘nicety’  —  In the midst of a spirited defense of the Bush administration's intentions in developing interrogation techniques, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) dropped a phrase that liberals may seize upon.  —  The Bush administration did not commit any crimes …

Rise of the soda jerks  —  “And he shall smite the earth: with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the Pepsi drinker!”  —  There has to be a statement about soft drinks tucked somewhere in Leviticus.  I have assurances, after all, that such beverages are wicked.

SEC Considers Charging Mozilo  —  Staff at the Securities and Exchange Commission have decided to recommend filing civil fraud charges against Angelo Mozilo, the co-founder of Countrywide Financial Corp., according to people familiar with the investigation.  —  The SEC sent a so-called Wells notice …

U.S. Eyes Bank Pay Overhaul  —  Administration in Early Talks on Ways to Curb Compensation Across Finance  —  WASHINGTON — The Obama administration has begun serious talks about how it can change compensation practices across the financial-services industry, including at companies …

The Fierce Urgency Of Whenever  —  I lived through eight years of the Clintons and then eight years of Bush.  Through it all, gay people were treated at the federal level like embarrassments or impediments.  With Clinton, we were the means to raise money.  With Bush, we were the means to leverage votes by exploiting bigotry.