Who Won the Shutdown Showdown?  It Wasn't Even Close  —  While Republicans wanted to cut more spending in Saturday's early morning compromise to keep the government open, they think they got the better of the deal.  —  Here's why: HR1 was originally to seek spending cuts …

Donald Trump Responds  —  To the Editor:  —  Re “Donald Trump Gets Weirder,” by Gail Collins (column, April 2):  —  Even before Gail Collins was with the New York Times, she has written nasty and derogatory articles about me.  Actually, I have great respect for Ms. Collins in that she has survived so long with so little talent.

Why Progressives Keep On Losing and the Right Keeps On Winning  —  Congratulations!  The “grand compromise” will cut nearly thirty nine billion dollars in needed government spending, which proves how “serious” everyone is about reducing the deficit.  The grand compromisers could have cancelled …

Sidney Lumet, Director of American Film Classics, Dies at 86  —  Sidney Lumet, a director who preferred the streets of New York to the back lots of Hollywood and whose stories of conscience — “12 Angry Men,” “Serpico,” “Dog Day Afternoon,” “The Verdict,” “Network” — became modern American film classics …

Next on the Agenda for Washington: Fight Over Debt  —  WASHINGTON — The down-to-the-wire partisan struggle over cuts to this year's federal budget has intensified concern in Washington, on Wall Street and among economists about the more consequential clash coming over increasing the government's borrowing limit.

Kyl Walks Back Planned Parenthood Claim: It ‘Was Not Intended To Be A Factual Statement’  —  As ThinkProgress reported earlier today, Sen. Jon Kyl (R-AZ) defended Republicans' willingness to shut down the government over funding for Planned Parenthood by falsely claiming that abortion is …

Muslims offended by Trinny & Susannah  —  Channel 10 apologizes for ads showing British fashion advisors in immodest clothing against backdrop of al-Aqsa Mosque  —  Eran Baron  —  Channel 10 apologized for the incident on Wednesday evening and promised to change the ads immediately.

Sarah Palin On Trump's Birth Certificate Investigation: ‘More Power To Him!’  —  Sarah Palin was interviewed live today on Fox News' Justice with Judge Jeanine, and was asked to weigh in on the rather sudden addition of Donald Trump's voice to the “Birther movement”, as well as the money …

Obama Makes Campaign Stop of Sorts at Lincoln Memorial  —  President Barack Obama played tourist Saturday afternoon in what looked a lot like a retail campaign stop at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. … Mr. Obama, who officially launched his 2012 re-election campaign …

The Aftermath  —  I have to rescind my assessment last night that John Boehner got nothing out of the late negotiations on the 2011 budget.  Apparently, he won the restoration of a ban on the District of Columbia spending its own money to help poor women obtain abortions.