Broccoli and Bad Faith  —  Nobody knows what the Supreme Court will decide with regard to the Affordable Care Act.  But, after this week's hearings, it seems quite possible that the court will strike down the “mandate” — the requirement that individuals purchase health insurance — and maybe the whole law.

Both Democrats and Republicans see Ryan budget as big campaign issue  —  House GOP leaders on Thursday brandished their newly passed 2013 budget as the foundation of the Republican fall election campaign.  —  They know the budget is going nowhere until the November elections …

White Supremacist Hacks Trayvon Martin's Email Account, Leaks Messages Online  —  The racist smear campaign against Trayvon Martin, the unarmed black teen shot to death last month in Florida, has reached a new level of ghoulishness.  A white supremacist hacker says he's broken into Martin's email …

Conservatives versus Science: A New Scientific Validation of the Republican War on Science (and Republican Brain) Thesis  —  UPDATE: The paper discussed below is downloadable here.  —  For a while now, I've been aware of a powerful new paper that directly tests the central argument …

ROSEANNE TWEETS ADDRESS OF ZIMMERMAN'S PARENTS - UPDATE: BARR THREATENS TO GO TO HOUSE  —  In the story below this update, Roseanne seems to express some remorse over Tweeting the address of Zimmerman's parents.  —  But here's a fairly recent tweet where she threatens to re-tweet “his address again” and “maybe go 2 hs house myself”:

Justice Department dropped case charging threats to Barack Obama  —  The Justice Department has quietly given up on a criminal case involving alleged death threats against Barack Obama during the 2008 presidential campaign, leaving in place a legal precedent that the department's own lawyers predicted …

A Moderate Conservative Dilemma  —  Nathan Fletcher was raised in Arkansas, played college baseball in California and enlisted in the Marines as a reserve in 1997.  He saw combat in 2004, based in the Sunni Triangle in Iraq.  —  One day Fletcher's unit went to relieve a convoy and was …

NBC/Marist Poll: Romney leads in Wisconsin primary  —  In the upcoming Wisconsin primary, billed as perhaps the final opportunity to change the trajectory of the Republican presidential contest, frontrunner Mitt Romney leads Rick Santorum by seven percentage points, according to a new NBC News/Marist poll.

Reid: No recess appointments this time  —  Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) promised Republican counterpart Mitch McConnell (Ky.) before adjourning the Senate Thursday night that President Obama would not appoint any of his nominees to the executive branch or the bench during the chamber's two-week break.

Israelis Suspect Obama Media Leaks to Prevent Strike on Iran  —  JERUSALEM - Two reports today about Iran's nuclear program and the possibility of an Israeli military strike have analysts in Israel accusing the Obama administration leaking information to pressure Israel not to bomb Iran …

Romney Supporters Yearning for the Personal Side  —  YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio — The voters were pleading with Mitt Romney to share personal details of his life.  They stood at town-hall-style meetings and chatted before rallies, clamoring for a story or an anecdote that would help them connect with the real Mitt Romney.

“Gay Marriage has Backfired...”, NOM Marriage News  —  “Gay marriage has backfired on the Democratic Party.”  —  With those words one of my personal heroes, New York State Sen Rev. Rubén Díaz (a Democrat from the Bronx) opened his press release titled, “What you should know.”

Republicans retreat on gay marriage  —  Just a few years ago, House Republicans were trying to etch their opposition of gay marriage into the Constitution.  —  Now?  They're almost silent.  —  It's been one of the swiftest shifts in ideology and strategy for Republicans, as they've come nearly full circle on same-sex politics.

Activities of former Cain operative scrutinized  —  Federal authorities have opened an investigation into two Wisconsin-based corporations founded and run by Mark Block, a veteran political operative who ran Herman Cain's unsuccessful presidential campaign.  —  “They are very interested …

France arrests 19 Islamist suspects in dawn raids  —  The BBC's Christian Fraser: “Everything that is happening at the moment also has to be seen through the prism of the election”  —  Police in France have arrested 19 Islamist suspects and seized weapons in a series of dawn raids, President Nicolas Sarkozy says.

John Kerry: They're swiftboating Obama  —  Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) has lent his name to a fundraising solicitation that raises the specter of millionaires and billionaires funding an outside effort against President Obama.  —  “When I was the Democratic nominee for president in one of the closest …