Fifty-four years ago today, the Supreme Court of the United States handed down one of the most historic decisions in the unanimous 9-0 ruling on Brown v. Board of Education (1954). The decision overturned the ruling in Plessy v. Ferguson (1896) that established "separate but equal," ruling that it was unconstitutional. Today, we celebrate this glorious decision and reaffirm our commitment to the betterment of our schools and the advancement of equality for all. Read the full decision here.

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John McCain said in April that "a lot of our [economic] problems are, as you know, psychological." Ohioans, who are among the worst hit by Bush/McCain style economic policies, disagree. John McCain: he's no economist, nor a psychologist, either.

How many lobbyists does John McCain have running his campaign -- even at the very highest levels? So many that he lost count. Yes, with resignation after resignation and controversy after controversy about John McCain's connections to lobbyists -- which, by the way, have done their lobbying work inside of the campaign bus -- he's now being forced to re-vet his entire campaign staff: After a series of disclosures forced the resignation of two McCain campaign aides with ties to unsavory regimes, the campaign has decided to scrutinize the background of the entire staff to ferret out connections to lobbyists. This morning, according to two Republicans with direct knowledge, Rick Davis, the campaign manager, e-mailed to McCain's entire staff a memo entitled "McCain Campaign Conflicts Policy" -- Effective Today" that includes a questionnaire asking about previous professional activities. One of the questions asks: "Have you ever been a registered lobbyist at either the Federal or State level?" Another asks: "Have you ever been a registered foreign agent? A third asks staff members to list all of their previous lobbying or foreign government clients. But what about change at the very top? Charlie Black is McCain's "senior counsel and spokesman." MoveOn.org is taking aim at him in a new ad: Some organizations are calling on McCain to fire even more.

It's being called "the ultimate flip-flop in American politics" by a former State Department official under President Clinton. As Think Progress points out, McCain now says "It is a grave and dangerous mistake for an American leader to meet with a terrorist organization like Hamas." Here's what McCain had to say before, in an interview: RUBIN: Do you think that American diplomats should be operating the way they have in the past, working with the Palestinian government if Hamas is now in charge? MCCAIN: They're the government; sooner or later we are going to have to deal with them, one way or another, and I understand why this administration and previous administrations had such antipathy towards Hamas because of their dedication to violence and the things that they not only espouse but practice, so...but it's a new reality in the Middle East.

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Governor Dean today issued the following statement on the California Supreme Court decision to overturn the state's anti-marriage ban: "The Supreme Court of California today took a step forward in the long march toward protecting equal rights under the law for every American. This should not be a matter of politics or partisanship; it is a matter of protecting the rights and dignity of all American families."

Speaker Pelosi: "What the President did in that regard is beneath the dignity of the office of the President and unworthy of our representation at that observance in Israel. And I would hope that any serious person would disassociate themselves from the President's remarks who aspires to leadership in our country." Video via ThinkProgress: Will McCain speak up?

Bush made some outrageous comments that "Democrats are in favor of 'appeasement' of terrorists in the same way U.S. leaders appeased Nazis in the run-up to World War II." Governor Dean has responded (emphasis mine): "On the same day John McCain is talking about putting partisanship aside, the President launched a cheap political attack while on a state visit honoring the 60th anniversary of Israel, one of America's greatest allies. Bush's outrageous comments are an embarrassment to our country, not based in fact and bring us no closer to our goal of ending terrorist attacks against Israel and bringing peace to the region. If John McCain is really serious about being a different kind of Republican, he'll denounce these remarks in the strongest terms possible."

That's the headline at TPM Muckraker. With Karl Rove refusing to testify, in person and with a public record, House Judiciary Committee Chair John Conyers is saying that simply sending a letter isn't enough -- they need to actually be able to question him. But he is willing to compromise by providing a list of initial questions that might be asked, which would allow him to make sure that the answers that he gives to the committee are precise and accurate. From the letter Conyers sent Rove: Our position remains, however, that since your client has made a number of on-the-record comments on these subjects to the media, and in light of your (now modified) statement that Mr. Rove would be willing to testify, we can see no justification for his refusal to speak on the record to the Committee.

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John McCain doesn't hate the windfall profits tax as much as the RNC does. Once again, somebody didn't do their research.

The day after losing big in Mississippi, worried Republicans across Capitol Hill question what's wrong with the "GOP Brand." Then they pull a stunt to block First Responder legislation. And then they go back to wondering why people are turning away from the Republican Party.

McCain right-hand man/lobbyist ties to Putin-backed political party raises some eyebrows: A consultant to Sen. John McCain hired a public-relations firm last year to burnish the U.S. image of a Ukrainian political party backed by Russian leader Vladimir Putin, according to documents filed with the Justice Department. The lobbying firm of Davis Manafort Inc. arranged for the public-relations firm's work through an affiliate last spring, at the same time Davis Manafort was being paid by the Republican presidential candidate's campaign. The firm is co-owned by lobbyist Rick Davis, manager of Sen. McCain's presidential campaign, and longtime Republican strategist Paul Manafort. McCain campaign spokesman Brian Rogers said Mr. Davis receives no income from Davis Manafort, although he still owns a share of the firm. "He earns no money from their activities while he is on leave," Mr. Rogers said. It's just another notch on his lobbyist belt: But like a little yipping dog that won’t go away, questions about the potential sway of lobbyists on the Arizona Republican continue to follow the “Straight Talk Express.” McCain has repeatedly said he learned much about avoiding undue influences, or the appearance thereof, from the Charles Keating scandal while he was a congressman representing the East Valley. One outcome of his connection to the Keating Five was his persistent efforts to pass campaign reform in the hope of reducing the influence of money over national politics. … But what really hurts is that McCain complained about these tools of politics at the same time he continued to use them to benefit his constituents and his own career.

John McCain is proving that Republicans aren't just having trouble at the Congressional level. Voters see him as on the wrong side of the issues and tied to the most unpopular president in history. On top of that, the Republican "brand" is so damaged that not only can't it save him from the problems that voters have with him, but it can only hurt. On the flip, read our new memo outlining McCain's failure to connect with voters.

Last night -- in a special election -- Democrats picked up another House seat in yet another district that has been reliably Republican for over a decade. As one GOP leadership aide put it, if they lost this one, they'd be looking for windows to jump out of. You can bet it's going to shake up some House Republicans for the rest of the week. They're still spinning, but it's pretty obvious that they phoned this one in. Mostly, the NRCC tells Republicans not to rely on them to help out... at all: I encourage all Republican candidates, whether incumbents or challengers, to take stock of their campaigns and position themselves for challenging campaigns this fall by building the financial resources and grassroots networks that offer them the opportunity and ability to communicate, energize and turn out voters this election. That translates to: don't rely on the NRCC to save you. So now the House Republicans are going to do the same soul-searching that they did the last time they lost a seat like this one. And the time before that. But what's going to change? Are they going to stop blocking Democratic proposals in the interest of getting things done? Unlikely. Will they stop politicizing everything, to the point that they're voting against Mother's Day? Doubt it. Instead, they'll probably just come up with another slogan. Nothing against slogans, of course, but slogans don't distract people from blocking children's health care or standing with Bush on issue after issue. Updated by Matt Ortega: The Hill: The sky is falling on House Republicans and there is no sign of it letting up. The GOP loss in Mississippi’s special election Tuesday is the strongest sign yet that the Republican Party is in shambles. And while some Republicans see a light at the end of the tunnel, that light more likely represents the Democratic train that is primed to mow down more Republicans in November.