National

We here at the Delaware Shakespeare Festival are incredibly excited to produce Hamlet this summer (July 11-27 at Rockwood Park!), but there's so much to talk about in this play, so much that's relevant to the world and to Delaware, that we can't wait for July. And that's why we're launching the "I Am Hamlet" Project. Through the "I Am Hamlet" Project, we plan to take Hamlet to the people of Delaware, from classroom workshops to retirement home discussions, from on-the-street interviews to the Twitterverse. We want to explore the themes of Hamlet that resonate strongly with Delawareans, sparking a conversation that will hopefully lead to self-reflection in ourselves and in our community. At the end, we plan to bring it all together in a big public forum, an "I Am Hamlet" Project town hall at Wilmington University. To do all that, we need your help.

The House has passed a $1.1 trillion spending plan that would fund the government through September. The Senate is expected to take up the measure by the end of the week. The spending bill would roll back some forced spending cuts, raise federal worker pay and protect disabled workers and some military spouses from a pension cut that is to go into effect next year. The deal is a break from several years of budget brinksmanship, stopgap funding measures and down-to-the-deadline negotiating, such as the one that forced the 16-day government shutdown in October.

I know, I know. The winners and losers will be revealed, and the teabags probably got everything they've ever demanded and more, but I've been spoiling for a little triumphalism.

Joe Klein has what he says is the "Last Word" on Benghazi. Oh Joe. Conservatives are still talking about Vince Foster. So we will be talking about Benghazi in 2034.

[A] recent extensive report in the NY Times found no organized attempt by Al Qaeda to attack the consulate. And now we have this, from the latest budget deal:

Despite the concern over security after the 2012 attack on the United States Mission in Benghazi, Libya, the spending bill earmarks less to embassy security, construction and maintenance than it allotted for fiscal 2013 — $2.67 billion, down by $224 million.

I mean, if the neoconservatives are so concerned about the safety of U.S. diplomats, why don’t they put their money where their mouths are?

I shouldn't be so surprised, but I am. Carney got the main points right. Social Security isn't a budget problem, and the long term fix is pretty easy - raise or eliminate the wage cap.

Currently, only the first $113,700 in an individual’s annual wages are taxed to help fund Social Security. By raising or eliminating the payroll cap we can raise hundreds of billions for the Trust Fund and extend the life of the program for nearly 75 more years. To make sure this proposal is fair to people at all income levels, individuals whose wages exceed the current cap could also receive a corresponding increase in benefits.