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A government program for checking the work-eligibility of immigrant workers is on the verge of elimination in spite of a dramatic increase in usage, according to a new study by the Center for Immigration Studies.

The Center for Immigration Studies, a non-partisan nonprofit that has a pro-immigrant and low-immigrant mission, studied the E-Verify program. Employers can use the program to determine the legality and work-eligibility of new hires. The group cited data from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services that found the use of the E-Verify program has gone up 442 percent since 2007.

By the third week of February, three million queries had been sent to the program, nearly half of the 6.6 million for all of 2008. There will be 17.7 million queries this year, according to the group

That didn't take long. House Minority Leader John Boehner just released a statement slamming (and I mean slamming) President Obama for lifting the ban on federal funding for stem cell research.

The headline of the press release sums it up: "President's Embryonic Stem Cell Decision Runs Counter to his Promise to 'Be a President for All Americans.'"

Ouch.

The gist of Boehner's response is that Obama is seeking to divide the country on embryonic stem cell research, which, to social conservatives, amounts to the destruction of human life.

Don't worry, America: a mass revolt by world economic leaders is still "a ways off," Rep. John Campbell (R-Calif.) explained Monday after remarking last week that the U.S., under President Obama, is starting to resemble the dystopian America depicted in the novel "Atlas Shrugged."

Campbell sought to clarify his remarks about the remark

Former Democratic National Committee Executive Director Tom McMahon will take over for Brad Woodhouse as the head of Americans United for Change, the group announced Monday. Woodhouse left the group last week to join the DNC.

McMahon will serve as acting executive director while the groups looks for a permanent replacement for Woodhouse.

Most recently, McMahon was one of the architects of former DNC Chair Howard Dean's "50 state strategy."

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Before signing an executive order removing the ban on federal funding for stem cell research, President Obama defended "open inquiry" in science and addressed critics.

Obama carefully said that the science is not tied to ideology, a common criticism of President George W. Bush, who implemented the funding restrictions.

His full remarks are after the jump, but here are the highlights:

But in recent years, when it comes to stem cell research, rather than furthering discovery, our government has forced what I believe is a false choice between sound science and moral values. In this case, I believe the two are not inconsistent. As a person of faith, I believe we are called to care for each other and work to ease human suffering. I believe we have been given the capacity and will to pursue this research Read more...

Put this in the everyone-will-think-this-is-surprising-but-it-really-isn't category (I know, it's a mouthful). After campaigning furiously against him in the presidential campaign, Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) thinks President Obama is doing a good job.

"Bottom line: I think Barack Obama, president of the United States, is off to a very good start," Lieberman told the Associated Press.

Putting aside whether or not Lieberman actually believes this, there are plenty of political reasons why he would say that. First, Obama continues to ride high approval ratings. Then there is Doug Blumenthal, Connecticut's ridiculously popular attorney general, who is considering challenging Lieberman in 2012. On top of that, there is polling that suggests that Lieberman is, in fact, vulnerable in the Constitution State, which Obama carried by 23 points last year. And, on top of that, there is Obama's basically letting Lieberman keep his committee posts despite the senator repeatedly saying Obama was not ready to lead during the campaign.

So, is this still surprising to anyone?

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Ann Coulter is "offensive, radical, insulting, and confusing," would-be first daughter Meghan McCain declared Monday.

In a blog post for The Daily Beast, McCain -- the daughter of Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) -- accused the conservative pundit Coulter of being "the poster woman for the most extreme side of the Republican Party."

"She does appeal to the most extreme members of the Republican Party

More than two-thirds of Republicans say their party has no clear leader, according to a new, independent poll released Monday.

68 percent of Republican voters said their party has no one, identifiable leader, according to a Rasmussen poll conducted over the weekend.

17 percent of Republicans were undecided about the questions, while actual party members scored only in the single digits. Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), the GOP standard-bearer in last fall's presidential election, was identified as the party's leader by five percent of Republican voters. And only two percent of Republicans named Rush Limbaugh, whom the Democrats have sought to paint as the GOP leader, as the party's figurehead.

Seven percent of Democrats said that Limbaugh was the Republican Party's leader.

"This whole way of asking the question simply doesn

Looks like President Obama will toss the ceremonial first pitch at the Washington Nationals' home opener on April 13, the Washington Times reported Saturday, citing an anonymous source from the team. (Via DCist.)

If the report is correct, Obama would join the ranks of past presidents from George W. Bush to William Howard Taft in partaking in one of official Washington's nicer traditions by kicking off the home team's season. Unfortunately, the president also will partake in a less proud tradition by standing on the same mound as such lackluster hurlers as Luis Ayala, Ray King and Levale Speigner.

The lowly Nats invited Obama to attend their opener, against the World Champion Philadelphia Phillies, back in February. The president also is weighing an invitation to throw the first pitch at the season's first home game for his hometown Chicago White Sox against the Kansas City Royals on April 6. The Cincinnati Reds asked Obama to take on the ceremonial first-pitch duties at their match-up with the White Sox in the annual exhibition Civil Rights Game on June 20.

-Jeffrey Young

Warren Buffett said Monday morning that the Obama administration