Obama to Push Immigration Bill Despite the Risks  —  While acknowledging that the recession makes the political battle more difficult, President Obama plans to begin addressing the country's immigration system this year, including looking for a path for illegal immigrants to become legal …

The curious case of 200 nearly identical MSM headlines  —  The following headlines have appeared in newspapers within the last 24 hours.  This is not an inclusive list.  —  • Third of Illinoisans went without health insurance in last 2 years: Sun-Times

Men's Underwear Sales, Greenspan's Economic Metric, Reveal Crisis  —  As chairman of the Federal Reserve, Alan Greenspan was known for using quirky, proletariat metrics to judge the temperature of the economy.  The most famous of these, as recounted by NPR's Robert Krulwich in January 2008, were the sales of men's underwear.

Bloggers Urge That Organizations To Which They Give “Free Publicity” Advertise on Their Sites: The Plum Line, Greg Sargent's blog on the Washington Post's whorunsgov.com, reports: … The post then goes on to give more details, including this quote from a blogger: “They come to us …

House rejects Gov. Kaine's unemployment benefits amendments  —  RICHMOND, Va. (AP) - Virginia's Republican-run House of Delegates rejected a proposed expansion of unemployment benefits Wednesday, along with $125 million in federal stimulus cash to pay for it.

Lawmaker defends comment on Asians  —  Call for voters to simplify their names not racially motivated, Terrell Republican says  —  AUSTIN — A North Texas legislator during House testimony on voter identification legislation said Asian-descent voters should adopt names that are “easier for Americans to deal with.”

Just 53% Say Capitalism Better Than Socialism  —  Only 53% of American adults believe capitalism is better than socialism.  —  The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey found that 20% disagree and say socialism is better.  Twenty-seven percent (27%) are not sure which is better.

Banks Holding Up in Tests, but May Still Need Aid  —  For the last eight weeks, nearly 200 federal examiners have labored inside some of the nation's biggest banks to determine how those institutions would hold up if the recession deepened.  —  What they are discovering may come as a relief …

A.P. Exec Doesn't Know It Has A YouTube Channel: Threatens Affiliate For Embedding Videos  —  Here is another great moment in A.P. history.  In its quest to become the RIAA of the newspaper industry, the A.P.'s executives and lawyers are beginning to match their counterparts in the music industry for cluelessness.

Top 3 Conservatives Who Deserve a Biopic  —  One of the most controversial Hollywood films last year was “Milk”.  It was praised by liberals and gay-rights supporters — and simultaneously labeled leftist propaganda by many conservatives.  —  Personally, I am opposed to the brand …

Obama Risks Liberal Backlash on War Funding  —  WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama plans to request new funding from Congress for the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, but he risks a backlash from antiwar lawmakers.  —  Mr. Obama is expected to seek congressional approval of $75.5 billion for the wars, perhaps as soon as Thursday.

Pentagon preps for economic warfare  —  The Pentagon sponsored a first-of-its-kind war game last month focused not on bullets and bombs — but on how hostile nations might seek to cripple the U.S. economy, a scenario made all the more real by the global financial crisis.

Congress Ready to Slow Pace, Face Long-Term Issues  —  After approving more than $1.5 trillion to bail out Wall Street and stimulate the economy and nearly passing a $3.5 billion budget blueprint in its initial legislative sprint, Congress will return from a two-week break later this month …

How Bernanke Staged a Revolution  —  This chairman set out to lead as a civil servant rather than a celebrity economist.  Facing a thundering financial collapse, he has reinvented the Federal Reserve.  —  Every six weeks or so, around a giant mahogany table in an ornate room overlooking the National Mall …

White House: No bow to Saudi  —  The White House is denying that the president bowed to King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia at a G-20 meeting in London, a scene that drew criticism on the right and praise from some Arab outlets.  —  “It wasn't a bow.  He grasped his hand with two hands …

Taliban Using U.S. Firms to Host Web Sites  —  Ease and Anonymity Draw Taliban, al-Qaeda  —  On March 25, a Taliban Web site claiming to be the voice of the “Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan” boasted of a deadly new attack on coalition forces in that country.

Israel Cries Wolf  —  ISTANBUL — “Iran is the center of terrorism, fundamentalism and subversion and is in my view more dangerous than Nazism, because Hitler did not possess a nuclear bomb, whereas the Iranians are trying to perfect a nuclear option.”  —  Benjamin Netanyahu 2009?  Try again.

Afghan father says his baby dies in coalition raid  —  The father of a seven-day-old boy said on Thursday his infant son died in an overnight raid by Afghan and U.S. forces, with the U.S. saying it was investigating the claim.  —  A female school teacher was also killed and the child's mother wounded …

Navy Tracking Pirates and Their U.S. Hostage  —  WASHINGTON — A U.S. Navy destroyer kept close watch Thursday on a lifeboat holding four Somali pirates and their hostage — an American ship captain — one day after the pirates briefly seized a United States-flagged cargo ship off the coast of Africa.

Housing Slump Hits Manhattan  —  While sales have picked up a bit in some suffering housing markets in the West, creating a glimmer of hope that home prices nationwide may be approaching a bottom, the Manhattan real estate market has just begun a steep slide.

Sole Minnesota Senator Has Problems Built for 2  —  As the fight over a United States Senate seat from Minnesota seems certain to drag into a sixth month, forgotten in all the fussing is the senator left behind.  —  Amy Klobuchar, the “other” senator from Minnesota, the one whose election was not contested …

The Future of Marriage  —  One of the great coups of the movement for same-sex marriage has been to plant the premise that it represents the inevitable future.  This sense has inhibited even some who know perfectly well that marriage is by nature the union of a man and a woman.

Why Do Americans Befriending the Castros Ignore Cuba's Pro-Democracy Movement?  —  HALF A DOZEN members of the Congressional Black Caucus spent hours huddling with Fidel and Raúl Castro in Havana this week as part of a swelling campaign to normalize relations with Cuba.

Arne Duncan and a New Pornographer  —  Spotted: Secretary of Education Arne Duncan introducing flame-haired indie goddess Neko Case at the 9:30 Club last night.  But ... why?  Is the Cabinet member a devoted Neko fan, or is she a big supporter of education reform?