Anti-Obama Taxpayer Tea Parties steeped in insanity  —  What, exactly, are the protesters protesting?  The marginal tax rate rising 3% for millionaires?  —  The Web is buzzing with information about how to throw an anti-Obama Taxpayer Tea Party, something organizers hope will be held today from Santa Monica to South Carolina.

Protest stops Tancredo's UNC speech  —  CHAPEL HILL — UNC-CH police released pepper spray and threatened to use a Taser on student protesters Tuesday evening when a crowd disrupted a speech by former Colorado congressman Tom Tancredo opposing in-state tuition benefits to unauthorized immigrants.

In Minnesota, a Battle Without End for a Senate Seat  —  ST. PAUL — Norm Coleman spends his days in the quiet living room of his small house here, thumbing through stacks of legal papers.  His United States Senate staff and offices vanished at the start of the year, as did his salary …

Obama Tilts to CIA on Memos  —  Top Officials at Odds Over Whether to Withhold Some Details on Interrogation Tactics  —  WASHINGTON — The Obama administration is leaning toward keeping secret some graphic details of tactics allowed in Central Intelligence Agency interrogations …

Ron Paul's plan to fend off pirates  —  A little-known congressional power could help the federal government keep the Somali pirates in check — and possibly do it for a discount price.  —  Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas) and a growing number of national security experts are calling on Congress …

Is the GOP Waving Bye-Bye to Sarah Palin?  —  Worse than Dan Quayle before her, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin's bright star has fast faded in the eyes of Washington Republican officials and analysts, calling into question her efforts to become a national party figure ready to run for the White House.

Afghan Women Protest New Restrictive Law  —  KABUL — The young women stepped off the bus and moved toward the protest march just beginning on the other side of the street when they were spotted by a mob of men.  —  “Get out of here, you whores!” the men shouted.  “Get out!”

The Panic of 1825  —  If you're not satisfied with Paul Krugman or Nouriel Roubini as your guide to the current turmoil, you can always rely on E.M. Forster.  It was Forster who grasped the essential drawback of the Internet long before anyone else, depicting, in his 1909 story “The Machine Stops” …

As Fox Host Denies Tea Parties Are ‘A Right-Wing Conspiracy,’ Fox Chyron Touts AmericanSolutions.Com  —  As part of the network's day-long promotion of the anti-Obama tea parties, Fox News' Gretchen Carlson interviewed three tea party organizers on Fox and Friends this morning.

IRS workers see double standard on tax errors  —  The Treasury secretary, who oversees the IRS, didn't pay all his taxes.  Neither did five other top nominees for the Obama administration, or their spouses.  —  Now, as Wednesday's tax deadline looms, some Americans are wondering …

SEAL Sniper Details Trickle In  —  For those Buzz readers hungry for detail about the Somali pirates, my buddy Christian over at DefenseTech offers some details about the techniques behind the SEAL sniper shots.  Read on for some info about the firearms used and who probably played in this most satisfying incident at sea.

In the Age of Pirates  —  I've been thinking lately of starting a new school of foreign service to train U.S. diplomats.  My school, though, would be very simple.  It would consist of a single classroom with a desk and a chair.  At the desk would be a teacher, pretending to be a foreign leader.

U.S. failed to use best radar for N. Korea missile  —  Gates refused area commander's request  —  Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates denied permission for the U.S. Northern Command to use the Pentagon's most powerful sea-based radar to monitor North Korea's recent missile launch …

Begala: April 15 is patriots' day  —  Editor's note: Paul Begala, a Democratic strategist and CNN political contributor, was a political consultant for Bill Clinton's presidential campaign in 1992 and was counselor to Clinton in the White House.  For another view on taxes, read here

Faint Signs of Uptick in China Trade  —  GUANGZHOU — Chinese manufacturers of everything from tricycles to truck winches said Wednesday at the opening of Asia's biggest trade fair that their orders were starting to recover from a steep plunge over the winter but that demand from Europe …

Obama: Economy Gaining Traction  —  Weak Retail Data Signal Confidence Remains Off-Kilter  —  The president and the Federal Reserve chairman voiced cautious optimism yesterday that the economy could be beginning to stabilize.  But the economy wasn't cooperating.