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4:25 PM ET, April 15, 2009

Top Items:

Andrew Sullivan / The Daily Dish:

Left Behind? — Glenn Reynolds today pens an op-ed hailing the “tea-party” “movement” as a post-partisan, spontaneous uprising of ordinary folks against the establishment of both parties. He makes no mention of Pajamas Media's heavy investment in the events, nor Fox News' endless touting …

Marc Cooper / Los Angeles Times:

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.

Discussion: American Spectator, ABCNEWS, Patterico's Pontifications, The Anonymous Liberal, Neptunus Lex, neo-neocon, The Rhetorican, AmSpecBlog, Babalú Blog, DownWithTyranny!, Moonbattery, The Mahablog and Buck Naked Politics

Michelle Malkin:

A Tax Day Tea Party cheat sheet: How it all started — It's here! — For the Johnny-Come-Latelys in the MSM who will be dispatched by their editors to file obligatory stories about the hundreds of Tax Day Tea Party protests across the country today, here is a cheat sheet to get you up to speed.

Discussion: The Huffington Post, Hot Air, Pajamas Media, The Corner, Big Hollywood, The Foundry, Peoples Press Collective, Grist, The Next Right, Wake up America, Power Line, The Moderate Voice and Washington Post

Glenn Harlan Reynolds / Wall Street Journal:

Tax Day Becomes Protest Day — How the tea parties could change American politics. — Today American taxpayers in more than 300 locations in all 50 states will hold rallies — dubbed “tea parties” — to protest higher taxes and out-of-control government spending.

Atlanta Journal-Constitution:

‘TEA PARTIES’: THE NEXT GRASS-ROOTS MOVEMENT? — Yes: We conservatives have decided to take our grievances to the streets — Who is the leader of the conservative movement? Is it Michael Steele at the Republican National Committee, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, or even Rush Limbaugh?

Discussion: Wall Street Journal, The Atlantic Politics Channel, Time, The Hill's Blog Briefing Room, Dallas Morning News, Democracy in America and Hot Air

Michael E. Ruane / Washington Post:

Protesters' Plan to Dump Tea Is Prohibited — There will be no tea-dumping in the Potomac River — that's illegal — but organizers of today's national tea party tax protest found out this morning that so is their plan to dump a million tea bags in Lafayette Square to demonstrate displeasure at government spending and tax policies.

Discussion: The Washington Independent, Think Progress, Gawker, Crooks and Liars and Wonkette

Jeff Poor / The Business & Media Institute:

CNBC Asks Santelli to React to Tea Parties: 'I'm Pretty Proud of This' — Chicago Mercantile Exchange floor reporter and taxpayer tea party revolt inspiration calls movement ‘about as American as it gets.’ — Business & Media Institute — While Fox News has celebrated the Taxpayer Tea Party rallies …

Discussion: Gateway Pundit

Liz Robbins / New York Times:
Tax Day Is Met With Tea Parties

Discussion: ECHIDNE OF THE SNAKES

David Weigel / The Washington Independent:
The Second Rule of Tea Parties Is You Don't Talk About Tea Parties

Discussion: Washington Monthly, Matthew Yglesias and ATTACKERMAN

Matt Corley / Think Progress:
As Fox Host Denies Tea Parties Are 'A Right-Wing Conspiracy …

Discussion: Christy Hardin Smith

MSNBC:
Anti-tax ‘tea parties’ held across U.S.

Discussion: Pam's House Blend and pandagon.net

Marc Ambinder / The Atlantic Politics Channel:
In Defense Of The Tax-Day Tea Parties

Discussion: Townhall.com

Jonathan Martin / Ben Smith's Blog:
Tea Parties and the GOP establishment

Discussion: The Atlantic Politics Channel and Democratic Strategist

Matt Mackowiak / Austin American-Statesman:
Don't waste Americans' hard-earned tax dollars

Discussion: Gawker

Jose Antonio Vargas / Washington Post:
Tea Parties a Test of Conservative Online Organizing

Discussion: CNN, Pajamas Media, CBS News, Washington Wire, The Hill, Top of the Ticket and Political Machine

Jane Hamsher / The Huffington Post:
A Teabagger Timeline: Koch, Coors, Newt, Dick Armey There From The Start

Discussion: Right Wing Nut House and Save the Rich

Domenico Montanaro / MSNBC:
FIRST THOUGHTS: TEA TIME — From Chuck Todd, Mark Murray, and Domenico Montanaro

Discussion: The Rude Pundit, Firedoglake, Power Line and The Hill's Blog Briefing Room

Jesse James DeConto / Raleigh News & Observer:

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.

Discussion: Pam's House Blend, Hot Air and Moonbattery

Tim Nelson / WTVD-TV:

UNC protest gets rowdy — CHAPEL HILL (WTVD) — There are two questions following a rowdy student protest at UNC Chapel Hill Tuesday night. — Did the protest get out of line and did campus police go too far? — Dozens of protesters turned out to oppose a speech given by a former Colorado congressman …

Discussion: FOX Forum, The Two Malcontents and Atlas Shrugs

William A. Jacobson / Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion:
When Fascism Comes To America, It Will Look Like Tea Party Crashers

Discussion: NPR, protein wisdom, Vanity Fair, PoliGazette and Gateway Pundit

Dexter Filkins / New York Times:

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!”

Discussion: Associated Press, Guardian, Buck Naked Politics, Commentary, ATTACKERMAN and Taylor Marsh

Washington Whispers:

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.

Discussion: CNN, PoliGazette, American Power, Liberal Values, Hot Air and Salon

Erika Lovley / The Politico:

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 …

Discussion: Ben Smith's Blog, Political Machine, TalkLeft, PoliGazette, Sister Toldjah and Gawker

Department of Homeland Security:

Statement by U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano on the Threat of Right-Wing Extremism — The primary mission of this department is to prevent terrorist attacks on our nation. The document on right-wing extremism sent last week by this department's Office …

Discussion: Little Green Footballs, The Swamp and The Liberty Papers

Greg Sargent / The Plum Line:
Obtained: Federal Agency's Memo Warning Of “Left Wing Extremists”

Discussion: Media Matters for America, The Hill's Blog Briefing Room, Think Progress, Political Punch, Washington Monthly, D-Day and TPMDC

Adam Nagourney / New York Times:

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 …

Discussion: Ben Smith's Blog, Minneapolis Star Tribune, Gawker, CBS News and The Caucus

Reid Wilson / The Hill:
As Coleman's hope dims, pursuit of seat questioned

Discussion: USA Today and TPMDC

Media Matters / Media Matters for America:

CNN's Roesgen grills tea party protestor who calls Obama a “fascist,” says protest “highly promoted by the right-wing conservative network Fox” — This whole FARCE is custom made for cable news, not the MSM of network TV. The MSM cant cover something 24/7 like CNN or FOX can.

Discussion: Washington Monthly

Wall Street Journal:

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 …

Discussion: The Atlantic Politics Channel, American Prospect, The Huffington Post, AlterNet, Newshoggers.com, AfterDowningStreet.org, White House Watch, Taylor Marsh, ATTACKERMAN and Bench Memos

Andrew Sullivan / The Daily Dish: Obama's Moment Of Truth On Torture

The Week Magazine:

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” …

Discussion: TalkLeft

Chicago Tribune:

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 …

Discussion: The Atlantic Business Channel, Law Blog, Hot Air and Pajamas Media