“Tea Party” Protests Appear to Draw At Least 250,000  —  This is an update and probably the last one.  Those of you who are interested in extending the analysis (there are undoubtedly many events missing, although most of the major ones should now be covered) are encouraged to do so at Wikipedia or elsewhere.

Obama's huge test today: do we believe in secret law?  —  (updated below - Update II)  —  Today is the most significant test yet determining the sincerity of Barack Obama's commitment to restore the Constitution, transparency and the rule of law.  After seeking and obtaining multiple extensions …

A Vision for High Speed Rail  —  “I'm happy to be here.  I'm more happy than you can imagine,” said the Vice President, a noted rail enthusiast, before introducing the President for the release of his strategic plan for high speed rail in America.  Revolving around the $8 billion …

The Tea Parties  —  They resemble nothing so much as the anti-war protests during Bush's first term.  The claim that they don't have an organizing premise strikes me as obviously wrong: They're anti-bailout, anti-stimulus, anti-deficit, and anti- the tax increases that will eventually …

America's Bad Jeans  —  On any American street, or in any airport or mall, you see the same sad tableau: A 10-year-old boy is walking with his father, whose development was evidently arrested when he was that age, judging by his clothes.  Father and son are dressed identically — running shoes, T-shirts.

Napolitano Apologizes for Offending Veterans After DHS Eyes Them for ‘Rightwing Extremism’  —  Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano apologized to veterans in a FOX News interview after a DHS report labeled returning troops at risk for embracing right-wing extremism.  —  FOXNews.com

CNBC SWEATS ‘OBAMA-BASHING’  —  THE top suits and some of the on-air talent at CNBC were recently ordered to a top-secret meeting with General Electric CEO Jeffrey Immelt and NBC Universal President Jeff Zucker to discuss whether they've turned into the President Obama-bashing network, Page Six has learned.

Checking The Blogosphere  —  Only a day after a massive, sustained and widespread outcry on the bloggy right about the DHS convening a study to worry about right-wing extremism, we get news of illegal and excessive wire-tapping under Bush.  Not a single right-wing blog I can find via Memeorandum has commented.

Georgetown Says It Covered Over Name of Jesus to Comply With White House Request  —  (CNSNews.com) - Georgetown University says it covered over the monogram “IHS”—symbolizing the name of Jesus Christ—because it was inscribed on a pediment on the stage where President Obama spoke at the university …

“On 9/11, I think they hit the wrong building”  —  A woman participates in a Tax Day rally in Lafayette Park in Washington Wednesday.  —  WASHINGTON — The gathering in Lafayette Square, in honor both of tax day and of a generalized fury at Barack Obama, his budget, the Federal Reserve …

ED GOES UNDERCOVER TEABAGGIN'  —  So my good friend Scott pointed out that for all of my talk about Teabaggin', I was strangely ambivalent about the opportunity to see one in the flesh.  Well, my inner anthropologist and innate love of freaks won out in the end.

Spanish AG says no torture probe of US officials  —  MADRID - Spanish prosecutors will recommend against opening an investigation into whether six Bush administration officials sanctioned torture against terror suspects at Guantanamo Bay, the country's attorney-general said Thursday.

Gotcha TV: Crews Stalk Bill O'Reilly's Targets  —  When Bill O'Reilly's camera crew ambushed Mike Hoyt at a bus stop in Teaneck, N.J., a few months ago, the on-camera confrontation and the microphone in his face reminded him, oddly enough, of the “60 Minutes” interviewer Mike Wallace.

Elephant agonistes (cont.)  —  The proprietor of this here blog, one Ben Smith, had a smart story in early March about how the GOP was still, in market parlance, “looking for the bottom.”  —  The search continues.  —  Mark Halperin tallies up the reasons why:

1,500 farmers commit mass suicide in India  —  Over 1,500 farmers in an Indian state committed suicide after being driven to debt by crop failure, it was reported today.  —  The agricultural state of Chattisgarh was hit by falling water levels.  —  “The water level has gone down below 250 feet here.