EXTREMELY GRAPHIC IMAGES IN THIS POST  —  It's been written countless times that Republican gubernatorial candidate Carl Paladino is something of a walking contradiction.  But let's take him at his word that the tragic death of his son Patrick in 2009 caused him to re-assess his life, his past, and his values.

Washington Memo: Baffled by Health Plan?  So Are Some Lawmakers  —  WASHINGTON — It is often said that the new health care law will affect almost every American in some way.  And, perhaps fittingly if unintentionally, no one may be more affected than members of Congress themselves.

SEIU officials: Stern to resign  —  Service Employees International Union President Andrew Stern, one of America's most prominent labor leaders, is set to resign, according to a member of the union's board and another SEIU official.  —  The President of an SEIU local based in Seattle …

Lehman Channeled Risks Through ‘Alter Ego’ Firm  —  It was like a hidden passage on Wall Street, a secret channel that enabled billions of dollars to flow through Lehman Brothers.  —  In the years before its collapse, Lehman used a small company — its “alter ego,” in the words of a former Lehman trader …

Obama spokesman Gibbs sounds eager for future strategist role  —  Robert Gibbs does not seem particularly attached to his office.  —  There is a dormant fireplace ("a problem with the flue," Gibbs said), a cluttered desk, a flat-screen television and a smaller monitor simultaneously displaying C-SPAN, MSNBC, the networks.

Obama team points to smaller deficit numbers  —  The federal deficit is running significantly lower than it did last year, with the budget gap for the first half of fiscal 2010 down 8 percent over the same period a year ago, senior Obama administration officials said Monday.

Senators End Impasse on Extending Jobless Aid  —  WASHINGTON — The Senate on Monday agreed to consider a temporary extension of unemployment benefits after four Republicans joined Democrats in voting to debate the proposal, which has become the focus of an intensifying fight over deficit spending.

Deal Reached With Ukraine on Uranium at Nuclear Talks  —  WASHINGTON — In a first concrete achievement from the nuclear security summit meeting here, the government of Ukraine said on Monday that it would eliminate its stockpile of highly enriched uranium.  —  Moments later …

Republicans Lead by 48% to 44% on Congressional Ballot  —  Republican Party maintains an advantage on voter enthusiasm  —  PRINCETON, NJ — Gallup Daily tracking for the week ending April 11 puts Republicans slightly ahead of Democrats, 48% to 44%, in the congressional voting preferences of registered voters nationally.

Miss. Confederate History Month ignores slavery  —  JACKSON, Miss. - Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour drew criticism for proclaiming April as Confederate Heritage Month without mentioning slavery, the second governor this month to come under fire for the omission.

Women, Liberty, and the Gilded Age: A Reply to My Critics  —  There's been a lot of pushback against my claim that women were freer during the Gilded Age than they are today.  I'm standing my ground.  Replies to leading criticisms:  —  1. I'm ignoring marital rape.  To be blunt, this issue is almost entirely symbolic.

A GOP divide on Palin's Hub rally  —  Some key figures plan to stay away  —  Sarah Palin, 2008 vice presidential candidate, has her speech scheduled for 10 a.m. on Boston Common.  (Gerald Herbert/Associated Press)  —  Unsure where they fit in among the restive masses of the “tea party movement …

Bill Kristol: Kagan Would Be Respectable Choice for Supreme Court, But Republicans Should Oppose Her  —  Well folks, here's some of the rhetoric we're going to be hearing from the GOP on this upcoming Supreme Court nomination.  Bill Kristol talks out of both sides of his mouth and while saying …

King, Bachmann co-opt abortion rights message to attack health reform  —  SERGEANT BLUFF, Iowa — Co-opting the argument advocates of legal abortion have used for decades, two leading congressional conservatives Saturday said health-care reform is nothing short of a federal intrusion …

Okla. tea parties and lawmakers envision militia  —  OKLAHOMA CITY - Frustrated by recent political setbacks, tea party leaders and some conservative members of the Oklahoma Legislature say they would like to create a new volunteer militia to help defend against what they believe are improper federal infringements on state sovereignty.

Healthcare law to sock middle class with a $3.9 billion tax increase in 2019  —  Taxpayers earning less than $200,000 a year will pay roughly $3.9 billion more in taxes — in 2019 alone — because of healthcare reform, according to the Joint Committee on Taxation, Congress's official scorekeeper for legislation.

Rep. Barney Frank on ENDA, DADT and How LGBTs Should Lobby Like the NRA  —  Openly gay Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA) was in Los Angeles over the weekend for an appearance on Jay Leno's Tonight Show and to speak at the Greenlining Institute's Economic Summit.  He also attended a Hollywood fundraiser …

Taking the Fight to the MSM: Andrew Breitbart At the Southern Republican Leadership Conference  —  Andrew Breitbart at the Southern Republican Leadership Conference.  —  On racism: … On the famous Congressional Black Caucus walk through the Tea Partiers on Capitol Hill:

A Dangerous Silence  —  I weep as I witness outrageous verbal attacks on Israel.  What makes these verbal assaults and distortions all the more painful is that they are being orchestrated by President Obama.  —  For me, the situation today recalls what occurred in 70 AD …

The Sarcasm of Sarah Palin  —  Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin delivered a well-received speech on Friday at the Southern Republican Leadership Conference, an address defined — as almost all of her public pronouncements have been in the 18 months since she emerged on the national political scene — by a stinging sense of sarcasm.

CORRECTION: Visa Policy For Israeli Nuclear Scientists Did Not Begin With Obama Admin  —  On April 8, 2010, I wrote an article in this space implying that the Obama administration had instituted a new policy restricting entry to the United States for Israeli nuclear scientists who worked at the Dimona reactor.