BANKS: Deposits Guaranteed … Through the great banking houses of Manhattan last week ran wild-eyed alarm.  Big bankers stared at one another in anger and astonishment.  A bill just passed by both houses of Congress would rivet upon their institutions what they considered a monstrous system of guaranteeing bank deposits.

‘South Park’ Episode Is Altered After Muslim Group's Warning  —  A message posted on SouthParkStudios.com, the Web site of Trey Parker and Matt Stone's production company.  —  8:56 a.m. |  Updated  —  An episode of “South Park” that continued a story line involving the Prophet Muhammad …

Mediaite Exclusive: Censored Portions of Blago Subpoena May Implicate Team Obama  —  Today in United States v. Rod Blagojevich: following up on his 2008 claims that then-Senator Barack Obama was one of a few people who could testify to his innocence, his defense team issued a motion today to subpoena the President to testify in court.

Exclusive: WellPoint routinely targets breast cancer patients  —  (Reuters) - One after another, shortly after a diagnosis of breast cancer, each of the women learned that her health insurance had been canceled.  First there was Yenny Hsu, who lived and worked in Los Angeles.

'I've gone from being Churchill to a Nazi in a week': Clegg defends attack on Britain's ‘delusions of grandeur’ over WWII  —  A rattled Nick Clegg today sought to defend himself over his claim that the British people have a ‘more insidious cross to bear’ than Germany over World War II.

In Pa. House race, identity politics with a twist  —  It's happened so often that it's now a cultural cliche: the gay politician pretending to be straight.  In most parts of the nation, homosexuality or bisexuality is a clear electoral liability.  —  Not in Center City's 182d state House district.

Obama administration to appeal prayer ruling  —  From NBC's Pete Williams  —  The Justice Department says it intends to appeal a federal court ruling that found the National Day of Prayer to be a violation of the separation between church and state.  —  The ruling came in a lawsuit filed …

Reid moves forward with reform vote  —  Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said Thursday that he will not wait for Democrats and Republicans to reach a bipartisan compromise on a Wall Street reform bill, pledging to move ahead with the first key test vote Monday.

Michael Steele Acknowledges GOP Had “Southern Strategy” For Decades  —  A lot of people are pointing to a new set of remarks Michael Steele made about the Republican Party and race, in which Steele acknowledged that the GOP hasn't given African Americans a reason to support the party.

Climate Science In Denial  —  Global warming alarmists have been discredited, but you wouldn't know it from the rhetoric this Earth Day.  —  In mid-November of 2009 there appeared a file on the Internet containing thousands of emails and other documents from the Climatic Research Unit at the University of East Anglia in Great Britain.

4/22: Making Change with the 50 Dollar Bill  —  A Republican congressman from North Carolina has proposed legislation that would replace the image of President Ulysses S. Grant on the fifty dollar bill with that of President Ronald Reagan.  Do Americans want this change to occur?

Conservative Radio Silence On Financial Regulation  —  Yesterday I commented on the miraculous nature of the sudden revival of financial reform.  One other key element in this upsurge is the intellectual disarray on the right.  Conservatives do not know what to say or think about this.

Iran begins war games in Persian Gulf oil route  —  TEHRAN, Iran - Iran's elite Revolutionary Guard held war games Thursday in the strategic Persian Gulf oil route, the Hormuz Strait, a show of its military strength at a time when the country's leaders are depicting President Barack Obama's new nuclear policy as a threat.

Cheney: Telling Leahy to ‘f*ck’ himself was ‘sort of the best thing I ever did.’  —  In 2004, then-Vice President Dick Cheney had a “frank exchange of views” with Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT) on the Senate floor over Cheney's ties to Halliburton and President Bush's judicial nominees.

Kaiser Health Tracking Poll — April 2010  —  The first Kaiser Health Tracking Poll fielded since the passage of health reform last month finds that 8 in 10 Americans know that President Obama signed the legislation into law.  But 55 percent say they are confused about the law and more than half …

Blankfein: Suit Against Goldman Will “Hurt America”  —  An interesting disconnect exists between Goldman's public posture on the SEC's suit against it over its Abacus 2007 AC1 deal and its private remarks.  The firm has maintained that the charges are baseless and politically motivated …

Bringing Thunder-ous change to New Jersey  —  The bridge spanning the Delaware River connects New Jersey's capital with this town where the nation's most interesting governor occasionally eats lunch at Cafe Antonio.  It also connects New Jersey's government with reality.

Anderson Cooper Asks Birther Arizona Rep. Cecil Ash Why He's Perpetuating Internet Rumors  —  Anderson Cooper does a pretty good job with calling out wingnut birther Arizona State Representative Cecil Ash for his decision to support a bill that would make Arizona the first official birther state (edited to make it safe for work):

Rove's Take: Races to Watch in November, Finance Regulation Reform and Tea Party Power  —  This is a rush transcript from “On the Record,” April 21, 2010.  This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.  —  GRETA VAN SUSTEREN, FOX NEWS HOST: Tonight: Get this.  Karl Rove is a roadie?

In Coal Country, a Culture of Fear  —  Massey Intimidates Workers, Families Into Silence … Charleston, W.Va. — Two weeks after the horrific explosion that killed 29 coal miners in southern West Virginia, it's business as usual for the owner of the project.

Epistemic Nonsense - Count Me on Team Levin  —  Yesterday, our good friend Mark Levin was attacked on The Corner over at National Review Online by one of his fellow contributors there, Jim Manzi.  I am not going to link to his hit piece.  I found it to be beneath what I thought I knew of him and beneath The Corner.

Democrats at the Edge of the Cliff  —  Democrats are spending trillions at the worst possible moment, with a new poll showing public trust in government at a historic low of 22%.  —  There was always something eerie about the way the Democrats said their health-care legislation was what the American people had waited “70 years” for.

Rep Brian Bilbray Says He Can Spot Illegal Immigrants Based on Their Shoes  —  I was concerned yesterday that Arizona's new draconian anti-immigrant law might lead to widespread harassment of Hispanics who live in or travel to the state.  Chris Matthews explored this topic with Rep Brian Billbray …