Palin Speaks at Tea Party Rally in Madison  —  MADISON, Wis. — At first, the prospect drew mildly worried looks from people on both sides of this state's giant political divide: Sarah Palin, the former Republican vice-presidential candidate, was to appear on the steps of this state's Capitol …

[UPDATED: Davenport Defiant] Racist Orange County Republican Email: President Obama and His Parents Are Apes  —  UPDATE, APRIL 16, 5:55 P.M.: This afternoon, Marilyn Davenport sent an email to fellow Orange County Republican elected officials, apologizing if anyone was offended and blasted the “liberal media” for reporting the story.

Geithner: ‘Congress Will Raise the Debt Ceiling’  —  Treasury Secretary Says Certain Leaders Won't Risk ‘Catastrophic’ Consequences  —  Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner says he is certain that Congress will raise the debt ceiling, saying leaders are “not going to play around with it” …

Losing the Future  —  I always enjoy the bit in Planet of the Apes where a loinclothed Charlton Heston falls to his knees as he comes face to face with a shattered Statue of Liberty poking out of the sand and realizes that the eponymous simian planet is, in fact, his own — or was.

Euro vs. Invasion of the Zombie Banks  —  IS a euro held in an Irish bank in Dublin, or in a Portuguese bank in Lisbon, as sound and secure as a euro in a German bank in Berlin?  That apparently simple question holds the key to understanding why the euro zone may splinter and bring a new financial crisis.

UNMITIGATED GALT.  Whatever understandable prejudice you might have against Ayn Rand, you have to admit that the giant concrete block of her novel on which Atlas Shrugged: Part I is based could make a movie of some sort.  —  Consider all that happens in it: Dagny Taggart …

Leftist Thugs Taunt, Harass and Insult Black Tea Party Member  —  The man is called an “Uncle Tom,” and a “Token” interspersed with calls for “Solidarity”.  Just off camera in the Tea Party is a Mom with her two small children who are black.

Japan nuclear crisis ‘over in nine months’  —  The BBC's Roland Buerk says that people are pleased that they have been given some idea of how long the crisis could last  —  The operator of Japan's crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant has said it expects to bring the crisis under control by the end of the year.