Dollar's Biggest Decline?  2001-08  —  The hand-wringing about the US dollar is rather late to the party.  —  Where were all you concerned dollar bulls earlier in the decade?  It strikes me that like the late-to-discover inflation, you folks cannot spot a trend until it bites you in your collective asses.

Pity For The Rich  —  You can tell something's happening in the economic policy debate when you start reading more things like AEI's Arthur Brooks explaining that it would simply be unfair to raise taxes on the rich.  Harvard economics professor and former Council of Economics Advisor chairman Greg Mankiw has said the same thing.

Amazon's $23,698,655.93 book about flies  —  A few weeks ago a postdoc in my lab logged on to Amazon to buy the lab an extra copy of Peter Lawrence's The Making of a Fly - a classic work in developmental biology that we - and most other Drosophila developmental biologists - consult regularly.

Republicans facing tough questions over Medicare overhaul in budget plan  —  Video: All but four GOP House members voted for the budget plan devised by Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (R-Wis.).  The proposal puts the future of Medicare in jeopardy and could be risky political move.  (April 15)

ACLU Fighting Attempts to Suppress Anti-Islam Speech  —  By the way, I should stress — especially given the criticism that I've seen of the ACLU from some commenters — that ACLU chapters deserve praise for defending the anti-Islam speech in the two incidents I blogged about today …

Battered by gas prices White House starts attacks on oil companies  —  The White House has joined congressional Democrats in targeting oil companies with criticism for nearly $4 per gallon gas.  —  President Obama lashed out at oil companies — and the tax breaks they get from the government …

Florida Pastor says protest at Islamic Center will go on  —  Controversial Florida Pastor Terry Jones said he will follow through on his plan to protest outside an Islamic center in Michigan next week despite a judge's order to stay away from the mosque for three years, according to a report from the Detroit Free Press.

NY allows conjugal visits for inmates in same-sex marriages  —  The New York state prison system recently changed its regulations to allow inmates in same-sex marriages or civil unions conjugal visits from their partners, as well as a tweak that will allow inmates to visit their partners if they are terminally ill.

President of Yemen Offers to Leave, With Conditions  —  CAIRO — Yemen's embattled president, Ali Abdullah Saleh, said Saturday that he accepted a proposal by Arab mediators that would shift power to his deputy 30 days from the signing of a formal agreement and grant him and his family …

Foster children would be allowed to get clothing only from second hand stores  —  Under a new budget proposal from State Sen. Bruce Casswell, children in the state's foster care system would be allowed to purchase clothing only in used clothing stores.  —  Casswell, a Republican representing Branch …

Airport passenger screener charged in distributing child pornography  —  A passenger screener at Philadelphia International Airport is facing charges that he distributed more than 100 images of child pornography via Facebook, records show.  —  Federal agents also allege …

China's train wreck  —  Video: Is China's high-speed rail a model for U.S. transportation?  Based on his travels in China, Washington Post editorial writer Charles Lane thinks not.  —  For the past eight years, Liu Zhijun was one of the most influential people in China.