The Democrats' Fake Hate Crime — By: Mark Steyn  —  Jonah mentioned this the other day in his column, but the tireless Andrew Breitbart returns to the theme, to devastating effect.  —  On March 20th, something truly extraordinary happened.  On the eve of the health care vote …

Amnesty International Comes Out of the Closet — Endorses “Defensive” Jihad — By: Andy McCarthy  —  Former Gitmo detainee Moazzam Begg is a committed jihadist and unabashed supporter of the Taliban.  (See this Weekly Standard essay by Tom Joscelyn, which collects other Begg links.)

At 89, Stevens Contemplates Law, and How to Leave It  —  WASHINGTON — “There are still pros and cons to be considered,” Justice John Paul Stevens said in his Supreme Court chambers on Friday afternoon, reflecting on his reluctance to leave a job he loves after almost 35 years.

WellPoint hikes CEO's pay package  —  The insurer, boosting Angela F. Braly's compensation package up to $13.1 million, draws further ire from policyholders in California.  —  WellPoint executives, including CEO Angela Braly, saw pay hikes in 2009.  The company said compensation …

BREAKING: Another GOP Office Attacked in Ohio- Window Smashed  —  Vandals threw a brick through GOP Party headquarters.  —  Another GOP office was attacked in Marion, Ohio last night.  The vandals left a threatening note in purple ink saying, “Stop the Right Wing.”  —  The Marion Star reported:

Hurting U.S. Efforts to Win Minds, Taliban Disrupt Pay  —  MARJA, Afghanistan — Since their offensive here in February, the Marines have flooded Marja with hundreds of thousands of dollars a week.  The tactic aims to win over wary locals by paying them compensation for property damage …

Islamists order Mogadishu radios to stop playing music  —  MOGADISHU — A hardline Somali Islamist group issued a 10-day ultimatum Saturday to Mogadishu-based radio stations to stop playing all kinds of music or face unspecified penalties, an Islamist leader said.

Secret tape reveals Tory backing for ban on gays  —  • B&Bs ‘should have right to bar gays’  —  • Exclusion would violate law - Labour  —  The Tories were embroiled in a furious row over lesbian and gay rightson Saturday after the shadow home secretary, Chris Grayling …

Acorn Says It Continues Its Work  —  After months of budget problems and criticism from the right, the community organizing group Acorn plans to release a letter next week clarifying its path forward and stating that its local chapters may be closed, but the national organization is alive and well.

Capital can't be measured  —  Simon Johnson and James Kwak are absolutely right.  Sure, “hard” capital and solvency constraints for big banks are better than mealy-mouthed technocratic flexibility.  But absent much deeper reforms, totemic leverage restrictions will not meaningfully constrain bank behavior.

More than 200,000 to lose jobless benefits Monday with Congress out  —  Starting Monday, more than 200,000 unemployed Americans won't see jobless benefits they're expecting because Congress failed to act.  —  The interruption in benefits will last two weeks at a minimum …