memeorandum: Work Force Fueled by Highly Skilled Immigrants (Julia Preston/New York Times)

1:00 PM ET, April 17, 2010

Top Items:

BOEHNER TIES HIMSELF IN KNOTS.... After reports surfaced yesterday that the Securities and Exchange Commission is going after Goldman Sachs, both sides of the political divide tried to seize on the news to make a larger point. Only one side made sense. — For Democrats, the case was pretty easy …

Discussion: The Politico, CNN and Pat Dollard

Mark Silva / The Swamp:

Obama: 'Financial WMD's demand regs — Thumbing through the issues of a new poll portraying what a battleground the midterm congressional elections will be,Celinda Lake, the Democratic pollster on the bipartisan team that produced the poll, found her tongue slipping each time she mentioned Wall Street reform …

Discussion: CNN, The Huffington Post and AMERICAblog News

Myglesias / Matthew Yglesias:

Obama Administration Sues Goldman Sachs for Fraud, Pushes Regulatory Bill Goldman Sachs Opposes, Gets Accused by Boehner of Doing Goldman's Bidding — There's no denying that the financial services industry in general and employees of Goldman Sachs in general gave a lot of money to Barack Obama's campaign in 2007-2008.

Discussion: CNN, The Politico and Grasping Reality …

Myglesias / Matthew Yglesias:
The Battle Lines — Back in January, Frank Luntz wrote …

Discussion: Washington Monthly, McClatchy Washington Bureau, The White House, No More Mister Nice Blog, The Democratic Daily, Seeing the Forest, TPMDC, TPM LiveWire, The Page, Wonkette, Grasping Reality … and The Washington Independent

Lucas van Praag / Goldman Sachs:
Goldman Sachs Makes Further Comments on SEC Complaint

Discussion: Bloomberg, FP Posted, MarketWatch, The Huffington Post, Deal Journal, naked capitalism and Felix Salmon

Alexander Bolton / The Hill: Hedge fund manager in Goldman Sachs case is major Democratic donor

Zachary A. Goldfarb / Washington Post:
SEC accuses Goldman Sachs of civil fraud

Discussion: Outside The Beltway, Mother Jones, The Reaction, Ezra Klein, McClatchy Washington Bureau, Angry Bear, NO QUARTER and Corrente

Jana Winter / Fox News:

Teacher Who Sought to ‘Demolish’ Tea Party Placed on Leave From School — An Oregon teacher who announced his intention to “dismantle and demolish the Tea Party” has been placed on administrative leave until his school district finishes its investigation into whether his political activity crossed the line

Discussion: Pajamas Media, Left Coast Rebel, Big Journalism, Hot Air, Confederate Yankee and Pat Dollard

Alex Pappas / The Daily Caller:
Massachusetts Republican Scott Brown calls Obama's Tea Party remarks ‘sad’

Discussion: Gateway Pundit

Michael C. Moynihan / Hit & Run:

Bill Clinton: Tim McVeigh Hated the Guv'mint Too — Filming and interviewing at yesterday's Tea Party rally in DC with my Reason.tv comrade Meredith Bragg, we met some perfectly normal, clever, interesting people (including a black goth kid from West Virginia who really, really wanted to …

Discussion: New York Times, Samizdata.net, The Lonely Conservative, The American Scene, Left Coast Rebel and New York Times

James Freeman / Wall Street Journal:

New Jersey's ‘Failed Experiment’ — The new governor is on a mission to make his state competitive again in attracting people and capital. — 'I said all during the campaign last year that I was going to govern as if I was a one-termer," explains New Jersey Governor Chris Christie on a visit …

Discussion: The Lonely Conservative, Moe Lane and Riehl World View

BBC:

Ash deepens Europe travel chaos — Virtually all of Europe's major airports remain closed as a huge plume of volcanic ash drifts south and east across the continent from Iceland. — Millions of air travellers are stranded across Europe after some 18,600 flights were cancelled on Friday.

Discussion: Gothamist and AMERICAblog News

Telegraph:

How Barack Obama invented himself — David Remnick's new biography of Barack Obama shines a light on a man who only saw his father for 10 days, and whose dazzling success may have hinged on his wife's willingness to take risks. — David Remnick, the editor of the New Yorker …

Discussion: The American Scene, The Confluence and The Corner on National …

Kyle / Right Wing Watch:

Lafferty: ENDA Will Allow The VA To Molest Our Disabled Veterans — The Friday afternoon session of the Freedom Federation's “Awakening” conference has been dedicated to dozens of different breakout sessions, including one on “The LGBT Agenda” featuring Rena Lindevaldsen and Matt Barber …

Discussion: The Huffington Post, Truth Wins Out, Towleroad News #gay, Joe. My. God. and Good As You

Rob Moritz / Arkansas News:

Judge strikes down adoption ban — LITTLE ROCK — A circuit judge Friday struck down a state law banning unmarried couples from adopting and serving as foster parents. — Act 1 unconstitutionally burdens non-marital relationships and acts of sexual intimacy between adults by forcing …

Discussion: Think Progress, Pam's House Blend, The Bilerico Project and Joe. My. God.

Annalyn Censky / CNNMoney.com:

GE: 7,000 tax returns, $0 U.S. tax bill — NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — General Electric filed more than 7,000 income tax returns in hundreds of global jurisdictions last year, but when push came to shove, the company owed the U.S. government a whopping bill of $0. — How'd it pull off that trick?

Discussion: Another Black Conservative, JONATHAN TURLEY and Don Surber

Charles Levinson / Wall Street Journal:

Israel iPad Ban Puzzles Many — Government Cites Wireless Interference, but Apple Tablet Uses Standard Chips — JERUSALEM—Israel this week has been blocking travelers from bringing Apple Inc.'s new iPad into the country saying the device's wireless technology threatens to create interference …

Discussion: Laura Rozen's Blog, Clusterstock, Joe. My. God. and Silicon Alley Insider

Yochi J. Dreazen / Wall Street Journal:

Pentagon to Limit Fort Hood Details — BRIDGETOWN, Barbados—The Pentagon will continue to limit the information about the Fort Hood shooting it provides to lawmakers to avoid jeopardizing the suspect's prosecution, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Friday, brushing off a subpoena threat from a Senate panel.

Discussion: The Hill

David M. Herszenhorn / The Caucus:

Senate Republicans Band Together in Opposing Financial Bill — All 41 Senate Republicans have signed a letter urging the majority leader, Senator Harry Reid, Democrat of Nevada, to adopt a more bipartisan approach in developing legislation to tighten regulation of the nation's financial system.

Discussion: New York Magazine, The Reality-Based Community, The Plum Line, Daily Kos, Reuters and Democracy in America