It’s tax day, the most painful ever for many American workers, and Congress is protecting tax-prep profiteers from IRS competition…--the IRS already has about 90% of my info, so filing a return is an expensive honesty exam
--at WhoWhatWhy, Klaus Marre warns not to get your hopes up about release of Trump’s tax returns
--in Paris, rooftop fire at landmark Cathedral of Notre Dame causes spire to collapse
--corporate media moves on from Assange, after wave of smears and denunciation that expose deep hypocrisy
--at The Intercept, author and former ABC Mideast reporter Charles Glass: “Assange languishes in prison as his journalistic collaborators brandish their prizes”
--at ConsortiumNews, Pepe Escobar and Chris Hedges offer strong commentary
--Elizabeth Vos details Assange’s confinement in Britain’s supermax Balmarsh prison for bail-jumping charge
--UK releases letters promising that Assange will not face death penalty in he is extradited
--former Guardian editor Alan Rusbridger vents heavily on Assange’s flaws, then comes around to denouncing his prosecution for journalism
--perhaps to distract from his embrace of Assange, Trump used lies from Murdoch outlets in Australia and US to attack Rep. Ilhan Omar; Robert Mackey unpacks it
--and Moustafa Bayoumi condemns it
--Trump’s new anti-Semitism czar has a very broad definition of anti-Semitism, as Netanyahu seeks to assemble “indictment-proof” coalition
--NY Times does huge spread on real concerns about data collection by tech giants, without any mention of ongoing government surveillance
--right before he promoted him to acting DHS Secretary, Trump told Kevin McAleenan to close the border, and promised a pardon if he got in trouble for it
--Trump continues to tweak sanctuary cities with threat of immigrant transfers
--redacted Mueller report set for release on Thursday
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