Lightning Round -- 042513

All manner of things going on right now and not much time to discuss all of it. So let's shake down the thunder from the sky.

• Another day, another proposed DFL tax increase, this time from the House. $2.6 billion more, or so they think. Not one Republican voted for this bill. Smart move, Republicans. The last thing you want at this point is for anyone to be able to call this thing "bipartisan."
• Kermit Gosnell's defense team rested its case yesterday without calling a single witness. I certainly can understand why Gosnell wouldn't want to take the stand himself, but you would think that they would at least try to offer someone else to rebut the prosecution's case, which was thoroughgoing and gruesome. I suspect that a plea deal might be in the offing. I'm still having trouble writing about this case, because what this guy did was so monstrous it's difficult to talk about it.
• The amazing NFL marketing machine kicks into gear today when the NFL draft begins. Benster and I didn't get around to our annual mock draft this year, but nothing he'd have come up with would be any more ridiculous than the spectacle itself. Yet I suspect I'll be watching some of it anyway. And if you get a chance to watch the ESPN "30 for 30" documentary on the 1983 draft, titled "From Elway to Marino," you should. It's a fascinating look at how the process looked some 30 years ago. Put it this way -- that world has changed. And I should mention that the entire "30 for 30" series has been brilliant.
• While we continue to suss out the actions of the Tsarnaev brothers, it's worth remembering that there are all manner of bad guys out there who think they can kill because of their ideas.