SO IS THIS THE HOPE, OR THE CHANGE? Home prices falling in most major US cities. “Home prices are falling in most major U.S. cities, and the average prices in four of them are at their lowest point in 11 years. Analysts expect further prices declines in most cities in the coming months.”

UPDATE: Consumer Confidence Falls In March.

CREATING A SUPERCOMPUTER from linked Playstations. “I guess it would have good graphics.”

SYRIA UPDATE: Syrian Cabinet Resigns After Huge Protests. “Syria’s Cabinet resigned Tuesday to help quell a wave of popular fury that erupted more than a week ago and is now threatening President Bashar Assad’s 11-year rule in one of the most authoritarian and closed-off nations in the Middle East. Assad, whose family has controlled Syria for four decades, is trying to calm the growing dissent with a string of concessions.”

TOM BLUMER: Obama And The Democrats Dodging Social Security Reform. “These people know the truth, and they’re deliberately dodging it. They’re cynically hoping to ride a wave of ginned-up opposition to any and all entitlement reform in hopes of getting across the finish line in the 2012 elections. I don’t believe I’ve ever seen a more cynical strategy on a problem so important in my lifetime. I hope they fail.”

IN THE MAIL: Farnsworth’s Classical English Rhetoric.

JUST A REMINDER: When you buy through the Amazon links on this page, or through the search box in the right sidebar, you’ll be putting a little money in my family’s pocket at no cost to yourself.

JUST A FEW DAYS LEFT TO APPLY for the Institute For Humane Studies summer seminars.

KIRK VICTOR: Senators Toss Budget Ball To Obama, Who Fumbles. “Nobody wants to step out with what might be a controversial position.”

IN CONGRESS, pushback against labor.

AN INCOHERENT POLICY? Byron York: Jihadis Who Killed Americans Get U.S. Support In Libya.

IN A NATION OF COWARDS, thuggery is a high-yield investment.

JENNIFER RUBIN INTERVIEWS RomneyCare author Jonathan Gruber.

EDWARD TENNER: The Worldwide Ripple Effect of Japan’s Disaster. “The tsunami has exposed a weakness in global logistics long recognized in principle but disregarded in practice. Lean manufacturing plus heavy reliance on a single plant equals vulnerability to disruption.”

It’s not just industrial stuff, either. And how much food do we have stored against emergencies here in the United States? Much less than a few decades ago, or I miss my guess.

MICHAEL YON: Calling BULLSHIT on Rolling Stone. What? Rolling Stone is still publishing? Who knew?

THE STATE OF WISCONSIN HAS stopped withholding union dues from employee paychecks. And despite all the sound-and-fury, this is what the Democrats are really upset about. Plus this: “With the law now in effect and paychecks getting an increase since union dues are not being withheld, Democrats are the party arguing for a reduction in state worker paychecks.”

Heh. Indeed.

VIDEO: US Navy pilots surprise Japanese with food and water. (Bumped).

THE HILL: Dems Adopt Divide-And-Conquer Strategy On Spending Cuts. This is why across-the-board cuts are a better strategy, as I’ve noted before. Nobody is going to convince voters that government agencies can’t take a 5% cut.

SUPPLY CHAIN PROBLEMS: As Japan shutdowns drag on, auto crisis worsens. “Because parts and supplies are shipped by slow-moving boats, the real drop-off has yet to be felt by factories in the U.S., Europe and Asia. That will come by the middle of April.”

Related: Japan’s Automakers Painted Into Corner By Shortages. “For many automakers, it was a big challenge just to pinpoint where the supply chain had snapped. . . . And because the worst-hit suppliers are in the electronics and chip-making sectors, getting them back up to speed is a big hurdle. Vehicle assembly lines are relatively easy to stop and restart, but chip-making equipment is far more sensitive and can get really messed up by an unscheduled shutdown.”

A BIG DISCONNECT: Employers believe that employee satisfaction is holding steady or improving, when in fact it is tanking.

UPDATE: Related: Workers Antsy As Morale Plunges.

Also: Stressed At Work? How To Move Up Or Out.

DONALD SENSING: The Speech: There Is No Plan A. “Obama got rolled by the Europeans. This is an after-affect of French and Italian colonialism. The Libya war is neo-colonialism by the Europeans. And the United States is like fraternity pledges that the brothers make mop up the frat house floor on Sunday morning after an all-night kegger that they didn’t attend.” I thought we weren’t supposed to have wars for oil.

Related: A topsy-turvy world on MSNBC.

UPDATE: A roundup of reactions.

Plus, Obama’s “InstaWar.” Hmm. “InstaWar?” Catchy name! I kind of like the sound of that. . . .

LOOKING FOR WAR ON TERROR NEWS? Check out Fred Pruitt’s Rantburg.

MICKEY KAUS on the causes of “Black Flight.”

REPORT: ‘Don’t panic’ over plutonium in soil at Fukushima plant. I’ve got a button that says “Don’t Panic” on my office bulletin board. It’s usually good advice.

AND FOR THIS REASON, I PREDICT SWIFT REGULATORY APPROVAL FROM THE OBAMA ADMINISTRATION: AT&T merger could swell ranks of union that backs Democrats.

OBAMA GOES AFTER Libya’s WMDs.