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Wisconsin: The Hemlock Revolution — Revolutions everywhere—in the middle east, in the middle west. But there is a difference: in the middle east, the protesters are marching for democracy; in the middle west, they're protesting against it. I mean, Isn't it, well, a bit ironic …
Discussion:
The Moderate Voice, New York Times, Hullabaloo, TalkLeft, Pajamas Media, GayPatriot, The Other McCain and The New Republic
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Obama joins Wisconsin's budget battle, opposing Republican anti-union bill — MADISON, WIS. - President Obama thrust himself and his political operation this week into Wisconsin's broiling budget battle, mobilizing opposition Thursday to a Republican bill that would curb public-worker benefits …
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Wall Street Journal, The Huffington Post, Right Turn, National Review, Associated Press, TPMDC, Left Coast Rebel, Don Surber, Boehner, neo-neocon, The Caucus, Cubachi, Weekly Standard, Little Green Footballs, Outside the Beltway, Virginia Politics Blog, TalkLeft, SEIU, The Politico, Cato @ Liberty, The Atlantic Online, New York Times, The Note, The Other McCain, AmSpecBlog, Althouse, The Hill, The Foundry, RedState, New York Magazine, POWIP, Firedoglake, Prairie Weather, Fox Nation, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, CNN, USA Today, The Enterprise Blog, ourfuture.org/blogs_chrono/*, Power Line, Da Techguy's Blog, Taylor Marsh and Weigel

What is actually being proposed in Wisconsin? — Reading the commentary, I think a lot of people are confused about what's actually being proposed in Wisconsin. So let's go through it. — You can find Gov. Scott Walker's proposal here. It's called “the Budget Repair bill.”
Discussion:
Associated Press, JSOnline, Mother Jones, PostPartisan, Balloon Juice, Rortybomb, Cato @ Liberty and Gawker

Unions aren't to blame for Wisconsin's budget — Let's be clear: Whatever fiscal problems Wisconsin is — or is not — facing at the moment, they're not caused by labor unions. That's also true for New Jersey, for Ohio and for the other states. There was no sharp rise in collective bargaining …

Poll: Public unions a hard sell — A new poll from the Washington-based Clarus Group asked: — Do you think government employees should be represented by labor unions that bargain for higher pay, benefits and pensions ... or do you think government employees should not be represented by labor unions?
Discussion:
GayPatriot, The Plum Line and Behind the Numbers

Showdown in Wisconsin — The circus in Wisconsin is rapidly blowing …

Wis. governor: GOP won't be ‘bullied’ by union bill protesters
Discussion:
The Huffington Post, Bloomberg, Taylor Marsh, Political Punch, Crooked Timber, ThinkProgress, Daily Kos, Vox Popoli, Wake up America, Pajamas Media and FrumForum


Join Andrew Breitbart, Herman Cain & Jim Hoft at Wisconsin Freedom Rally to Support Scott Walker Saturday
Discussion:
JSOnline, Left Coast Rebel, The Mahablog, Moonbattery, Da Techguy's Blog, Right Wing News and Michelle Malkin

Gadsden Flag Bad, Egypt Flag Good
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theblogprof, Hot Air, American Power and The Other McCain

Obama, DNC Fuel State Employee Protests
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The Huffington Post, Publius Forum, The Note, Pajamas Media, Weasel Zippers, The Gateway Pundit and JSOnline

Gov. Walker to Obama: focus on balancing your budget, which you're a long way from doing
Discussion:
The Gateway Pundit and Liberty Pundits Blog

Gov. Walker's Pretext — In a year when governors across …
Discussion:
The Atlantic Online, PostPartisan, TalkLeft, Althouse, Sky Dancing, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Cubachi and Boehner

Wisconsin: Tea Partiers, Breitbart Coming To Fight Unions
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The Huffington Post, Breitbart.tv, Colorlines, Wonkette, JSOnline, Guardian, Weigel, FrumForum and RedState

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker: Funded by the Koch Bros.
Discussion:
ThinkProgress, Hit & Run, National Review, TPMDC, The Policy Page, Yglesias and Democracy in America

Wisconsin's Anti-Union Bill in Limbo as GOP Sends State Troopers After Missing Democrats
Discussion:
Michelle Malkin, Wonkette and Confederate Yankee


House votes to defund Planned Parenthood — The House just approved Rep. Mike Pence's amendment to cut off funding to Planned Parenthood, checking off a hot-button social issue even as it set up a bigger showdown over defunding the health care law. — The vote was 240-185 with 11 Democrats voting …
Discussion:
Michelle Malkin, The Plum Line, LifeNews.com, Cubachi, The Moderate Voice, Caffeinated Thoughts, Open Congress, WWBT-TV, Decision Virginia, Outside the Beltway, NewsBusters.org, Taegan Goddard's …, Liberty Pundits Blog, The Other McCain, Mother Jones, The Democratic Daily and Pirate's Cove
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Planned Parenthood Funding Voted Down — Amendment Passes Despite Stunning Personal Testimony From Rep. Jackie Speier — The House of Representatives Friday passed a measure to end federal funding for abortion provider Planned Parenthood a day after Rep. Jackie Speier, D-Calif. …
Discussion:
Alan Colmes' Liberaland, Ben Smith's Blog, OpenSecrets.org, Pam's House Blend, Swampland and Joe. My. God.

House rejects extra $22 billion in cuts that divided Republicans — The House rejected a measure cutting an additional $22 billion from the Republican spending bill, as conservatives ran into a wall of opposition from the GOP establishment over the depth of reductions to federal funding.
Discussion:
The Politico, protein wisdom, Washington Post, Hot Air and CNN


Rep. Jackie Speier gets personal on abortion
Discussion:
CNN and New York Magazine

House passes measure stripping Planned Parenthood funding
Discussion:
AOL News and Little Green Footballs

House cuts off funding for healthcare reform, Planned Parenthood
Discussion:
The Plum Line

House votes to defund Planned Parenthood, Title X
Discussion:
The American Independent, Focal Point, Feministe, Booman Tribune and Don Surber


Government shutdown is likely, Pelosi aide says — A high-ranking aide to Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) told chiefs of staff of Democratic lawmakers that a government shutdown is more likely than not, according to attendees. — Speaking at a regular meeting of the top aides to House Democrats …
Discussion:
Boehner, ThinkProgress, GayPatriot and FrumForum
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Pelosi says she's ‘proud’ of Wisconsin Democrats who fled — House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said she supports the Democratic state senators in Wisconsin who left the state to stop a vote on curbing collective bargaining rights for unionized public employees.
Discussion:
CNN, Weasel Zippers and Hot Air

THEY MAY ACTUALLY BE ‘A BUNCH OF YAHOOS’.... A month …
Discussion:
ThinkProgress, No More Mister Nice Blog, Daily Kos and Booman Tribune

Democrat suggests ‘ObamaCare’ rhetoric should be banned from House floor — House Republicans and Democrats started Friday morning's debate over whether to defund last year's healthcare law, and as part of this debate sparred over whether members should be allowed to call that law “ObamaCare.”
Discussion:
Hot Air, The Politico, The Note, iOwnTheWorld.com, Maggie's Notebook and Don Surber
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Americans Say Reagan Is the Greatest U.S. President — Lincoln and Clinton next on the list; Washington fifth — PRINCETON, NJ — Ahead of Presidents Day 2011, Americans are most likely to say Ronald Reagan was the nation's greatest president — slightly ahead of Abraham Lincoln and Bill Clinton.
Discussion:
Politics Daily, The Moderate Voice, The Politico and Outside the Beltway

Jeff Bingaman to retire — New Mexico Democratic Sen. Jeff Bingaman is expected to announce his retirement today, according to a source close to the decision, a move that further complicates his party's efforts to hold their Senate majority in 2012. — Bingaman had been mulling whether …
Discussion:
Firedoglake, Grist, Hotline On Call, Politics Daily, The Raw Story, Swampland, RedState, Swing State Project and Daily Kos

Firefighter refused call to Tucson shooting spree scene — A veteran city firefighter's refusal to respond to the Jan. 8 shooting spree, citing “political bantering,” may have slowed his Tucson Fire Department unit's response to the incident that left six dead and 13 wounded, city memos show.
Discussion:
New York Times, msnbc.com, Salon, AMERICAblog News and Chicago Boyz

Obama administration replaces controversial ‘conscience’ regulation for health-care workers — The Obama administration rescinded most of a federal regulation Friday designed to protect health workers who refuse to provide care they find objectionable on personal or religious grounds.
Discussion:
The American Independent, The Foundry and Pam's House Blend


Obama's Louis XV budget — Five days before his inauguration, President-elect Obama told The Post that entitlement reform could no longer be kicked down the road. He then spent the next two years kicking - racking up $3 trillion in new debt along the way - on the grounds …
Discussion:
neo-neocon


Stunner! Supremes to give eligibility case another look — Challenge to Obama getting 2nd conference before court — In a stunning move, the U.S. Supreme Court has scheduled another “conference” on a legal challenge to Barack Obama's eligibility to occupy the Oval Office …
Discussion:
iOwnTheWorld.com, Classical Values and PoliPundit.com

Tomorrow Never Comes — Jonathan Alter wrote a book about Barack Obama's first year in office called “The Promise.” That's a great title because it works on so many levels. For example, over the past four years, Obama's career has been marked by a constant promise: He has continually …
Discussion:
The New Republic, Right Turn, Balloon Juice, JustOneMinute, Hit & Run and msnbc.com


Outrageous cuts — PAUL KRUGMAN'S columns tend so often toward scathing criticism of Republicans that it's easy to discount the outrage and dismiss it. It would be a shame if that's the reaction to his writing today, which couldn't be more on point. To wit:
Discussion:
The Future of Capitalism, Firedoglake, New York Times and Mother Jones

Unions badgering Wisconsin's finances? — Co-director, Center for Economic and Policy Research : — You have to give Gov. Walker and his wealthy patrons credit. Here we have a situation where Wall Street fat cats wrecked the economy - people like Richard Fuld, Robert Rubin, and Angelo Mozilo …
Discussion:
The Huffington Post and DownWithTyranny!


Security Forces in Bahrain Open Fire on Mourners — MANAMA, Bahrain — Government forces opened fire on hundreds of mourners marching toward Pearl Square Friday, sending people running away in panic amid the boom of concussion grenades. But even as the people fled, at least one helicopter sprayed fire …