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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 …
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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:
Mother Jones, JSOnline, National Review, PostPartisan, Rortybomb, Left Coast Rebel and Gawker


Wisconsin protests: why ‘week of rage’ matters to rest of America — Wisconsin protests at the state Capitol pit a new wave of tea party-inspired Republicans against Democrats defending their most cherished ideals. It's a political drama that echoes across the country and could play out again across the newly ‘red’ Midwest.
Discussion:
Pajamas Media and Politics Daily

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:
The Politico, Weasel Zippers, CNN, Hot Air and GayPatriot

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

Obama, DNC Fuel State Employee Protests
Discussion:
The Note, Pajamas Media, TalkLeft, JSOnline, Weasel Zippers, The Gateway Pundit and Daily Kos

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

Cairo in the Midwest?
Discussion:
The Week Magazine and The Huffington Post


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 …
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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. …

Pelosi: GOP using Planned Parenthood as ‘whipping boy’ in health debate
Discussion:
Weasel Zippers

House votes to defund Planned Parenthood, Title X
Discussion:
Booman Tribune and Don Surber

House votes to block all funding to Planned Parenthood
Discussion:
RedState, Focal Point, The Foundry, Feministe, NewsBusters.org blogs, Pharyngula and The Huffington Post

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

Defund-a-palooza: Planned Parenthood, Obamacare on notice
Discussion:
LifeNews.com and Fire Andrea Mitchell!

House Overwhelmingly Votes to Scrap Planned Parenthood Funding
Discussion:
Michelle Malkin

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:
Patterico's Pontifications, The Politico, Hot Air and CNN
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Government shutdown is likely, Pelosi aide says
Discussion:
Boehner, Don Surber, GayPatriot, ThinkProgress and FrumForum

Conservative budget amendment fails House amid fissure among Republicans
Discussion:
New York Times, Politics Daily and National Review

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

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:
Outside the Beltway, The Moderate Voice, Politics Daily, The Politico, Left Coast Rebel and HotAirPundit

Governor Walker meets the press — I think one of our readers expresses the feeling of a lot of Wisconsin citizens today. She certainly expresses my admiration for Governor Walker: … The battle for Wisconsin really raises in extreme form the question whether the people rule here.
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Hillary Clinton: Israeli Settlements ‘Illegitimate’ — Secretary of State Calls Working Toward Mideast Peace Her ‘Highest Priority’ — Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called Israeli settlements “illegitimate” shortly before the United States vetoed a United Nations Security Council …
Discussion:
Weasel Zippers
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Obama Turns His Back on Israel
Discussion:
The Hill, Salon, Ben Smith's Blog and GOP 12


Allen West lashes out at the “ignorance and dishonest rhetoric” of Congressional Democrats — After serving over a month in Congress, Representative Allen West, a Tea Party favorite is less than impressed with democrats from the other side of the aisle. — He wrote his sentiments in a press release.
Discussion:
Doug Ross and Liberty Pundits Blog


Why Does College Cost So Much? — Robert B. Archibald and David H. Feldman are economists at the College of William & Mary, a public university in Virginia, and the authors of “Why Does College Cost So Much?” If you want the brief version, you could look at an op-ed article by the two economists …
Discussion:
The Reality-Based Community

Just Wondering — A reader asks a good question about news coverage of events in Wisconsin: … Heh. We all remember how liberal news coverage of tea party rallies rarely failed to note that they were “predominantly white.” Somehow, that is no longer a salient fact …
Discussion:
GayPatriot and TigerHawk


A Place on the Right for a Few Godless Conservatives — As a child, Razib Khan spent several weeks studying in a Bangladeshi madrasa. Heather Mac Donald once studied literary deconstructionism and clerked for a left-wing judge. In neither case did the education take.
Discussion:
Riehl World View, Secular Right and Overlawyered

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?

Libya protests: massacres reported as Gaddafi imposes news blackout — Opposition says 61 killed as diplomats report use of heavy weapons in Benghazi and rumours sweep the country — Libyans have taken to the streets and buried their dead, accusing government forces of perpetrating massacres …
Discussion:
Salon, msnbc.com and Libya February 17th
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Clashes in Libya Worsen as Army Crushes Dissent
Discussion:
Al Jazeera Blogs, Salon, BBC, Pajamas Media, Outside the Beltway, Libya February 17th, Gawker, AOL News and hrw.org, more at Mediagazer »

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, Politics Daily, Swing State Project, The Raw Story, Hotline On Call, RedState, Daily Kos and Swampland

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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