Wisconsin State Senator Smacks Down Chris Matthews: 'You're Completely Uninformed'  —  MSNBC's Chris Matthews tried Monday to push the liberal media meme that Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker exempted police and firefighters from his budget repair plan because their unions endorsed him in last November's election.

4 Americans on hijacked yacht dead off Somalia  —  U.S. Navy warship shadowing seized vessel takes action after gunshots are heard; 4 hostages apparently killed by captors, some pirates dead  —  The four Americans aboard a yacht hijacked by pirates off the coast of Somalia are dead.

Cleric orders Gaddafi killed  —  Influential Muslim cleric Yusuf al-Qaradawi has issued a fatwa that any Libyan soldier who can shoot dead embattled leader Muammar Gaddafi should do so ‘to rid Libya of him.’  —  'Whoever in the Libyan army is able to shoot a bullet at Mr Gaddafi should do so …

Ex-aide's book paints harsh portrait of Sarah Palin  —  A new memoir from an embittered former aide to Sarah Palin includes a trove of emails that vividly illustrate her intense focus on image and depiction in the media.  —  The emails, apparently from the former Alaska governor …

Two-Thirds of Wisconsin Public-School 8th Graders Can't Read Proficiently—Despite Highest Per Pupil Spending in Midwest  —  (CNSNews.com) - Two-thirds of the eighth graders in Wisconsin public schools cannot read proficiently according to the U.S. Department of Education …

WI State Rep Busted For Sexual Misconduct - Says Charges Are a Distraction From Larger State Issues  —  Now we know what they do when they're not at work...  Wisconsin State Rep. Gordon Hintz told reporters today that his arrest for sexual misconduct is a distraction from larger issues facing the state.

Sen. Scott Brown says, 'I'm not a Tea Party member,' welcomes GOP primary  —  “You're talking about being an ideologue?  If you're looking for one, I'm not it,” said Sen. Scott Brown.  —  Sen. Scott Brown (R-Mass.) said he doesn't consider himself a member of the Tea Party movement and would welcome any primary challenger.

Four men slashed teacher's face and left him with fractured skull ‘for teaching other religions to Muslim girls’  —  Four men launched a horrific attack on a teacher in which they slashed his face and left him with a fractured skull because they did not approve of him teaching religion to Muslim girls.

Michigan orders DPS to make huge cuts  —  Bobb told to consolidate services, close half of schools to end deficit  —  Lansing— Swift and severe changes are coming to Detroit Public Schools.  —  State education officials have ordered Robert Bobb to immediately implement a financial restructuring plan …

Home Prices Slid in December in Most U.S. Cities, Index Shows  —  Real estate prices slid again in December, pushing a leading price index within a whisper of its lowest level since the housing crash began, data released Tuesday showed.  —  The Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller Home Price Index …

I receive a threat: “whoever video taped this has no life and needs to be shot in the head.”  —  That's a comment on my YouTube video about the salt trucks that circled the Wisconsin Capitol yesterday, blowing horns, apparently in support of the protesters.  (I blogged the video here.)

Email: TPD captain investigated for refusing to order officers' attendance at mosque event  —  A Tulsa police captain who allegedly refused to require his subordinates to attend a “Law Enforcement Appreciation Day” at the Tulsa mosque has been assigned to a different division …

Among Libya's lobbyists  —  As several Libyan diplomats Monday denounced their country's four-decade ruler Col. Muammar Qadhafi for unleashing the army against anti-government protesters, U.S. consultancies that have worked to burnish Libya's and Qadhafi's U.S. image were laying low.

How Qaddafi Lost Libya  —  It seemed unlikely that Libya, sandwiched between regime collapse in Tunisia and regime collapse in Egypt, could be untouched by the movement.  Qaddafi has had dominion over an increasingly malcontent country, and the citizens have been increasingly disgusted …

Allen West Confronted by Koran-Wielding CAIR Executive(VIDEO)  —  At a townhall meeting hosted by Congressman Allen West on Monday evening in Pompano Beach, the Q&A segment of the meeting featured a Koran wielding Nezar Hamze, Executive Director of the Council for American Islamic Relations (CAIR).

Marriage Equality Bill Introduced In Maryland Senate  —  Earlier today, Maryland Senators introduced SB 116, ‘Religious Freedom and Civil Marriage Protection Act,’ which would allow gays and lesbians to marry in the state while exempting religious institutions from conducting the same-sex marriage ceremonies.

How a government shutdown could happen  —  Neither party says it wants a government shutdown.  —  But the path to a compromise is so tricky, neither party can rule it out.  —  Republicans say any short-term agreement must include spending cuts.  Democrats say, no way.

Think Stupidity  —  We generally follow Ronald Reagan's injunction to “always fight up, never fight down.”  Consequently, we critique liberal politicians and leading Democratic Party newspapers like the New York Times and the Washington Post, and rarely pay attention to the left-wing web sites that blight the landscape.