memeorandum: Haley Barbour says he'd veto Mississippi bill to establish Ku Klux Klan license plate (Kasie Hunt/The Politico)

3:00 PM ET, February 22, 2011

Top Items:

Union Bonds in Wisconsin Begin to Fray — JANESVILLE, Wis. — Rich Hahan worked at the General Motors plant here until it closed about two years ago. He moved to Detroit to take another G.M. job while his wife and children stayed here, but then the automaker cut more jobs.

Discussion: American Power, Hot Air, Firedoglake, Moe Lane, The Confluence, The Foundry, Hugh Hewitt's TownHall Blog, Wake up America, Unfogged, Conservatives4Palin and Balloon Juice

Noel Sheppard / NewsBusters.org:

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.

Discussion: Outside the Beltway, TalkLeft, Politics Daily, UrbanGrounds, Fire Andrea Mitchell!, Badger Blogger and Verum Serum

David Brooks / New York Times:

Make Everybody Hurt — Over the past few weeks we've begun to see the new contours of American politics. The budget cutters have taken control of the agenda, while government's defenders are waging tactical retreats. Given the scope of the fiscal problems, it could be like this for the next 10 or 20 years.

Discussion: Yglesias, TalkLeft, PostPartisan, DownWithTyranny!, The New Republic, The Plum Line, Right Turn, NewsBusters.org, The Monkey Cage, Balloon Juice and driftglass

Eric Lipton / New York Times:

Billionaire Brothers' Money Plays Role in Wisconsin Dispute — WASHINGTON — Among the thousands of demonstrators who jammed the Wisconsin State Capitol grounds this weekend was a well-financed advocate from Washington who was there to voice praise for cutting state spending by slashing union benefits and bargaining rights.

Discussion: The Huffington Post, Washington Post, AMERICAblog News, The Raw Story, AFL-CIO NOW BLOG, CBS News and New York Magazine

Josh Dorner / ThinkProgress:

Priorities? GOP Governors Shift Burden To Poor, Middle Class To Pay For Tax Breaks For Rich, Corporations — State budgets across the country are in disarray as a weak economy, the end of tens of billions in Recovery Act funds, and a GOP-led House that is pushing for deep cuts to many programs …

Discussion: Crooks and Liars, ECHIDNE of the snakes, Wonk Room and Firedoglake

Mark Blumenthal / The Huffington Post:

AFL-CIO Polls Show Wisconsin Supports Protestors, Opposes Walker … WASHINGTON - New polling conducted for the AFL-CIO and shared with The Huffington Post shows Wisconsin voters siding with the state workers, unions and protestors by large majorities and expressing net disapproval of Republican Governor Scott Walker

Discussion: ThinkProgress, Reuters, Guardian, Talking Points Memo, Daily Kos, The American Independent, Balloon Juice and Chicago Boyz

BooMan / Booman Tribune:
Wanker of the Day: Richard Cohen

Discussion: TalkLeft and Eschaton

Andrew Sullivan / The Daily Dish:
What Did Walker Campaign On? — Last night, I heard on Fox News …

Discussion: Firedoglake and Balloon Juice

Ezra Klein:
Wonkbook: Are Republicans overreaching? Or just negotiating effectively?

Discussion: Wall Street Journal, Pajamas Media and Classical Values

Richard Cohen / Washington Post:
Government pensions, an obesity epidemic

Discussion: Yglesias

Jamison Foser / Media Matters for America:
George Will's Dishonest Assault On Unions

Discussion: Lawyers, Guns & Money

ThinkProgress: Is Scott Walker Cutting Off Internet Access To Thwart Protesters?

Greg Sargent / The Plum Line:
Why won't Governor Walker accept unions' offer and declare victory?

Discussion: Washington Monthly, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, Hullabaloo, Daily Kos and George's Bottom Line

George F. Will / Washington Post:
Out of Wisconsin, a lesson in leadership for Obama

Discussion: Washington Examiner, Associated Press, Wall Street Journal, Weasel Zippers, GayPatriot, Moonbattery, Talking Points Memo, Don Surber and The Politico

Ezra Klein:
Column: Wisconsin is about power, not money

Discussion: Wonk Room and NPR

Nate Silver / FiveThirtyEight:
Rasmussen Poll on Wisconsin Dispute May Be Biased

Discussion: Daily Kos, The Raw Story, Right Wing News, Hit & Run, CNN, No More Mister Nice Blog, Taylor Marsh, The Mahablog, The Huffington Post, Scared Monkeys, WisPolitics Budget Blog, Hot Air, Fire Andrea Mitchell!, Pundit Press, theblogprof and Rasmussen Reports

Indianapolis Star:

Democrats trigger Statehouse showdown over anti-union legislation — House Democrats are leaving the state rather than vote on anti-union legislation, The Indianapolis Star has learned. — A source said Democrats are headed to Illinois, though it was possible some also might go to Kentucky.

Scott Wong / The Politico:
Harry Reid spending bill exposes deep divide with John Boehner

Discussion: The Note

Daniel Strauss / The Hill:
Indiana lawmakers also fleeing for border to avoid labor-bill vote

Discussion: The Plum Line, Cubachi and The Politico

Thomas M. Burton / Wall Street Journal:
Indiana Democrats Stage Walkout

Discussion: JammieWearingFool

The Politico:
How a government shutdown could happen

Discussion: CNN, Washington Monthly, White House Dossier and Quick News

News Item:

› - Statement from John and Kimberley Thune — For months now, my wife Kimberley and I have received encouragement from family, friends, colleagues, and supporters from across South Dakota and the country to run for the presidency of the United States.

Discussion: The Politico, GOP 12, Washington Monthly, The Note, Firedoglake, The Hill, Liberty Pundits Blog, Cubachi, Power Line, Politics Daily, The Caucus, New York Magazine, The American Independent, The Right Sphere, Wonkette and FrumForum

Chris Cillizza / The Fix:
Sen. John Thune won't run for president in 2012

Discussion: Ben Smith's Blog and Gawker

CBS News:

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.

Discussion: Politics Daily, Guardian, L.A. NOW, USA Today, New York Magazine, Human Events, Maggie's Notebook, Confederate Yankee, Mediaite, Moe Lane, BLACKFIVE, neo-neocon, Gawker, FrumForum and The Gateway Pundit

Tony Perry / L.A. NOW:
Four American hostages killed by Somali pirates during rescue attempt [Updated]

Discussion: Right Wing News, Michelle Malkin and Wizbang

Fox News:
Four Americans Killed on Yacht Hijacked by Somali Pirates

Discussion: The Jawa Report

Al Jazeera Blogs:

Live Blog - Libya Feb 22 — on February 22nd, 2011. — Alleged mercenaries deployed by Gaddafi in Tripoli, the Libyan capital. — As the uprising in Libya enters its ninth day, we keep you updated on the developing situation from our headquarters in Doha, Qatar.

Discussion: Guardian, BBC, Washington Post, The Daily Dish, Libya February 17th, News Desk, Mish's Global Economic …, AMERICAblog News and Outside the Beltway, more at Mediagazer »

Sky News Australia:
Cleric orders Gaddafi killed

Discussion: Aljazeera, The Investigative Project …, The Other McCain, The Moderate Voice, Questions and Observations, Outside the Beltway, The Gateway Pundit, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, A Chequer-Board of Nights …, Infidel Bloggers Alliance, Weasel Zippers, Babylon & Beyond, PoliPundit.com, The Jawa Report and Pundit Press

New York Times:
Chaos Grows in Libya as Defiant Qaddafi Vows to Fight

Discussion: Babylon & Beyond, The Daily Beast, ThinkProgress, New York Magazine, FP Passport, The Agonist, The Big Picture, Washington Monthly, Gawker, Towleroad News #gay, Hot Air and Time

Andrew Solomon / News Desk:
How Qaddafi Lost Libya

Discussion: Washington Post and Patterico's Pontifications

The Politico:

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 …

Discussion: Ben Smith's Blog, Salon, Hot Air and New York Magazine

Jack Stuef / Wonkette:

Sarah Palin Has Secret ‘Lou Sarah’ Facebook Account To Praise Other Sarah Palin Facebook Account — Sarah Palin has apparently created a second Facebook account with her Gmail address so that this fake “Lou Sarah” person can praise the other Sarah Palin on Facebook.

Discussion: TPM LiveWire, The Daily Dish, Outside the Beltway, AOL News, Politics Daily and Gawker

Terence P. Jeffrey / CNSNews:

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 …

Discussion: BizzyBlog, protein wisdom, Confederate Yankee and Weasel Zippers

The “Badger 14”:

Wisconsin TV station breaks embargo; publishes location of missing “Badger 14″ senators — After days of journalists meeting with the fugitive Wisconsin “Badger 14″ senators and disclosing only that they're in an “undisclosed location” in Illinois, it appears that one press outlet …

Discussion: WAOW-TV, The Gateway Pundit and WTMJ

Michael O'Brien / The Hill:

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.

Discussion: CNN, Hotline On Call, The Politico, The Impolitic and AMERICAblog News