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 …

House Republicans and Senate Democrats in talks to avoid government shutdown  —  Washington (CNN) - With funding for the federal government set to expire in less than two weeks, Senate Democrats and House Republicans are in discussions to avoid a government shutdown, a Senate Democratic leadership source told CNN.

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.

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.)

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.

New Zealand earthquake: 65 dead in Christchurch  —  Eyewitness Tania Galbraith: “The whole building began to shake and it just wouldn't stop”  —  New Zealand's prime minister says at least 65 people have died after a 6.3-magnitude earthquake hit Christchurch.

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.

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.

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 …

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 …

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 …

Wisconsin's Real Doctors and Their Fake Sick Notes for Protesters  —  Fears over becoming hostage to soaring health insurance premiums has Wisconsin's teachers and other public employees protesting in downtown Madison for the second week running.  It's a very real threat to their economic stability …

Rush: “Dare I Say This: It Doesn't Look Like Michelle Obama Follows Her Own Nutritionary, Dietary Advice”  —  From the February 21 edition of Premiere Radio Networks' The Rush Limbaugh Show:  —  Please upgrade your flash player.  The video for this item requires a newer version of Flash Player.

Government pensions, an obesity epidemic  —  In New York City, the No. 2 guy in the fire department retired on a pension worth $242,000 a year.  In New York State, a single official holding two jobs and one pension took in $641,000.  A lieutenant with the Port Authority police retired …

Cables show China used debt holdings to press US  —  Leaked diplomatic cables vividly show China's willingness to translate its massive holdings of US debt into political influence on issues ranging from Taiwan's sovereignty to Washington's financial policy.

Rep. Charlie Rangel offers annual tax tips despite ethics violations, failing to declare income  —  Rep. Charlie Rangel isn't backing down from anything after his censure by the House last year — including offering tax advice.  —  Among the ethics violations for which the Harlem Democrat …

Arrests in Zimbabwe for Seeing Videos  —  JOHANNESBURG — Dozens of students, trade unionists and political activists who gathered to watch Al Jazeera and BBC news reports on the uprisings that brought down autocrats in Tunisia and Egypt have been arrested on suspicion of plotting to oust President Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe.