Video: CWA union thug strikes young female FreedomWorks activist; Updated  —  This is Tabitha Hale, a young conservative activist/original Tea Party organizer/blogger who works for Washington, D.C.-based FreedomWorks.  I know her from her great grass-roots work with Smart Girl Politics when the Tea Party movement was just emerging.

Another Runaway General: Army Deploys Psy-Ops on U.S. Senators  —  The U.S. Army illegally ordered a team of soldiers specializing in “psychological operations” to manipulate visiting American senators into providing more troops and funding for the war, Rolling Stone has learned …

WikiLeaks founder must face Swedish rape allegations  —  WikiLeaks founder handed verdict at Belmarsh magistrates court  —  Follow reactions to the ruling on our live blog  —  The WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange is to be extradited to Sweden to face allegations of rape and sexual assault.

Lobbyists: White House sends meetings off-site to hide them  —  Caught between their boss's anti-lobbyist rhetoric and the reality of governing, President Barack Obama's aides often steer meetings with lobbyists to a complex just off the White House grounds - and several of the lobbyists involved …

Obama breaks silence, condemns Libya crackdown  —  (Reuters) - President Barack Obama condemned the “outrageous” crackdown by Libyan security forces on protesters and said Washington would work with international partners to hold Muammar Gaddafi's government accountable.

U.S. Pushes Mortgage Deal  —  Obama Proposal Seeks Multibillion-Dollar Settlement of Loan-Servicing Cases  —  The Obama administration is trying to push through a settlement over mortgage-servicing breakdowns that could force America's largest banks to pay for reductions in loan principal worth billions of dollars.

Neither Party Has Edge on Federal Budget Dealings  —  Americans favor compromise over budget shutdown by 2-to-1 margin  —  PRINCETON, NJ — Americans are closely divided over whether the Republicans in Congress (42%) or President Obama and the Democrats (39%) are doing the better job …

The Left's War on the Kochs  —  The most extraordinary story in the news these days is the all-out assault that the Left is mounting against Charles and David Koch and their company, Koch Enterprises.  A day doesn't go buy—hardly an hour goes by—without some new attack being launched against these two lonely libertarians.

Liberals to stage Tea Party-like revolts against GOP spending cuts  —  Democratic strategists believe their Tea Party moment has arrived.  —  Working with labor unions and liberal groups, they are using the Presidents Day congressional recess to organize a public backlash against billions of dollars in cuts to federal programs.

Daniels '71: Into the spotlight  —  After Mitch Daniels '71 was arrested, indicted and convicted on charges of drug use as an undergraduate in May 1970, he said that he thought his aspiring political career was doomed.  “Any goal I might have had for competing for public office were shot,” …

The Executive Power Grab in the Decision Not to Defend DOMA  —  I can understand the intense political pressure on the Obama Administration not to defend DOMA.  Presumably Obama and pretty much every significant lawyer in the Obama Administration opposes DOMA, whether or not they can take that position on the record.

Revenge of the Pomeranians  —  Right now concerned citizens are probably asking themselves: What will happen if the federal government shuts down?  —  Also, why is the federal government in danger of shutting down?  Whom can I blame for this?  Does it have anything to do with what's going on in Wisconsin?

Qaddafi Massing Forces in Tripoli as Rebellion Spreads  —  BAIDA, Libya — Forces loyal to Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi were reported to be striking back in several cites surrounding Tripoli on Thursday, as rebellion crept closer to the capital and defections of military officers multiplied.

Fox's Shep Smith: Pretending Wisconsin Is About A Fiscal Crisis Is “Malarkey”  —  Shepard Smith's conversation today with commentator Juan Williams would likely surprise loyal viewers of both Fox News and MSNBC.  Shep's repeated assertion that there is no longer a budget crisis in Wisconsin …

G.M. Reports an Annual Profit, Its First Since 2004  —  DETROIT — General Motors, which nearly collapsed from the weight of its debts two years ago before reorganizing in a government-sponsored bankruptcy, said Thursday that it earned $4.7 billion in 2010, the most in more than a decade.

Attorney General declares DOMA unconstitutional  —  WASHINGTON (CNN) - Attorney General Eric Holder today sent a letter to House Speaker John Boehner, after determining that Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act, “as applied to same-sex couples who are legally married under state law …

Town hall ‘rage’ over spending  —  ORLANDO, Fla.—The two town halls couldn't have been any more different — one a blue-jeans-and-ball-cap affair, rowdy and filled-to-capacity near an impoverished urban strip — the other a smaller confab of polo-shirt-and-Bermuda-shorts clad seniors in a sleek conference room outside Orlando.