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 …

Roger Ailes, Fox News Chief, Told Employee to Lie, Records Say  —  It was an incendiary allegation — and a mystery of great intrigue in the media world: After the publishing powerhouse Judith Regan was fired by HarperCollins in 2006, she claimed that a senior executive at its parent company …

Official: U.S. military options for Libya being planned  —  (CNN) — In the first indication the crisis with Libya could take on a military dimension, the Pentagon is looking at “all options” it can offer President Barack Obama in dealing with the Libyan crisis, a senior U.S. military official told CNN on Thursday.

Video: Rhode Island union supporter to cameraman - “I'll f**k you in the ass, you faggot”  —  The hits keep on coming.  Here's another fine specimen of Big Labor civility:  —  At AFSCME's “solidarity” rally in Providence, Rhode Island on Tuesday, a cameraman was accosted by a fuming pro-union protester.

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 …

Really Bad Reporting in Wisconsin: Who ‘Contributes’ to Public Workers' Pensions?  —  When it comes to improving public understanding of tax policy, nothing has been more troubling than the deeply flawed coverage of the Wisconsin state employees' fight over collective bargaining.

Texas Resident Arrested on Charge of Attempted Use of Weapon of Mass Destruction … WASHINGTON - Khalid Ali-M Aldawsari, 20, a citizen of Saudi Arabia and resident of Lubbock, Texas, was arrested late yesterday by FBI agents in Texas on a federal charge of attempted use of a weapon …

67% Disapprove of Legislators Fleeing Wisconsin to Avoid Vote  —  Half of America's voters favor public sector unions for government workers, but they strongly oppose the tactic by Wisconsin state senators to flee their state to prevent a vote that would limit the rights of such unions.

Nebraska Resurrects “Justifiable Homicide” Abortion Bill  —  A state legislator pushes a bill that's even more sweeping than the South Dakota proposal that sparked a national controversy.  —  Post Comment  —  Just when abortion rights supporters thought they had beaten a controversial bill …

The Most Disturbing Personality on Cable Television  —  In the past few weeks Glenn Beck has spoken about the coming caliphate that he believes is about to envelope most of the world.  He then dilated on the anti-Christ with a man who says he has “new prophetic understanding into the end times.”

Kaiser Health Tracking Poll — February 2011  —  In the wake of the health reform repeal vote in the U.S. House and the ongoing legal challenges over the individual mandate, nearly half the country either believes that the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) …

Madison police chief troubled by Walker's comments on protesters  —  By Sharif Durhams of the Journal Sentinel  —  Madison Police Chief Noble Wray said Thursday that he found comments by Gov. Scott Walker made about protesters at the state Capitol during a prank phone call “very unsettling and troubling.”

Report: GOP budget cuts would hit U.S. economy  —  Goldman Sachs analysis says Republicans' $61 billion in cuts would trim U.S. economic growth by half this year.  Rep. John Boehner and others reject the report.  —  Reporting from Washington — Spending cuts approved by House Republicans …

How Chris Christie Did His Homework  —  Like a stand-up comedian working out-of-the-way clubs, Chris Christie travels the townships and boroughs of New Jersey­, places like Hackettstown and Raritan and Scotch Plains, sharpening his riffs about the state's public employees …

U.S. Fears Tripoli May Deploy Gas As Chaos Mounts  —  WASHINGTON—The government of Col. Moammar Gadhafi hasn't destroyed significant stockpiles of mustard gas and other chemical-weapons agents, raising fears in Washington about what could happen to them—and whether they may be used—as Libya slides further into chaos.

UFT spends millions on dinners, parties, parking, coffee as thousands of teachers face layoffs  —  As nearly 5,000 city teachers face the ax, their union shells out millions of dollars on feasting, boozing and partying, the Daily News has learned.  —  Free-spending United Federation …

McCain's Shift Makes Him Senate's Most Conservative  —  Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., along with seven of his colleagues, voted most often on the conservative side.  —  The politician who once best exemplified the idea of a “maverick” independent has shifted so far to the right that he is now tied …

Senate leader Fitzgerald's wife gets layoff notice  —  HUSTISFORD, Wis. — The wife of the Wisconsin Senate majority leader is among school staff receiving preliminary layoff notices.  —  Lisa Fitzgerald is a counselor in the Hustisford school district and is married to Republican Senator Scott Fitzgerald.

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,” …

Will Obama Find Those Shoes?  —  In the “flashback quote of the day” at Taegan Goddard's Political Wire, he highlights words from candidate Barack Obama, made in a 2007 speech (and referenced in Slate).  That quote is as follows (spoken word differs slightly from the prepared text quoted by others …