Question to Broun: Who's going to shoot President Obama?  —  At Rep. Paul Broun's town hall meeting on Tuesday, the Athens congressman asked who had driven the farthest to be there and let the winner ask the first question.  —  We couldn't hear the question in the back of the packed Oglethorpe …

WI Assembly GOP Passes Walker Budget In Surprise Vote — Dems Chant “Shame!”  —  MADISON, WI — The Wisconsin State Assembly has just passed Gov. Scott Walker's budget repair bill, including its controversial provisions to eliminate almost all collective bargaining rights for public employee unions …

Koch Executives Speak Out on Wisconsin  —  Madison, Wis. — Earlier this week, a blogger impersonating industrialist David Koch spoke with Gov. Scott Walker of Wisconsin, who is attempting to pass a budget-repair bill.  The conversation between Walker and the poseur, which was recorded …

Senate Democrats eye the lockbox for Social Security, in Al Gore revival  —  Senate Democrats want to put the Social Security trust fund in a lockbox and insulate it from a broader budget-cutting package designed to reduce the national deficit.  —  It's a revival of the concept …

Shock Doctrine, U.S.A.  —  Here's a thought: maybe Madison, Wis., isn't Cairo after all.  Maybe it's Baghdad — specifically, Baghdad in 2003, when the Bush administration put Iraq under the rule of officials chosen for loyalty and political reliability rather than experience and competence.

U.S. Pulling Back in Afghan Valley It Called Vital to War  —  KABUL, Afghanistan — After years of fighting for control of a prominent valley in the rugged mountains of eastern Afghanistan, the United States military has begun to pull back most of its forces from ground it once insisted …

Pelosi edits honorary resolution...on Pelosi  —  The Democratic National Committee wanted to honor Nancy Pelosi Thursday — but its praise wasn't good enough for the House minority leader.  —  When the DNC's Resolutions Committee brought up a resolution commemorating Pelosi's years as speaker of the House …

Run Mitch, Run  —  On Feb. 11, Gov. Mitch Daniels of Indiana met with a group of college students.  According to The Yale Daily News, he told them that there is an “excellent chance” he will not run for president.  Then he mounted the podium at the Conservative Political Action Conference …

GDP report: Economic growth revised sharply lower  —  NEW YORK (CNNMoney) — Budget cuts by state and local governments hurt the economy more than originally thought, according to a government release Friday.  —  Gross domestic product, the broadest measure of economic activity …

Foiled by the winter: The £25,000 eco-classroom that can't be used because solar panels don't provide enough heat  —  Eco-campaigners who built a classroom powered by the sun believed they were paving the way for the future.  —  Instead they have been taught a valuable lesson …

N.J. labor unions expected to rally in Trenton in support of Wisconsin public workers  —  TRENTON — In a sea of red shirts at the Statehouse today, members of New Jersey labor unions are expected to rally in support of Wisconsin public employees.  —  Their objectives will be transparent.

The top political newcomers  —  Only two months have passed in 2011, but already a number of new faces have made names for themselves — sometimes for good and somtimes for bad — on the national political scene.  —  Some, like New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) and Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul (R) …

Groups officially begin recall process for seven lawmakers  —  By Daniel Bice of the Journal Sentinel  —  The clock is now running for groups trying to collect enough signatures to trigger recall elections against seven Democratic senators, state officials said today.

Topics  —  Barack_Mugabe:  —  Things Obama has done to improve this country:  —  1. Absolutely necessary, although unpleasant, bailout of the banking system, without there is no doubt at all that we would have had a worldwide depression on the scale of the '30s.  Took a lot of political courage, too.

Egyptian Armed Forces Fire At Christian Monasteries, 19 Injured  —  (AINA) — For the second time in as many days, Egyptian armed force stormed the 5th century old St. Bishoy monastery in Wadi el-Natroun, 110 kilometers from Cairo.  Live ammunition was fired, wounding two monks and six Coptic monastery workers.