HOUSE REPUBLICAN RAISES SPECTER OF IMPEACHMENT.... Late last week, disgraced former House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.), who knows a little something about the practice, raised the prospect of presidential impeachment.  The Republican, perhaps best known for leading the crusade against President Clinton …

Wisconsin Poll: Support for Budget Cutting, Not for Weakening Collective Bargaining Rights  —  Most Wisconsin voters oppose efforts to weaken collective bargaining rights for union workers but a plurality are supportive of significant pay cuts for state workers.

Longhorns 17, Badgers 1  —  Please pardon this brief departure from my normal folderol, but every so often a member of the chattering class issues a nugget of stupidity so egregious that no amount of mockery will suffice.  Particularly when the issuer of said stupidity holds a Nobel Prize.

Lawyer for Ohio Police Union Tells Republican State Senator: ‘Funny Thing About Cops, They Hold Grudges’  —  Ohio's state Senate yesterday passed S.B. 5, which would limit the power of government employee unions.  Among those voting for the measure was state Sen. Frank LaRose, a 31-year-old freshman Republican from Akron.

Fewer Are Angry at Government, But Discontent Remains High  —  Republicans, Tea Party Supporters More Mellow  —  The public remains deeply frustrated with the federal government, but fewer Americans say they are angry at government than did so last fall.  Overall, the percentage saying …

Northwestern University defends after-class live sex demonstration  —  More than 100 Northwestern University students watched as a naked 25-year-old woman was penetrated by a sex toy wielded by her fiancee during an after-class session of the school's popular “Human Sexuality” class.

Senate Republicans threaten missing Democrats with contempt  —  By Patrick Marley of the Journal Sentinel  —  Madison — Republicans in the state Senate ordered Democrats to return to the chamber by 4 p.m. or be found in contempt of the Senate.  —  If they do not return by then …

Government e-mails reveal plot to stall budget repair bill  —  Madison mayor tried to get bill stalled while he signed new contracts  —  Before protesters stormed the capitol, the mayor of the city of Madison tried to pull a fast one.  The governor's budget repair bill was on the fast track …

Poll Finds Support Lacking for Entitlement Reductions  —  WASHINGTON— Less than a quarter of Americans support making significant cuts to Social Security or Medicare to tackle the country's mounting deficit, according to a new Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll, illustrating the challenge facing lawmakers …

Tea party leader: John Boehner should go  —  A national tea party group is in revolt against House Speaker John Boehner and wants to see him defeated in a 2012 primary, arguing that he looks “like a fool” in the debate over spending cuts and makes less sense than actor Charlie Sheen.

Judge Roger Vinson issues stay of own ruling  —  U.S. District Judge Roger Vinson ruled Thursday that implementation of the health law can proceed — but he gave the Obama administration just seven days to file an appeal.  —  Vinson issued a stay of his own Jan. 31 ruling that declared …

How the Edwards Affair Ended Up in the Enquirer  —  Lisa Druck was trouble.  You'd run into her at Nell's where we all tended to hang out and she'd be in a panic.  Some guy would be running from her, taxiing quickly to another club.  She'd storm the bathrooms and you could hear her voice …

Newt Gingrich Announces Exploratory Phase Of Presidential Campaign, Expresses Concern ‘For The Future Of Our Country’  —  ABC News' Michael Falcone reports:  —  UPDATED: At a press conference in Atlanta on Thursday Newt Gingrich, the former Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives …

Corbett's clueless new DEP commissioner  —  OK, here's something that might even be scarier than the latest report about the dumping of “mystery liquids” in Pennsylvania's water supply.  The man that Gov. Tom Corbett is tasking to deal with the problem is utterly clueless.

Obama Says Race a Key Component in Tea Party Protests  —  In a new book, President Obama talks candidly about race and the presidency  —  African-Americans have been an integral part of the White House since it was built in part by slaves.  In Family of Freedom: Presidents and African Americans …

Gaddafi bombs oil areas, faces crimes probe  —  AL-UQAYLA, Libya (Reuters) - Muammar Gaddafi struck at rebel control of a key Libyan coastal road for a second day Thursday but received a warning he would be held to account at The Hague for suspected crimes by his security forces.

To Surly, With Love: Are Teachers Overpaid?  —  Public school teachers are at the forefront of protests against state budget cuts and restrictions on collective bargaining rights in Wisconsin, New Jersey, Ohio, and elsewhere.  —  Teachers have a lot to lose.

‘This is my favourite killer outfit’: Face of Kosovan Muslim alleged to have shot dead two U.S. airmen at Frankfurt airport  —  This is the face of the man suspected of killing two U.S. soldiers in Germany in an Islamist rage.  —  The photo is from Arid Uka's Facebook page …

Rep. Giffords on list of endangered Dems  —  The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee included Arizona Rep. Gabrielle Giffords on its list of the most vulnerable incumbents, released Thursday.  —  As Giffords remains in a Houston hospital, where she is recovering from the gunshot wound …

Sec. of State Hillary Clinton: Al Jazeera is ‘Real News’, U.S. Losing ‘Information War’  —  ABC News' Kirit Radia reports:  —  Secretary of State Hillary Clinton made it clear today that she is worried the United States is losing what she calls the “information war” abroad.

Teachers Wonder, Why the Scorn?  —  The jabs Erin Parker has heard about her job have stunned her.  Oh you pathetic teachers, read the online comments and placards of counterdemonstrators.  You are glorified baby sitters who leave work at 3 p.m. You deserve minimum wage.

Rahm Emanuel meets fake Twitter Rahm, says phony right on target  —  Mayor-elect Rahm Emanuel admitted Wednesday that there were times, after a long day on the campaign trail, that he would read the profane diatribes of his alter-ego on @MayorEmanuel.com and think to himself, “My sentiments exactly!”