Wisconsin Dems want border meeting  —  (CNN) — Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker on Monday dismissed as “ridiculous” a letter from a Democratic state Senate leader who suggested a meeting “near the Wisconsin-Illinois border” to discuss the state's budget impasse.

Obama's debt expert yells at kids  —  Alan Simpson referred to Snoop Dogg (left) and Eminem (right) in his tirade.  —  AP Photo  —  Alan Simpson might need to freshen up on his pop culture.  —  The co-chairman of President Obama's deficit commission tried to scold the elderly on Monday …

Missing: Marizela Perez  —  I just got off the phone with my family.  —  This is my beautiful cousin, Marizela Perez:  —  She is a University of Washington undergrad and she has been missing since Saturday afternoon, when she left the Rainier Beach neighborhood headed to the UW Seattle campus.

Rep. Alcee Hastings Sued by Employee for Sexual Harassment: “Unwelcome Sexual Advances” and “Unwelcome Touching”  —  Hastings Allegedly Retaliated Against Victim for Complaining About Conduct  —  Judicial Watch, the public interest group that investigates and prosecutes government corruption …

Ensign to Announce Retirement  —  Sen. John Ensign is expected to announce at an afternoon news conference in Las Vegas that he will retire rather than face a brutal 2012 re-election campaign, according to knowledgeable sources.  —  The Nevada Republican, who has been embattled since revealing …

FIRED!  Charlie Sheen Axed From ‘Two And A Half Men’, He Fires Back & Vows To Sue  —  UPDATED: It's over for Charlie Sheen on the hit CBS comedy Two and a Half Men.  But his ongoing war with the series producer Warner Bros. TV is far from over, with lawyers for both sides expected to take the lead in the coming weeks.

Will Sarah Palin run for president and can she win?  —  Ms Palin outlines factors that will influence whether she enters the running  —  Sarah Palin, one of the best known and most controversial figures in American politics, told BBC Newsnight she was weighing up whether the US was ready for an …

White House memo notes shortage of applicants for contest to have Obama to speak at high school graduation  —  The White House is ramping up an effort to promote a nationwide competition to decide which high school wins a commencement speech by President Obama.

Obama restarts Guantanamo trials  —  WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama approved Monday the resumption of military trials for detainees at the U.S. prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, ending a two-year ban.  —  It was the latest acknowledgement that the detention facility Obama had vowed …

Sarah Palin ‘Not Afraid’ Of Jon Stewart, Says Aide … NEW YORK — Since last October, when President Barack Obama visited the set of “The Daily Show,” the majority of political guests on the show have been conservatives.  —  Though he leans left, host Jon Stewart has coaxed plenty of Republicans …

EXCLUSIVE VIDEO: Scott Brown Begs David Koch For Money  —  At the public dedication of MIT's David H. Koch Integrative Cancer Institute last Friday, Sen. Scott Brown (R-MA) effusively thanked conservative billionaire David Koch for supporting his election in 2010 and made a plea for help in his re-election campaign next year.

Our Ross Cares About the Gurlz  —  That would be Ross Douthat in his latest column.  He truly, truly cares about the gurlz (well, straight gurlz) and wants them to be happy.  In order to do that, he recommends that they use an aspirin held between the knees as the contraceptive choice.

Clarence Thomas' dangerous conceit  —  The Supreme Court justice argues that criticism of him is an attack on the court itself.  But a single justice doesn't define the institution.  —  Louis XIV of France was infamous for his view that there was no distinction between himself and the state …

Government posts biggest monthly deficit ever  —  Glen Perkins delivers copies of the Fiscal Year 2012 Budget to the Senate Budget Committee hearing room in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Monday, Feb. 14, 2011.  President Barack Obama will send Congress a $3.7 trillion budget that would reduce deficits …

Senate Democrats ask for help with their 2012 slogan  —  The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, the campaign arm of Senate Democrats, needs your help.  No, not a check, at least not this time.  —  The DSCC wants help coming up with a new slogan for bumper stickers and other paraphernalia that it gives out this cycle.

Rules of Misbehavior  —  Dan Savage, the brilliant and foul-mouthed sex columnist, has become one of the most important ethicists in America.  Are we screwed?  —  ive months after the death of Esther “Eppie” Lederer in 2002, the bulk of her estate—a sprawling Chicago apartment's worth of furniture …

Sessions: Democrats proposing ‘fake cuts’ to budget  —  Senate Budget Committee Ranking Member Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) on Monday said the Senate Democrat proposal to cut about $6.5 billion from FY 2010 levels proposes only “fake cuts” to government spending, and said a vote in favor of that proposal is a vote to “do nothing.”

The frontrunner-less Republican presidential field  —  For months now, it's been clear that the 2012 Republican presidential field lacks a strong frontrunner.  —  A case can be made for how either former Gov. Mitt Romney (Mass.) or Mike Huckabee (Ark.) — or even former Gov. Sarah Palin …

Report says too many whites, men leading military  —  WASHINGTON - The U.S. military is too white and too male at the top and needs to change recruiting and promotion policies and lift its ban on women in combat, an independent report for Congress said Monday.

Hello  —  Tom Wolfe was once asked, What is the most important change of your lifetime?  He is purported to have answered, “Oh, that's easy.  Co-ed dorms.”  —  My own gloss on that answer is that we spend a lot of our time debating political events and the choices leaders make.

Newt Gingrich admits ‘unfortunate confusion’ in news about exploration plans  —  Former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich acknowledged in a Des Moines Register interview Monday that his team bobbled the news last week before the announcement Thursday that he planned to begin raising money to explore seeking the 2012 GOP presidential nod.