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Senate advances collective bargaining changes; Democrats to return after Assembly action — Republicans advance bill curbing most collective bargaining; Maneuver ignites furious protests — By Patrick Marley and Lee Bergquist of the Journal Sentinel — Madison — With Democrats still in Illinois …
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What happened in Wisconsin tonight — Here's what just happened in Wisconsin: The rules of the state's Senate require a quorum for any measures that spend money. That's how the absence of the Senate's Democrats could stymie Gov. Scott Walker's proposed budget law — it spent money, and thus it needed a quorum.
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The Plum Line, New Deal 2.0, Taegan Goddard's … and Booman Tribune

Anti-Public Employee Bill Passes Senate in Wisconsin; Only the Beginning of the Fight — Wisconsin's Capitol dome in Madison (photo: WxMom) — If you've been following along in my last post, you know the news: the Wisconsin State Senate rushed through and passed a bill …
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naked capitalism, AlterNet, National Review, Angry Bear, The Moderate Voice and Bloomberg

Breaking: Without Democrats Present, Wisconsin Senate Voting on Largely-Intact Budget Repair Bill — Update 7:33 p.m.: As I was writing this up, the state senate voted 18-1 to pass the bill described below. — Update 7:38 p.m.: Wisconsin senate majority leader Scott Fitzgerald confirms …
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National Review and Pajamas Media

WI Senate GOP Leader Admits On-Air That His Goal Is To Defund Labor Unions, Hurt Obama's Reelection Chances — A prank call from a man purporting to be petrochemical billionaire David Koch to Gov. Scott Walker (R-WI) a few weeks ago revealed that Walker had crafted his “budget repair” bill in a bid to crush the labor unions.
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Daily Kos, The New Republic, TPMDC, Alan Colmes' Liberaland and Hullabaloo

Protesters are locking the Capitol doors shut from the inside using metal handcuffs, Meade reports from the scene. — He told me that just now, by phone. He got out, and is warning others not to go in. Obviously, it's a terrible fire hazard to make it so people cannot get out of the building easily.
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Pajamas Media, The Gateway Pundit, Weasel Zippers and Instapundit

GOP rams anti-union bill through Wis. Senate — End run around Democratic senators who left state to prevent passage — Below: — NBC News and msnbc.com — MADISON, Wis. — Republicans pushed a provision stripping public employees of their collective bargaining rights through …
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Examiner, Associated Press, The Mahablog and Truthdig

Why I'm Fighting in Wisconsin — We can avoid mass teacher layoffs and reward our best performers. But we have to act now. — In 2010, Megan Sampson was named an Outstanding First Year Teacher in Wisconsin. A week later, she got a layoff notice from the Milwaukee Public Schools.


Wisconsin Senate Limits Bargaining by Public Workers
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FiveThirtyEight and FrumForum

Wisconsin Senate Advances Bill Opposed by Unions
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The Gateway Pundit and Cubachi

Just Like That — In a brief meeting that lasted barely five minutes …
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TPMDC and First Draft

Republican Wisconsin senators bypass Democrats in vote on collective bargaining
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The Fix

Wis. State Senate Passes Anti-Union Bill, In End-Run Around Dem Boycott
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Daily Kos

Breaking: Wisconsin Senate GOP to split off collective bargaining bill from budget, pass it separately?

Wisconsin Senate GOP Votes to Strip State Workers of Collective Bargaining Rights
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UrbanGrounds

Source: Republican Senators Attempting To Pass Parts Of Budget Repair Bill
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Fox Nation, Wisconsin Radio Network and Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion

Wisconsin Senate passes union limits despite Democratic walkout
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Pharyngula

Wisconsin Conference Committee Passes New, Stripped-Down Anti-Union Bill
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Balloon Juice

Americans' Message to States: Cut, Don't Tax and Borrow
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Bloomberg, Boehner and UrbanGrounds


David Broder dies; Pulitzer-winning Washington Post political columnist — David S. Broder, 81, a Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist for The Washington Post and one of the most respected writers on national politics for four decades, died Wednesday at Capital Hospice in Arlington of complications from diabetes.
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The Fix, The Caucus, Hendrik Hertzberg, Ezra Klein, Taylor Marsh, Pajamas Media, Politics Daily, New York Times, Achenblog, Tuned In, Boston Globe, The Enterprise Blog, Capitol Alert, Firedoglake, AOL News, msnbc.com, Mediaite, Outside the Beltway, FrumForum, American Times, The Page, Gawker, Washington Monthly, FishbowlDC, NPR Topics, Balloon Juice and AmSpecBlog, more at Mediagazer »
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David Broder's remarkable life and career
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DownWithTyranny!, The Atlantic Online, Ben Smith's Blog, The Moderate Voice, PostPartisan and The New Republic


NPR CEO Vivian Schiller Resigns — This follows yesterday's news that then-NPR fundraiser Ron Schiller (no relation) was videotapped slamming conservatives and questioning whether NPR needs federal funding during a lunch with men posing as members of a Muslim organization …
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The Daily Caller, News Hounds, Poynter, YID With LID, Washington Examiner, USA Today, Don Surber, 24Ahead, Examiner, Philly.com, PostPartisan, Patterico's Pontifications, Gates of Vienna, The Reaction, The BRAD BLOG, Verum Serum, Firedoglake, Guardian, neo-neocon, No More Mister Nice Blog, Wonkette, Liberal Values, JSOnline, msnbc.com, The Mahablog, Cubachi, Tuned In, Pajamas Media, Big Journalism, Media Decoder, AOL News, NPR Topics, Fox Nation, BuzzMachine, National Review, New York Times, Liberty Pundits Blog, The Raw Story, Weasel Zippers, protein wisdom, The Moderate Voice, Big Government, Scott Rosenberg's Wordyard, Mediaite, Gothamist and New York Magazine, more at Mediagazer »
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Look At NPR's Coverage; Don't Privilege The Serial Liar — It seems that James O'Keefe won't be ignored. — The many-times discredited activist is back with yet another “sting” video, this one of NPR executive Ron Schiller speaking with what he believes to be perspective donors …
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Firedoglake, Riehl World View, Big Government, Pajamas Media and Guardian, more at Mediagazer »

Juan Williams: NPR ‘All White Organization,’ Exhibited ‘Worst Of White Condescension’ In Firing Me (VIDEO)
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Swampland, Politics Daily, Mediaite, Don Surber and Poynter, more at Mediagazer »

ADL calls for an apology from NPR executive
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AOL News, PostPartisan, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, The Other McCain, NewsReal Blog and The Politico


Vicious Assault Shakes Texas Town — CLEVELAND, Tex. — The police investigation began shortly after Thanksgiving, when an elementary school student alerted a teacher to a lurid cellphone video that included one of her classmates. — The video led the police to an abandoned trailer …
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DISSENTING JUSTICE, New York Magazine, Shakesville, Feministing, ECHIDNE of the snakes, Hair Balls, Feministe and AOL News
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The New York Times' Rape-Friendly Reporting — From today's New York Times: … This story from Cleveland, Texas, is beyond horrifying. Obviously. Unfortunately, further injustices have now been heaped on the victim (and the movement to end rape culture) by the article's writer and editor.
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Shakesville


As King Targets Muslims, There Have Been Almost Twice As Many Plots Since 9/11 From Non-Muslim Terrorists — Tomorrow, Rep. Peter King (R-NY), chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, will hold hearings singling out the Muslim American community for supposedly aiding and abetting domestic radicalization and terrorism.
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Associated Press, News Hounds, American Power, In the Arena, The Jawa Report and Alan Colmes' Liberaland
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Islamic radicalism: The questions that Rep. Peter King is right to ask
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Politics Daily, Daily Kos, AmSpecBlog, Opinion L.A., Right Turn, George's Bottom Line, American Spectator and New York Times

Democrats plead with Rep. King to cancel hearing on US Muslims
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The Politico, CNN, The Note and Weasel Zippers

Man charged with attempted MLK Day bombing linked to neo-Nazi group — A Stevens County man charged with the attempted bombing along the route of the annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day parade in Spokane has links to a neo-Nazi group, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center.
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Gingrich planning May presidential announcement — Washington (CNN) - In a conference call Wednesday with former staffers and supporters former House Speaker Newt Gingrich said “we are leaning toward a yes” on a presidential run, CNN has learned. — Leaning heavily.
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Mediaite, USA Today, bjkeefe, Political Insider, msnbc.com, GOP 12, The Politico, AmSpecBlog and The Note
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Newt Gingrich Cheated on His Wives for America
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Talking Points Memo, The Brody File, FrumForum, The Daily Dish, ECHIDNE of the snakes and The New Republic

Newt Gingrich tells The Brody File he 'felt compelled to seek God's forgiveness'
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Little Green Footballs, Crooks and Liars, The Raw Story, TPMDC, Washington Monthly, The Reaction, Hot Air, AmSpecBlog, Outside the Beltway, Sadly, No!, Fox News, Wonk Room, National Review, Weasel Zippers, unbossed.com, GOP 12, Wonkette, Pajamas Media, The Atlantic Online, Taegan Goddard's … and NPR Topics


The day Sarah Palin kneecapped feminism — The feminist revolution began as a necessary reform movement, but unfortunately evolved into a marxism-imbued, revolutionary one. Second-wave feminism's focus soon shifted from women's equal rights (which are limited to those defined by law) …
Discussion:
The Other McCain
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Palin vs. Christie: GOP rock-star feud
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Riehl World View, Outside the Beltway and FrumForum

Palin would base campaign in Scottsdale — The prospect of Sarah Palin running for president is, increasingly, dismissed by a political class that sees her facing weak poll numbers — especially in key early states — and doing nothing to correct them or to buil the infrastructure for a run.


Gov. Pat Quinn signs bill repealing Illinois death penalty — SPRINGFIELD — Acting on perhaps the most significant issue he will ever face, Gov. Quinn Wednesday signed landmark legislation to repeal the state's “seriously broken” death penalty and then commuted the death sentences of the 15 men on Death Row.
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The Moderate Voice and NPR Topics
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On Libya, Obama willing to let allies take the lead — President Obama is content to let other nations publicly lead the search for solutions to the Libyan conflict, his advisers say, a stance that reflects the more humble tone he has sought to bring to U.S. foreign policy but one that also opens …
Discussion:
Pajamas Media, Booman Tribune and FrumForum