Palin trails Sheen with independents  —  We've found a lot of brutal poll numbers for Sarah Palin so far in 2011: down in South Dakota, down in South Carolina, down in Arizona, only up by 1 point in Texas, only up by 1 point in Nebraska to name a few.  But this has to be the worst- independent voters …

During NPR Funding Debate, Rep. Jim McGovern Proposes No Federal Funding Should End Up At Fox News  —  Today, the House of Representatives will vote on a bill that would strip all federal funds from NPR.  Conservatives have long targeted NPR because they believe it has a liberal bias …

Trump torches GOP presidential field  —  Businessman Donald Trump took shots at the field of potential Republican presidential candidates and also fired one at House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) as he contemplates a 2012 bid.  —  Trump said he could put up as much as $600 billion …

The Times Announces Digital Subscription Plan  —  The New York Times rolled out a plan on Thursday to begin charging the most frequent users of its Web site $15 a month in a bet that readers would pay for news they have grown accustomed to getting free.  —  Beginning March 28 …

Scientists Project Path of Radiation Plume  —  A United Nations forecast of the possible movement of the radioactive plume coming from crippled Japanese reactors shows it churning across the Pacific and touching the Aleutian Islands on Thursday before hitting Southern California late Friday.

DeMint won't back Romney without repudiation of Mass. health law  —  Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) “would never consider” endorsing Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney for president again in 2012 unless Romney repudiates the health reforms he sought as governor, a source close to DeMint said Thursday.

Obama's indecision on Libya has pushed Clinton over the edge  —  Fed up with a president “who can't make his mind up” as Libyan rebels are on the brink of defeat, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is looking to the exits.  —  At the tail end of her mission to bolster the Libyan opposition …

Mmm, mmm, mmm: NJ shuts down Barack Obama Elementary School  —  How fitting that a school named after our profligate, post-achievement president is shutting down thanks to fiscal mismanagement and non-achievement.  —  R.I.P., Barack Obama Elementary School (hat tip: reader Peter):

Never Anger A Man Named Erskine  —  Erskine Bowles has harsh words for the left: … A couple points here.  First, I'm incredibly impressed that the reporter, Damian Paletta, transcribed Bowles' use of the word “dern,” rather than change it to “darn.”  But is it really spelled “dern”?

Trump Would Spend $600M on Presidential Bid  —  “I don't like the crying,” he said of Boehner.  “I do not like it.  I don't understand it.  I really like him as a person.  I think the crying is an emotional thing that frankly, probably makes him a very nice man.  But you know, I don't like to see it in a leader.”

Danger of Spent Fuel Outweighs Reactor Threat  —  Years of procrastination in deciding on long-term disposal of highly radioactive fuel rods from nuclear reactors is now coming back to haunt Japanese authorities as they try to control fires and explosions at the stricken Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station.

NPR Sting: Edited Video Makes Schiller, O'Keefe Look Bad  —  On March 9, the list of radio jobs lost to video got a little longer.  NPR, under siege by conservatives who want to zero out public-media funding, ousted its CEO after a video sting by a group run by conservative provocateur James O'Keefe.

The Illusion of Disagreement  —  I want to associate myself with Ryan Avent's thoughts on the scientific status of economics and especially these remarks on how the nature of popular political punditry tends to create an exaggerated view of the scale of disagreement: … I think that's all spot on.

Dog in Japan stays by the side of its ailing friend in the rubble  —  It's a universal truth that dogs are man's best friend, but they're pretty darn loyal to their own as well.  Case in point: this tear-inducing video, via the website Jezebel, showing a dog, shivering and disoriented …

Two Charged in Tea Party Election Fraud  —  Men were officials in Oakland Co. Democratic Party  —  PONTIAC, Mich. (WJBK) - Two former leaders of the Oakland County Democratic Party are facing a total of nine felonies for allegedly forging election paperwork to get fake Tea Party candidates on November's ballot.

Democrats Set Ambitious Goals for Top Fund-Raisers  —  The nation's top Democratic contributors were given an ambitious set of marching orders on Thursday, with a select group of 450 donors each asked to raise $350,000 before the end of the year.  —  Jim Messina, who is managing …