How Obama turned on a dime toward war  —  At the start of this week, the consensus around Washington was that military action against Libya was not in the cards.  However, in the last several days, the White House completely altered its stance and successfully pushed for the authorization …

Dane County judge halts collective bargaining law  —  By Patrick Marley of the Journal Sentinel  —  Madison — Dane County Circuit Judge Maryann Sumi issued a temporary restraining order Friday, barring the publication of a controversial new law that would sharply curtail collective bargaining for public employees.

The Imperial President  —  The president's speech was disturbingly empty.  There are, it appears, only two reasons the US is going to war, without any Congressional vote, or any real public debate.  The first is that the US cannot stand idly by while atrocities take place.

The moment nuclear plant chief WEPT as Japanese finally admit that radiation leak is serious enough to kill people  —  The boss of the company behind the devastated Japanese nuclear reactor today broke down in tears - as his country finally acknowledged the radiation spewing from the over-heating reactors …

Biden mentions rape in criticizing Republicans  —  Vice President Joe Biden, speaking at a fundraiser in Philadelphia Friday, compared Republicans in Congress to people who excuse rapists by blaming their victims.  —  The vice president, known for speaking his mind and at times putting …

Hidden-camera activist James O'Keefe turns away APP videographer  —  have made headlines, apparently was not thrilled about the idea of being videotaped himself during a speech he gave Thursday evening.  —  O'Keefe, who spoke to about 100 members of the Bayshore Tea Party and their supporters …

PRELIMINARY ANALYSIS OF THE PRESIDENT'S BUDGET FOR 2012  —  Letter to the Honorable Daniel K. Inouye  —  ABSTRACT  —  The Congressional Budget Office (CBO), with contributions from the staff of the Joint Committee on Taxation, has analyzed the President's budget submission for fiscal year 2012.

Takedown: Ed Schultz Destroys Fox News' “No Looting in Japan” Theme  —  Boy, am I glad Ed Schultz dealt with this.  It's been a Fox theme since yesterday, beginning on Megyn Kelly's show and continuing on all the way through tonight's O'Reilly Factor.  It goes like this: Unlike here after Katrina …

‘Supermoon’ Rises: Biggest Full Moon in 18 Years Occurs Saturday Night  —  Thanks to a fluke of orbital mechanics that brings the moon closer to Earth than that it has been in more than 18 years, the biggest full moon of 2011 will occur on Saturday, leading some observers to dub it a “supermoon.”

War On The Poor: Minnesota Republicans Want To Bust Poor People Who Carry Cash  —  They're not just crazy, they're evil — and un-Christian, should they have the audacity to claim otherwise.  If only we could force them to live like this, they wouldn't last a week: … It may not be right, Angel.

Qaddafi Son Says Libya Will Release 4 Journalists  —  TRIPOLI, Libya — Four New York Times journalists missing in Libya since Tuesday were captured by forces loyal to Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi and will be released, the Libyan leader's son Seif al-Islam el-Qaddafi told Christiane Amanpour in an ABC News interview early Friday.

GOP Bill Would Force IRS to Conduct Abortion Audits  —  Were you raped?  Was it incest?  And other questions the government's tax cops would have to ask women who've terminated pregnancies.  —  Post Comment  —  Under a GOP-backed bill expected to sail through the House of Representatives …

Fairweather media: CNN sends 400 reporters to royal wedding, only 50 sent to Japan  —  CNN alone will have a team of roughly 400 reporters, cameramen and crew assigned to the wedding.  The network has 50 people on the ground working on the breaking news in Japan, plus others scattered in Bahrain, Tunisia, Libya and Egypt.

The Greatest Blog Post Ever Written?  —  That might be hyperbole . . . but then again, it might not. … Who is saying these things?  It is Lee Stranahan at the Huffington Post, a lefty for whom I have never had anything but the utmost respect.  So much so that, when he was looking …

Is economics a science? (liquidity trap edition)  —  Not yet, apparently:  —  1. If I Google “predictions liquidity trap model,” the first author who comes up is me.  —  2. The second item which comes up is this article, which suggests a test: “A random coefficient estimation procedure …

How Bad Could Japan's Nuclear Crisis Get?  —  As emergency workers begin “last-ditch efforts” to take control of the damaged power station, experts worry that a meltdown is still possible.  —  Post Comment  —  By all accounts, the situation at Japan's troubled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant appears to be getting worse.

US Cost of Living Hits Record, Passing Pre-Crisis High  —  One would think that after the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression, Americans could at least catch a break for a while with deflationary forces keeping the cost of living relatively low.  That's not the case.

Form and Follow-Through  —  Today we rise up in defense of traditional values.  For example, is it a good idea to have sex with somebody on the first date?  Probably not.  In the Journal of Family Psychology, Dean Busby, Jason Carroll and Brian Willoughby studied the effect of sexual timing on later marriage relationships.

Top Republican Supports No-fly Zone  —  Rep. Rogers says “This Is Going to Be a Long Term Event”  —  After meeting with President Obama at the White House, the Republican Chairman of the House Intelligence Committee told ABC News that using the U.S. military to enforce a no-fly zone is …

With Fed Consent, Banks Raise Dividends and Buy Back Stock  —  Updated  —  For long-suffering bank investors, the wait is over.  —  After securing the Federal Reserve's blessing, a series of financial giants rushed to raise their dividends and buy back stock on Friday …

Obama cancels public speech in Rio square: embassy  —  President Barack Obama has cancelled a public speech he was scheduled to deliver Sunday in a Rio square during his upcoming visit to Brazil, the US embassy in Brasilia said.  —  The speech in the historic plaza known as Cinelandia …

First Read's Top 10 Senate takeovers  —  From The NBC Political Unit  —  With the news that DNC Chairman and former Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine (D) is “increasingly likely” to run in Virginia and Rep. Dean Heller (R) getting into the Nevada race, we thought we'd bring you another Senate Top 10, our second of the year.