‘Have You No Sense of Decency?’  The Wm.  Cronon Story  —  BEIJING, China.  I don't mean to keep butting in and have just a minute to type this out, but I think it's important to direct attention to a new abuse of power underway in Wisconsin.  —  William Cronon (right), whom I know very slightly …

Huckabee Has Slight Edge, Palin Down, in GOP '12 Preferences  —  Romney, Palin would tie if Huckabee does not run  —  PRINCETON, NJ — Mike Huckabee tops a large list of potential GOP presidential candidates in current support for the party's 2012 nomination, with 19% of Republicans saying they are most likely to back him.

Does Pawlenty Have a Sharia Problem?  —  Pawlenty's effort to expand Muslim homeownership could hurt him in the GOP primary.  —  Abid Lakhani wanted to buy a home.  —  Unfortunately, as an observant Muslim, his options were limited.  Many Muslims hold that the paying or charging of interest …

Harper government falls in historic Commons showdown  —  The second minority government of Stephen Harper has fallen.  —  Early Friday afternoon, 156 opposition MPs - all of the Liberals, New Democrats and Bloquistes present in the House of Commons - rose to support a motion of no-confidence.

Bob Herbert to Leave The Times  —  Bob Herbert, a columnist for The New York Times Op-Ed page, is leaving the paper after nearly 20 years.  —  Mr. Herbert's resignation was announced in a memo to Times staff members on Friday.  His last column will appear in the paper on Saturday.

Allies Are Split on Goal and Exit Strategy in Libya  —  WASHINGTON — Having largely succeeded in stopping a rout of Libya's rebels, the inchoate coalition attacking Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi's forces remains divided over the ultimate goal — and exit strategy — of what officials acknowledged Thursday …

Energized Muslim Brotherhood in Libya eyes a prize  —  (CNN) — Dr. Abdulmonem Hresha knows first hand how Moammar Gadhafi's regime works.  He says the seeds of his opposition were sown when he was age 10.  —  He and classmates were taken to witness the public execution of a political opponent of Gadhafi.

Woops, Newt Did It Again: Trying To Defend Libya Flip-Flop, Gingrich Reverses Himself On Air Power  —  Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich went on Fox News last night to “attempt[] to clarify [his] stance on Libya,” as Fox itself put it, but only ran into more trouble.

CBO: Taxing mileage a ‘practical option’ for revenue enhancement  —  The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) this week released a report that said taxing people based on how many miles they drive is a possible option for raising new revenues and that these taxes could be used to offset the costs …

Collective bargaining bill published despite restraining order  —  By Jason Stein of the Journal Sentinel  —  Madison - A controversial bill limiting collective bargaining for public workers has been officially published despite a temporary restraining order barring its publication.

Connie Mack will NOT run for U.S. Senate  —  U.S. Rep. Connie Mack IV won't run for U.S. Senate.  —  “I've got two small children and it's hard enough to get to spend a lot of good quality time now.  I have a wife.  They are all very important to me and at the end of the day family has to be number one …

The professor's war … President Obama is proud of how he put together the Libyan operation.  A model of international cooperation.  All the necessary paperwork.  Arab League backing.  A Security Council resolution.  (Everything but a resolution from the Congress of the United States …

Lamestream Media: Reload or White Flag?  —  “Let's keep pivoting around media bias, and not get distracted with the vulgar personal shots.  Call out lies and set the record straight, but always keep the ball moving.  No one ever won a game only playing defense.”

Michigan Drastically Cutting Unemployment Insurance And Fox's Stuart Varney is Simply Giddy Over Real ‘Austerity’  —  Michigan voted to extend unemployment initially, but has now become the first state to cut the number of weeks a person can have unemployment benefits from 26 weeks to 20 starting in 2012.

QUOTE OF THE DAY.... On Fox News this morning, Bill Hemmer, after some gratuitous shots at President Obama, asked Sen. John McCain about U.S. policy in Libya, most notably who would replace Gadhafi if McCain gets his wish about regime change. … McCain then changed the subject, letting viewers know that the rebels have a website.

Number of black D.C. residents plummets as majority status slips away  —  Graphic: View how demographics in your neighborhood have changed over time.  —  The number of African Americans residing in the District plummeted by more than 11 percent during the past decade, with blacks on the verge …

The Austerity Delusion  —  Portugal's government has just fallen in a dispute over austerity proposals.  Irish bond yields have topped 10 percent for the first time.  And the British government has just marked its economic forecast down and its deficit forecast up.  —  What do these events have in common?

F.B.I. Memorandum  —  Below is the text of an unsigned, internal F.B.I. memorandum, obtained by The New York Times, that provides guidance to agents about when, in the course of interrogating a terrorism suspect, they should advise the suspect of his so-called Miranda rights to remain silent …

Haley Barbour On Global Warming: ‘We Should Proceed’ As If It ‘Is Actually Happening’  —  ABC News' Michael Falcone reports:  —  CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa — Potential presidential candidate Haley Barbour appears to be staking out a moderate position on global warming than some of his possible rivals …

Florida looks to curtail union dues  —  The latest in the public sector union fight, this time in Florida:  —  After a largely party-line vote, the Florida House delivered a major blow to public employee unions, approving a bill that would ban automatic dues deduction and require members …

Senate GOP Demand Balanced Budget Amendment for Raising Debt Ceiling  —  The Senate Republicans are preparing to tell President Obama that they want a Balanced Budget Amendment (BBA) to the Constitution passed in Congress in exchange for raising the statuary debt ceiling above $14.2 trillion.

Arizona Sheriff Arpaio and Steven Seagal send in the tanks to bust up chickens  —  America has gone crazy!  Well, Arizona certainly leads the way to bizzaro land with the actions of Sheriff Joe Arpaio.  And is there such a thing as Action Star Steven Seagal anymore?

Against The F-Word  —  During a debate over neoconservatism, Damon Linker insists that the ideology isn't fascistic: … Agreed (but one needs to recall Leo Strauss's early love affair with Mussolini and his contempt for what he saw as decadent liberal democracy).