Bachmann 2012: Good for the Media, Bad for the GOP  —  Minnesota Representative Michele Bachmann is now threatening us with the idea of exploring a Presidential race, it was announced today.  Well first, enough with the exploratory committees.  They are a tired gimmick in Presidential races.

Donald Trump Wants to See Barack Obama's Long-Form Birth Certificate  —  I keep trying to get out... they keep pulling me back in.  I'm not a regular watcher of the View, so I originally missed the lengthy, mind-boggling discussion that its hosts had with Donald Trump over Trump's belief …

Indiana prosecutor resigns over Walker email  —  Initially denied encouraging Wisconsin violence  —  Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism  —  This is an updated version.  Read the Center's original version here.  —  An Indiana deputy prosecutor and Republican activist resigned Thursday …

US pressures allies to command Libya mission  —  WASHINGTON — Anxious to reduce its front-line air combat role in Libya, the Obama administration pressed Thursday for allies who first pushed for the campaign to come up with a workable alternative.  —  U.S. officials said the leadership handoff …

Urgent leak investigation needed  —  A serious leak of classified information has just taken place — which, as we all know, is a dastardly crime for which the harshest punishment is merited.  To make matters even more grave, this time the unauthorized disclosure has taken place during A Time of War …

The stupid saga of Andrew Breitbart and the Huffington Post  —  So!  Arianna Huffington — recently put in charge of all the “content” at AOL following the dial-up ISP's acquisition of her former “liberal Drudge” Internet newspaper — gave a blog to her old friend Andrew Breitbart.

Appeals panel sends collective bargaining law to state Supreme Court  —  Open meetings dispute keeps Wisconsin law from going into effect  —  By Patrick Marley and Lee Bergquist of the Journal Sentinel  —  Madison — The fight over a new collective bargaining law now sits squarely …

Former aide to Sen. Ensign indicted  —  A former aide to retiring Sen. John Ensign (R-Nev.) has been indicted by a federal grand jury on charges of violating conflict of interest laws.  —  The Justice Department announced the indictment late Thursday, which charges Doug Hampton with seven counts …

The Real Death Panel: If ‘Obamacare’ Repealed, Some Patients Can't Go Back  —  If the health care reform law were to disappear tomorrow, Dallas Wiens would be in trouble.  —  Earlier this week, in a 15-hour procedure, Boston surgeons grafted a donor's face onto Wiens' skull.

CNN Contributor Accuses Obama Of “Manufacturing” Libya Crisis To Help Re-Election; Blames “Women Drivers”  —  I wonder how long someone who claimed in March of 2003 that President Bush had manufactured the Iraq war in order to win re-election would have remained employed as a CNN contributor?

Impending decision by D.C. judge has implications for voter ID in Texas  —  Though Republican lawmakers remain unswayed by Texas Democrats' arguments that disenfranchising minority voters should outweigh unsubstantiated fears of polling place voter impersonation — the U.S. Department of Justice …

G.E.'s Strategies Let It Avoid Taxes Altogether  —  General Electric, the nation's largest corporation, had a very good year in 2010.  —  The company reported worldwide profits of $14.2 billion, and said $5.1 billion of the total came from its operations in the United States.  —  Its American tax bill?

Few Americans see Obama as strong military leader  —  (Reuters) - Only 17 percent of Americans see President Barack Obama as a strong and decisive military leader, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll taken after the United States and its allies began bombing Libya.

Gaddafi's entourage sends out secret peace feelers  —  (Reuters) - Members of Muammar Gaddafi's entourage are putting out feelers to seek a ceasefire or safe passage from Libya, according to U.S. and European officials and a businessman close to the Libyan leadership.

John Lott's Mysteriously Changing Blog Post  —  John Lott has taken to his website to respond to a recent post of mine pointing out two misleading claims he made about the Obama Administration.  Lott now accuses me of misquoting what he wrote in a March 18 Big Government post.

Missing: Newt Gingrich's Tweets Before July 2010  —  Newt Gingrich—presidential contender, friend of polar bears, opponent/supporter of the invasion in Libya—is a simple man drawn to simple pleasures.  Long before launching his exploratory committee, he frequently chronicled his life's joys on his Twitter feed.

It Begins... Unions Use Images of OKC Bombing in Collective Bargaining Ads  —  They will stop at nothing...  The International Association of Firefighters is using tasteless images from the Oklahoma City Bombing to fight a state bill which changes how public safety labor unions and cities handle contract disputes.

Krauthammer: Obama's “Working On Language That Will Disguise A Failure” In Libya  —  Obama may be the first American President who has refused the title, “Leader of the Free World.”  He is not interested in being Commander in Chief.  These traditional presidential roles are all a distraction for him.

NASA still ordered to waste $1.4 million a day  —  WASHINGTON — Congress has again failed to rid a temporary spending bill of language forcing NASA to waste $1.4 million a day on its defunct Constellation moon program.  —  Though Congress passed a new stopgap spending bill last week …

Islam and the First Amendment: privileges but not rights  —  Follow me on Twitter: @BryanJFischer, on Facebook at “Focal Point”  —  The First Amendment was written by the Founders to protect the free exercise of Christianity.  They were making no effort to give special protections to Islam.

Libya: Gaddafi loyalists in Ajdabiya ‘seeking to surrender’  —  Forces loyal to Col Muammar Gaddafi were said to be in negotiations to surrender to rebel troops in what could be a significant turning point in the conflict, it was reported on Thursday night.  —  A rebel commander …

Paglia on Taylor: “A luscious, opulent, ripe fruit!”  —  Camille Paglia considers the “volcanic” Elizabeth Taylor — and all the unworthy starlets who could never match up … I remember reading your essay on Elizabeth Taylor from Penthouse in 1992 (it appeared in the collection “Sex, Art …

President Barack Obama gets locked out of White House  —  Staff wasn't ready for his return  —  Last Updated: 1 hour and 48 minutes ago  —  WASHINGTON, D.C. - President Barack Obama had to try a couple of doors at the White House before finally gaining access to the Oval Office on Wednesday.

Ask the Author: Interview with Ross Guberman  —  Oxford University Press recently released Ross Guberman's new book, Point Made.  Through an empirical approach that draws heavily on the writings of the country's fifty most influential lawyers, the book shows how the nation's top advocates write.

Sex outside marriage should be illegal, says Parnell nominee  —  Don Haase was active for years as advocate for socially conservative issues.  —  rmauer@adn.com  —  JUNEAU — Gov. Sean Parnell's appointee for the panel that nominates state judges testified Wednesday that he would like to …