VIDEO: Paul Ryan Booed At Town Hall For Defending Tax Breaks For The Wealthy  —  ThinkProgress filed this report from a town hall meeting in Milton, WI.  —  Earlier this week, Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) embarked on a series of town halls across his southern Wisconsin congressional district.

Obama's Young Mother Abroad  —  The photograph showed the son, but my eye gravitated toward the mother.  That first glimpse was surprising — the stout, pale-skinned woman in sturdy sandals, standing squarely a half-step ahead of the lithe, darker-skinned figure to her left.

The $4 trillion gap: Obama vs. Ryan, an apples-to-apples budget comparison  —  OK, let's try and actually compare the new Obama budget plan — “The Framework for Shared Prosperity and Shared Fiscal Responsibility” — with Rep. Paul Ryan's “Path to Prosperity.”

‘Restrepo’ Director and a Photographer Killed in Libya  —  BENGHAZI, Libya — Tim Hetherington, the conflict photographer who was a director and producer of the film “Restrepo,” was killed in the besieged city of Misurata on Wednesday, and three photographers working beside him were wounded …

Sarah Palin's Version Of Trig's Birth May Be More Troubling Than The Hoax  —  This past week, the draft of an academic paper that focuses on the 2008 birth of Sarah Palin's son, Trig Paxson Van Palin, and the various theories that surround his birth, was made public prior to publication through …

The Right Bailing The Left Out On Spending  —  I wrote about this earlier in the specific context of Grover Norquist, but Elise Foley's account of the Obama administration's rapidly unraveling deficit reduction initiative is another illustration of the fact that at the moment the right is big government's best friend:

University of Iowa Professor Tells College Republicans to “F” Off  —  A University of Iowa professor felt the need to reply to a blast email by the College Republicans on Monday morning.  Ellen Lewin, a professor of Anthropology and Gender, Women's & Sexuality Studies in the Department of Gender …

Bachmann Says Obama's Certificate ‘Settles’ Birther Issue  —  For the first time, Rep. Michele Bachmann - who is actively considering a run for the White House in 2012 — has said that the birth certificate President Obama has released to the public puts an end to the “birther” issue.

4/20: Campaign 2012: Obama's Re-election Chances  —  President Barack Obama has officially announced that he will seek re-election next year, but he faces an electorate that still needs convincing.  According to this McClatchy-Marist Poll, a plurality of registered voters nationwide …

iPhone keeps record of everywhere you go  —  Privacy fears raised as researchers reveal file on iPhone that stores location coordinates and timestamps of owner's movements  —  Security researchers have discovered that Apple's iPhone keeps track of where you go - and saves every detail …

The Death of Roe v. Wade  —  Supporters and opponents of abortion seem to agree: It's no longer the law of the land.  —  Supporters and opponents of abortion agree on nothing.  One side says this is a conversation about fertilized eggs; the other says it's about fetuses.

Big Brothers: Thought Control at Koch  —  On the eve of the November midterm elections, Koch Industries sent an urgent letter to most of its 50,000 employees advising them on whom to vote for and warning them about the dire consequences to their families, their jobs and their country should they choose to vote otherwise.

Morning Bell: Gulf Oil Spill, One Year Later  —  A year ago today, an explosion on the Deepwater Horizon oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico cost the lives of 11 men and threatened untold damage to the ecosystem.  It was an unprecedented disaster, and the tragic loss of life it entailed …

Under Protest  —  Have you noticed all the huge antiwar demonstrations in the last twelve months?  Yeah, me neither.  It turns out that a lot of the energy for the movement seems to have been provided by Democrats who are a lot less worried about wars conducted by Democratic presidents.

Trump Most Visible Among Possible GOP Contenders  —  Most View News about Deficit as Unchanging  —  SUMMARY OF FINDINGS  —  Donald Trump has drawn a lot of attention in a slow-starting race for the GOP nomination.  Roughly a quarter of all Americans (26%) name Trump as the possible …

Otter Signs Order Banning Health Care Reform  —  Order Prohibits State From Receiving Federal Funds  —  BOISE, Idaho — Gov. C.L. “Butch” Otter signed an executive order on Wednesday that prohibits receiving federal funding for or otherwise implementing the federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.

Mr. Obama: Taxing the rich won't increase revenues  — TAGS: - 1970s - ABC - Barack Obama - Boris Bittker - Capital Gains Tax - capital gains tax rate - charlie gibson - Federal Budget - Federal Budget Deficit - federal government - George Washington University - government revenues …

Obama Panel to Curb Medicare Finds Foes in Both Parties  —  WASHINGTON — Democrats and Republicans are joining to oppose one of the most important features of President Obama's new deficit reduction plan, a powerful independent board that could make sweeping cuts in the growth of Medicare spending.

Gay Marriage Opponents Now in Minority  —  A poll from CNN this week is the latest to show a majority of Americans in favor of same-sex marriage, with 51 percent saying that marriages between gay and lesbian couples “should be recognized by the law as valid” and 47 percent opposed.