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.

Wonkette Editor Comments on Reprehensible Birthday Greeting to Trig Palin  —  Update: Wonkette's editor responds later in the post, but also, a reader hilariously bought the domain name JackStuef.com, which now redirects to the National Down Syndrome Society donation page.  Lemons into lemonade.

‘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 …

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.

Trumped  —  The GOP establishment's futile battle against Donald Trump.  —  During the 2008 election cycle, Mitt Romney was often accused of treating politics more like a consumer-focused business than an exercise in leadership.  “My view is, we ought to double Guantanamo,” he said …

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 …

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 …

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:

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.”

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.

Wisconsin Supreme Court challenger files for recount  —  Charging that voting “anomalies” were “widespread,” the liberal challenger in the Wisconsin Supreme Court race filed papers Wednesday afternoon requesting a recount in the close election that has her trailing a conservative incumbent by less than 0.5 percent.

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.

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.

Obama administration officials tried to keep S&P rating at ‘stable’  —  The Obama administration privately urged Standard & Poor's in recent weeks not to lower its outlook on the United States — a suggestion the ratings agency ignored Monday, two people familiar with the matter said.

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.

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 …

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.

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.

France and Italy Will Also Send Advisers to Libya Rebels  —  PARIS — The French and Italian governments said Wednesday that they would join Britain in sending a small number of military liaison officers to support the ragtag rebel army in Libya, offering a diplomatic boost for the insurgent leader …