Dan Webster confronted by angry town hall crowd  —  (Joe Burbank/Orlando Sentinel / April 26, 2011)  —  A town hall meeting held in Orlando by U.S. Rep. Dan Webster degenerated into bedlam Tuesday, with members of the crowd shouting down the freshman Republican congressman and yelling at one another.

Why Paul Ryan could enter the 2012 presidential race  —  It's not just Bill Kristol, gang.  There's desire at the highest ranks of the Republican Party, according to my reporting and sources, to see House Budget Chairman Paul Ryan seek the 2012 presidential nomination.  Here's why:

Trump's donation history shows Democratic favoritism  —  Billionaire Donald J. Trump, an early presidential favorite among tea party activists, has a highly unusual history of political contributions for a prospective Republican candidate: He has given most of his money to the other side.

Despite Reports of Brutality Toward Civilians, Syria to Join U.N.'s Human Rights Council  —  Oct. 2: Syrian President Bashar Assad, right, gestures, after he is awarded with Iran's highest national medal by his Iranian counterpart Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, in Tehran, Iran.

Allen West- “You're Not Going to Intimidate Me”, Heckler Arrested at Townhall  —  Immediately after Allen West took the stage at his Town Hall meeting on Tuesday Evening in Fort Lauderdale, several hecklers who were planted in the crowd began to jeer and interrupt his remarks …

Dems Committing Fraud, Harassment in Green Bay  —  [Madison] - The Democrat Party of Wisconsin is using a fraudulent tactic to harass and intimidate constituents who favor recalling Democrat Senator Dave Hansen of Green Bay.  —  The Democratic Party has targeted for harassment people …

White House seizes on Boehner's words  —  President Obama seized on a rare opening by Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) and urged Congress to eliminate subsidies for major oil companies.  —  With voters anxious over rising gas prices, the president fired off a letter Tuesday calling on congressional leaders to …

The Vermont Senate Passes Bill Establishing A Single Payer Health Care System In The State  —  As ThinkProgress previously reported, the Vermont legislature, led by Gov. Peter Shumlin (D), has been considering a proposal to establish some sort of single payer health care system …

FACTS VS FEELINGS.... Democrats are, not surprisingly, hammering Republicans over the GOP budget proposal, with most of the attacks focused on the Republican plan to end Medicare and replace it with a privatized voucher system.  —  The typical Republican response is that Dems are relying on “scare tactics.”

College Course: US Flag Is Racist, How-To Defeat America In Iraq And Afghanistan  —  While claiming the American flag represents racism and discussing today's Progressive Movement's efforts to defeat America both at home and abroad, including on the battlefields of Iraq and Afghanistan to help …

America Deserves Libya Explanation  —  Please make up your mind, Mr. President.  You can't vacillate when spending America's human and fiscal resources in yet another foreign country without good reason.  You said that Libyan leader Gaddafi has got to go.  Many of us heard that as your call to action and agreed, “Okay, you're right.

Donald Trump's personal experience with questionable Ivy League admittance standards  —  Donald Trump added a blatantly race-baiting component to his already racially charged campaign against Barack Obama's Americanness this week when he claimed — based on things he's “heard” — that Obama was a …

Angle commits to run as a Republican  —  Sharron Angle knocked down a Las Vegas Review-Journal story that suggested she was considering running as an independent in the anticipated special Nevada House election.  —  The former Reno assemblywoman and 2010 candidate for Senate released …

Report: Obama's new Afghanistan ambassador is ... Bush's old Iraq ambassador  —  That would be Ryan Crocker, of course.  Please don't confuse him with David Petraeus, Obama's top Afghanistan commander who used to be ... Bush's top Iraq commander.  Or with Robert Gates …

Largest Banks Likely Profited By Borrowing From Federal Reserve, Lending To Federal Government … A newly-released study from the Congressional Research Service bolsters claims that the nation's largest banks profited off the Federal Reserve's financial crisis-era programs by borrowing cash …

Why Republicans May Be Skipping 2012 Presidential Run  —  Haley Barbour's decision to forego a run for the presidency in 2012 puts him in the company of a half dozen top Republicans who have considered — and rejected — a challenge to President Obama next year.  —  The question is: why?

Eric Holder rejects attacks on Paul Clement over DOMA defense  —  Attorney General Eric Holder is coming to the defense of former Solicitor General Paul Clement, after gay rights advocates criticized his decision to take on the defense of the Defense of Marriage Act in court.

Hmmm: Harvard Adopted Affirmative Action Policy For Law Review Well Before Obama Matriculated There  —  This has been discussed, but I haven't seen a citation for it.  (Then again, I never really investigated it.)  —  JeffB. sends this along.  This is the Harvard Crimson, which should know about its own law school's policies.

Conversation with a Birther  —  This call to the show from Winston in Alabama confirms why the birther conspiracy will never go away, a fascinating look at why crazy beliefs endure.  Even after all the facts were explained to Winston, and after he appeared to agree that the facts were right …

Jackson: Trump birth talk is race “code”  —  Rev. Jesse Jackson told POLITICO today that the birther movement is part of a larger pattern of rollbacks against civil rights and and an attack on the legitimacy of the nation's first African-American president — reserving special ire …

Bernanke's Code: a Guide to Fed Chairman's First Q&A  —  When Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke makes his debut press conference Wednesday, his every word will be parsed for signs of where he hopes to take U.S. monetary policy.  —  Specifically, many people want to know when the central bank …

The Trouble With Independents  —  What if these voters are just a clueless horde?  —  No group in American politics gets more respect than independent voters.  Pundits and reporters probe what these allegedly moderate citizens think about this issue and that candidate …