‘Sorry’ state of affairs at GOP forum  —  MANCHESTER, N.H. - There were no punches thrown, no barbs traded and no shots fired at the Americans for Prosperity presidential candidate forum here Friday evening.  —  But Tim Pawlenty did apologize.  —  Asked in a public question-and-answer session …

Geithner Pries Away $30 Trillion Forex Derivative Market from Regulation  —  Zach Carter reports on a blow to efforts to regulate the runaway derivatives market.  Just as most derivatives are set to be put onto clearinghouses, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner exempted a large group of derivatives …

Breitbart Punches Back on Maher's ‘Real Time’  —  Andrew Breitbart was confronted on HBO's Real Time with Bill Maher by liberal political analyst Laura Flanders.  Ignoring Maher's questions and moving on her own agenda for the show she challenged Breitbart to apologize to Shirley Sherrod.

23rd Richest Member Of Congress: I'm ‘Struggling Like Everyone Else’  —  Rep. Denny Rehberg (R-MT), the 23rd richest member of Congress who owns millions of dollars in farm and ranch land, told an audience member at a town hall in Missoula yesterday that he and his wife “are struggling like everyone else” …

You Know Jack!  —  What have we learned?  —  Jack Layton was found naked in a whorehouse.  Jack Layton was found with, though not in, a 3rd World Sex Trade Worker.  —  Jack Layton alleges he frequented this whorehouse for “therapeutic massage”.  —  Jack's 3rd World Sex Trade Worker/Therapeutic Masseuse came from China.

Clinton: Supreme Court could rule against healthcare law  —  There's a chance that the Supreme Court could rule the so-called “individual mandate” in the healthcare reform law unconstitutional, but on the whole the bill will stay in tact, former President Bill Clinton said.

'Here's to al-Qaeda'  —  Nearly 20 years ago, I asked the late William Kunstler about his philosophy of lawyering.  A flamboyant leftist who proudly represented jihadists just as he proudly represented many other anti-American radicals, Bill succinctly replied, “Everybody's entitled to a lawyer, but nobody's entitled to me!”

GOP Freshman Ends First Town Hall After Tough Questions On Tax Cuts For The Wealthy: 'We're Done'  —  Freshman Rep. Rick Crawford (R-AR) became the latest Republican to face the ire of his own constituents for voting for the Medicare-ending GOP budget when he was repeatedly challenged …

Wis. Supreme Court recount at a glance  —  Justice David Prosser held a 7,316-vote lead over challenger JoAnne Kloppenburg before a statewide recount began on Wednesday.  The state Government Accountability Board is providing daily updates on the recount's progress by precinct.

Rick Perry, Texas governor, rips Obama's trip to tornado-devastated Alabama: What about our fires?  —  As President Obama meets with Alabama families affected by deadly tornados that swept through the South earlier this week, Texas Gov. Rick Perry is asking: What about us?

House GOP to hold hearing on White House visitor records  —  House Republicans plan to probe the White House policy on disclosing its visitor records.  —  On Tuesday of next week, a House Energy and Commerce subcommittee will hold a hearing titled “White House Transparency, Visitor Logs and Lobbyists.”

What I learned in econ grad school  —  I always find it interesting that criticisms of economics education focus more on the graduate side than the undergrad.  Consider this broadside by Brad DeLong and Larry Summers: … This is interesting because, as someone who never studied econ as an undergrad …

Will Calls for Distribution “According to Islamic Laws and Sharia”; Pennsylvania Court Gives Twice as Much to Each Son as to Each Daughter  —  That seems to be what happened in Alkhafaji v. TIAA-CREF Individual and Instit.  Services LLC, 2010 WL 1435056 (Pa. Ct.  Com.  Pl.  Jan. 14, 2010), which is now on appeal.

Silliness and Sleight of Hand  —  President Obama buckled.  —  On Wednesday, he released his long-form birth certificate, but not without chiding the media and his detractors for their “silliness” in forcing the issue.  —  No sooner had he released it than Donald Quixote was off to his next windmill: the president's college grades.