Rush Limbaugh's show targets jerks, judging from the latest ads  —  Advertisers learned something about Rush Limbaugh's demographic this week.  —  “Here we thought lots of pleasant, upstanding people were listening to and enjoying the rational things Rush had to say,” dozens of companies said.

It's Always A Conspiracy: Derrick Bell Edition  —  Yesterday, the Breitbart empire stepped up to the plate, called their shot, swung, missed, hit themselves in the face with the bat, then took a triumphant trot around the bases as spectators looked on with piteous and mocking wonder.

How Would Santorum Do Without Gingrich?  —  One of the reasons to be skeptical that Rick Santorum could win the Republican nomination is that we now have a pretty good idea of how the vote will play out from state to state — and the coalition that he is building seems short of a majority.

Joe the Plumber blows a gasket on CNN  —  Samuel Wurzelbacher, who on Thursday morning accused CNN of being like TMZ and trying to trap him with “gotcha questions,” explained to POLITICO immediately following the tense interview that he is “sick of the gossip and drama.”

Pat Robertson Says Marijuana Use Should be Legal  —  Of the many roles Pat Robertson has assumed over his five-decade-long career as an evangelical leader — including presidential candidate and provocative voice of the right wing — his newest guise may perhaps surprise his followers the most: marijuana legalization advocate.

US offered Israel advanced weaponry in exchange for delaying Iran attack: report  —  WASHINGTON — The US offered to give Israel advanced weaponry — including bunker-busting bombs and refueling planes — in exchange for Israel's agreement not to attack Iranian nuclear sites, Israeli newspaper Maariv reported Thursday.

U.S. Unemployment Up in February  —  Underemployment is 19.1%, up from 18.7% in January  —  PRINCETON, NJ — U.S. unemployment, as measured by Gallup without seasonal adjustment, increased to 9.1% in February from 8.6% in January and 8.5% in December.  —  The .5-percentage-point increase …

U.S. Warns Apple, Publishers  —  Justice Department Threatens Lawsuits, Alleging Collusion Over E-Book Pricing  —  The Justice Department has warned Apple Inc. and five of the biggest U.S. publishers that it plans to sue them for allegedly colluding to raise the price of electronic books, according to people familiar with the matter.

Obama lobbying Dems over Keystone XL pipeline  —  President Barack Obama is intervening in a Senate fight over the Keystone XL oil pipeline and personally lobbying Democrats to reject an amendment calling for its construction, according to several sources familiar with the talks.

OMM done with JC Penney  —  The leader of a pro-family advocacy group says only time will tell whether JC Penney's decision to have a high-profile homosexual entertainer as its spokesperson was a good business decision.  —  Despite opposition from the American Family Association's advocacy …

International Slutty Women's Day: A Story in GIFs  —  The year was 2012.  Women were basically just hanging out.  —  You know, doing lady stuff.  —  We'd gotten used to the fact that, for decades, people have been trying to tell us what to do.  —  That we should pay attention …

Wind farms in Pacific Northwest paid to not produce  —  Wind farms in the Pacific Northwest — built with government subsidies and maintained with tax credits for every megawatt produced — are now getting paid to shut down as the federal agency charged with managing the region's electricity grid …

Dogging Mitt Romney  —  I don't know if I've ever mentioned this, but Mitt Romney once drove to Canada with the family Irish setter on the roof of the car.  —  Seamus, the dog-on-the-roof, has become a kind of political icon.  You cannot go anywhere without running into him.

Our Corrupt Politics: It's Not All Money  —  Capitol Punishment: The Hard Truth About Washington Corruption from America's Most Notorious Lobbyist  —  WND, 303 pp., $25.95  —  Republic, Lost: How Money Corrupts Congress—and a Plan to Stop It  —  Twelve, 317 pp., $26.99

James Inhofe Says the Bible Refutes Climate Change  —  Senator James Inhofe (R-OK) appeared on Voice of Christian Youth America's radio program Crosstalk with Vic Eliason yesterday to promote his new book The Greatest Hoax: How the Global Warming Conspiracy Threatens Your Future …

Govt. sets record deficit in February  —  The federal government recorded its worst monthly deficit in history in February, according to a preliminary report Wednesday from the Congressional Budget Office that said the deficit in fiscal year 2012 is already more than half a trillion dollars.

Harvey Weinstein Turns Down President Obama's Movie Pitch  —  If you've ever had a pitch turned down by Harvey Weinstein, you're now in some fine company.  The Weinstein Co. chief disclosed that President Obama recently sent him a film idea — which he passed on.

William Smith, the invisible candidate  —  William R. Smith is the invisible candidate.  —  No one has seen him; no one has heard him speak.  Outside of his home county of Pike, there is probably no Democrat who could recognize him on sight.  —  Tuesday, the Waverly resident won …

The Influence Industry: Obama gives administration jobs to some big fundraisers  —  Big donors considering whether to work the phones raising money for President Obama's reelection campaign might consider the fate of his 2008 bundlers.  Many of them, it turns out, won plum jobs in his administration.

Middle School Teacher Is Placed On Leave After Students Discover Her Porn Past  —  A California middle school teacher has been placed on leave after administrators learned from students that the educator appears in porn videos available online.  —  Stacie Halas, a 31-year-old science teacher …

Op-Ed Contributor: Reforms for the New Upper Class  —  THERE'S been a lot of commentary from all sides about my recently published book, “Coming Apart,” which deals with the divergence between the professional and working classes in white America over the last half century.

First Thoughts: Why isn't this GOP race over?  —  Jessica Rinaldi / Reuters  —  Republican presidential candidate and former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney pauses while speaking to supporters at his “Super Tuesday” primary election night rally in Boston, Massachusetts, March 6, 2012.

Obama Approval Averages 45% in February  —  Forty-seven percent disapproving mirrors the 50% calling his presidency a “failure”  —  PRINCETON, NJ — President Obama's average job approval rating for the month of February in Gallup Daily tracking was 45%, with 47% disapproving, unchanged from January.

Number of U.S. Hate Groups Is Rising, Report Says  —  ATLANTA — Fed by antagonism toward President Obama, resentment toward changing racial demographics and the economic rift between rich and poor, the number of so-called hate groups and antigovernment organizations in the nation has continued to grow …