Obama joins Wisconsin's budget battle, opposing Republican anti-union bill  —  MADISON, WIS. - President Obama thrust himself and his political operation this week into Wisconsin's broiling budget battle, mobilizing opposition Thursday to a Republican bill that would curb public-worker benefits …

Willie Sutton Wept  —  There are three things you need to know about the current budget debate.  First, it's essentially fraudulent.  Second, most people posing as deficit hawks are faking it.  Third, while President Obama hasn't fully avoided the fraudulence, he's less bad than his opponents …

DNC Expands Role In Labor Protests To Ohio, Indiana … WASHINGTON — Building on the momentum in Wisconsin, where tens of thousands of protesters have turned out to oppose Republican Gov. Scott Walker's effort to strip collective-bargaining rights from the state's public-employee unions …

GOP votes to defund Obama's policy ‘czars’  —  The House GOP approved an amendment to a government-spending bill that would block funding for the Obama administration's so-called policy “czars,” appointed advisers to the president that have been much-criticized by Republicans.  —  The vote was 249-171.

On Long Island, Palin Opens Up and Plays Coy  —  WOODBURY, N.Y. — Sarah Palin did not visit Iowa or New Hampshire on Thursday, and she did not drop by South Carolina or Nevada.  But inside a country club ballroom here, as she logged another stop as a paid speaker, she said she could not wait much longer to decide her future.

Warning for GOP: Beware ‘Arrogance of Power’  —  The Ohio Republican Says His Party Could Suffer Same Fate as Dems at the Polls  —  Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio) has a warning for his fellow Republicans: Beware “the arrogance of power,” or voters will do to you what they did to Democrats last year.

GOP activists in Iowa divided on whether Palin can carry 2012 banner  —  WEST DES MOINES, IOWA - A group of Republican activists was sorting out the field of prospective 2012 presidential candidates on a cold night here recently when talk turned to Sarah Palin.

Administration asks judge to tell the states that healthcare law isn't optional  —  The Obama administration is asking a federal judge who struck down the healthcare reform law to clarify that states must still implement the overhaul as the appeals process plays out.

Ont. couple's appeal to bring baby home dismissed  —  A Superior Court judge has dismissed a Windsor couple's appeal of a decision to have their dying baby's breathing tube removed in hospital.  In this undated handout photo, Joseph Maraachli, a one-year-old boy from Windsor, Ont. …

Who's Polarizing America?  —  American politics just keeps getting more polarized.  Be assured that Obama wants it that way.  I argue in Radical-in-Chief that Obama's long-term hope is to divide America along class lines (roughly speaking, tax payers versus tax beneficiaries).

Groups supporting 'don't ask, don't tell' repeal or gay marriage will no longer be allowed to participate at CPAC  —  Al Cardenas, the new chairman of the American Conservative Union (ACU), announced on CSPAN Wednesday that the his organization, which hosts the annual CPAC event …

Tomorrow Never Comes  —  Jonathan Alter wrote a book about Barack Obama's first year in office called “The Promise.”  That's a great title because it works on so many levels.  For example, over the past four years, Obama's career has been marked by a constant promise: He has continually …

Bill OK'd to end collective bargaining with schools  —  Register or log in using your account on these websites.  —  Web Search powered by YAHOO! SEARCH  —  NASHVILLE — The Senate Education Committee voted along party lines Wednesday to abolish collective bargaining between teachers unions and school boards across the state.

Tucson Firefighter Refused to Respond  —  PHOENIX — A Tucson firefighter refused to respond to the Jan. 8 shooting rampage that wounded Representative Gabrielle Giffords because of political differences with his crew, delaying his unit's arrival at the scene, according to internal department records.

Facebook Adds ‘Civil Union,’ ‘Domestic Partnership’ To Relationship Status Options … Facebook has added two new relationship status options users can include in their online profiles: “in a civil union” and “in a domestic partnership.”  —  The new fields are being rolled out in the U.S …

Libya: Security Forces Fire on ‘Day of Anger’ Demonstrations  —  Government Should Respect Right to Peaceful Protest and Investigate Deaths  —  (New York) - The Libyan security forces killed at least 24 protesters and wounded many others in a crackdown on peaceful demonstrations across the country, Human Rights Watch said today.

Rand Paul on Sarah Palin, Dostoevsky and dad  —  Rand Paul may still be green to the ways of the U.S. Senate (he only assumed office in January) but he's got a lot to say about the political state of the country.  Most of his new book, “The Tea Party Goes to Washington,” …

Dem Rep Receives Threat Over NASCAR Proposal (DOCUMENT)  —  Rep. Betty McCollum (D-MN) alerted Capitol Police Thursday after a threatening fax arrived at her office attacking her proposal to strip Pentagon sponsorship from NASCAR teams.  —  McCollum's staff tells TPM this is the first time they've alerted …

Killing the ‘kill switch’  —  Sens. Joe Lieberman, Tom Carper and Susan Collins introduced a cybersecurity reform bill that explicitly prohibits the president from shutting down the Internet.  —  The Cybersecurity Freedom Act of 2011, introduced late Thursday, is nearly identical …