Wisconsin GOP Senator Glenn Grothman chased, trapped by hecklers, saved by Dem.  Rep. Hulsey  —  Phil Ejercito is a 29 year old freelance photographer based in Madison, WI.  His primary photographic services include (but are by no means limited to) live music, event coverage, politics and activism …

Obama's 'Where's Waldo?' presidency  —  For a man who won office talking about change we can believe in, Barack Obama can be a strangely passive president.  There are a startling number of occasions in which the president has been missing in action - unwilling, reluctant or late to weigh in on the issue of the moment.

OPINION: Wisconsin governor is waging ‘jihad’ against unions  —  Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker's (R) jihad against public employee unions is about 30 years late and likely to make Republicans even less popular with voters, who endorse collective bargaining rights for public employees — professionals for whom they have abiding respect.

Supreme Court rules First Amendment protects church's right to picket funerals  —  A nearly unanimous Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that the First Amendment protects even hurtful speech about public issues and upheld the right of a fringe church to protest near military funerals.

Haley Barbour's Medicaid fantasy  —  “We have people pull up at the pharmacy window in a BMW and say they can't afford their co-payment.”  —  Haley Barbour's colorful remark, made to The Washington Post while attending a National Governors Association meeting in Washington this week …

Pakistan Minorities Minister Shahbaz Bhatti shot dead  —  Watch: Shahbaz Bhatti predicted his death as he defended his faith four months ago  —  Pakistani Minorities Minister Shahbaz Bhatti has been shot dead by gunmen who ambushed his car in broad daylight in the capital, Islamabad.

Government shutdown avoided for now, with a two-week funding extension  —  House and Senate leaders on Tuesday bought themselves a little more time in their efforts to avoid a government shutdown, agreeing to a two-week funding extension that also includes $4 billion in spending cuts.

US Soldier Believed Among Dead in Killings  —  Two people are dead and two further seriously injured after a shooting at Germany's Frankfurt Airport, the country's largest international hub.  A suspect has been arrested, and reports are emerging that the victims were part of the US military.

Unless they're paying beaucoup bucks, his transfer to New York makes no sense to me. … Like This Story  —  Follow Slate's Press Box … - The U.S. Has Frozen $30 Billion of Qaddafi's Assets.  Can We Spend It?  - John Roberts Writes the Funniest Sentence in Supreme Court History …

Fetuses to be presented as witnesses before Ohio House committee considering abortion restrictions  —  COLUMBUS, Ohio - Two fetuses will be presented as witnesses before an Ohio legislative committee that is hearing a bill to outlaw abortions after the first heartbeat can be detected inside a woman's womb.

Conceding defeat this time, Senate Dems pledge to win next round  —  Senate Democrats conceded Tuesday that House Republicans won round one of the budget fight, but they are vowing a bigger battle later this month.  —  Anticipating that showdown, Senate Democratic leaders are scrambling …

Huckabee: Obama Grew Up “In Kenya”  —  During a radio appearance yesterday, Mike Huckabee repeatedly falsely claimed that President Obama grew up in Kenya.  After questioning Obama's purported secrecy about the birth certificate, radio host Steve Malzberg asked Huckabee if “we deserve to know more about this man.”

Congressional bosses from Hell: Sheila Jackson Lee  —  A lot of politicians give nicknames to their aides.  George W. Bush famously referred to his attorney general, Alberto Gonzalez, as “Fredo.”  Mitch Daniels, then head of the Office of Management and Budget, was known as “The Blade.”

“You are a person against all of us.  The whole nation is looking at you."  — says an old woman with a “Solidarity” sign who gets right up in Meade's face...  ... when Meade asks her why he should “be ashamed” of himself.  That's at the end of this uncut 7 1/2-minute video, shot outside the Capitol this afternoon.

‘I already know I could win’  —  Dan already wrote a piece about it, but Chris Christie was in the office last week.  I just wanted to quote him more extensively on 2012.  I asked him whether he knew that, given the moment, there is a serious chance he could win the Republican nomination if he ran.

Fierce battles rage in Libya  —  Pro- and anti-government forces fight for control of strategic towns including Brega, which houses a key oil facility.  —  Forces loyal to Muammar Gaddafi, the Libyan leader, are reported to have regained control of two strategic towns in the country's northwest …

We Write Letters (to the WashPo Ombudsman)  —  Just sent this to the Washington Post's Ombudsman:  —  Today's lead editorial on the Al-Kidd v. Ashcroft case blindly repeats a piece of government propaganda that has been decisively falsified in the court proceedings of that very case.

Issa press aide scandal is like bad reality TV  —  If Washington's political culture gets any more incestuous, our children are going to be born with extra fingers.  —  The latest symptom of our deformed political-journalistic complex presented this week, when news broke that the office of Rep. Darrell Issa …

Opinion: Whitewashing Wisconsin's Protests … For the past two weeks, the news media have been swarming over Madison, Wis., covering every detail of the public-sector union protests against Gov. Scott Walker's proposed budget cuts, as well as other similar protests around the country.

Late 2012 GOP start a boon for Obama  —  Hey, Newt, what's the rush?  —  That's what senior Democrats and White House officials enjoying the time off between campaigns are saying as former Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) readies an announcement he is forming an exploratory committee for a White House run.

Think Progress?  Think Ignorance  —  Over at Think Progress, video editor Lee Fang is working full-time at smearing one of the world's most admired companies, Koch Industries.  Today he lashes out at Charles Koch's excellent op-ed in the Wall Street Journal.

U.S. Economic Confidence Down Sharply in Last Two Weeks  —  Confidence erodes after reaching three-year peak  —  PRINCETON, NJ — Americans have become much less confident in the U.S. economy over the past two weeks, with Gallup's Economic Confidence Index falling from -18 to -30 during that span.