‘Have You No Sense of Decency?’  The Wm.  Cronon Story  —  BEIJING, China.  I don't mean to keep butting in and have just a minute to type this out, but I think it's important to direct attention to a new abuse of power underway in Wisconsin.  —  William Cronon (right), whom I know very slightly …

Huckabee Has Slight Edge, Palin Down, in GOP '12 Preferences  —  Romney, Palin would tie if Huckabee does not run  —  PRINCETON, NJ — Mike Huckabee tops a large list of potential GOP presidential candidates in current support for the party's 2012 nomination, with 19% of Republicans saying they are most likely to back him.

Does Pawlenty Have a Sharia Problem?  —  Pawlenty's effort to expand Muslim homeownership could hurt him in the GOP primary.  —  Abid Lakhani wanted to buy a home.  —  Unfortunately, as an observant Muslim, his options were limited.  Many Muslims hold that the paying or charging of interest …

Lamestream Media: Reload or White Flag?  —  “Let's keep pivoting around media bias, and not get distracted with the vulgar personal shots.  Call out lies and set the record straight, but always keep the ball moving.  No one ever won a game only playing defense.”

Fresh coolant injected, high-radiation water leaks in nuke crisis  —  Tokyo Electric Power Co. said Friday it has begun injecting freshwater into the No. 1 and No. 3 reactor cores at the crisis-hit Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant to enhance cooling efficiency, although highly radioactive water …

CBO: Taxing mileage a ‘practical option’ for revenue enhancement  —  The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) this week released a report that said taxing people based on how many miles they drive is a possible option for raising new revenues and that these taxes could be used to offset the costs …

The professor's war … President Obama is proud of how he put together the Libyan operation.  A model of international cooperation.  All the necessary paperwork.  Arab League backing.  A Security Council resolution.  (Everything but a resolution from the Congress of the United States …

Election looms as government falls  —  Beginning of Story Content  —  It's official — the government has fallen from power, clearing the way for a spring election.  —  The opposition Liberals, NDP and Bloc Québécois came together Friday afternoon in a historic vote …

Bob Herbert to Leave The Times  —  Bob Herbert, a columnist for The New York Times Op-Ed page, is leaving the paper after nearly 20 years.  —  Mr. Herbert's resignation was announced in a memo to Times staff members on Friday.  His last column will appear in the paper on Saturday.

G.E.'s Strategies Let It Avoid Taxes Altogether  —  General Electric, the nation's largest corporation, had a very good year in 2010.  —  The company reported worldwide profits of $14.2 billion, and said $5.1 billion of the total came from its operations in the United States.  —  Its American tax bill?

The Austerity Delusion  —  Portugal's government has just fallen in a dispute over austerity proposals.  Irish bond yields have topped 10 percent for the first time.  And the British government has just marked its economic forecast down and its deficit forecast up.  —  What do these events have in common?

Woops, Newt Did It Again: Trying To Defend Libya Flip-Flop, Gingrich Reverses Himself On Air Power  —  Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich went on Fox News last night to “attempt[] to clarify [his] stance on Libya,” as Fox itself put it, but only ran into more trouble.

Connie Mack will NOT run for U.S. Senate  —  U.S. Rep. Connie Mack IV won't run for U.S. Senate.  —  “I've got two small children and it's hard enough to get to spend a lot of good quality time now.  I have a wife.  They are all very important to me and at the end of the day family has to be number one …

QUOTE OF THE DAY.... On Fox News this morning, Bill Hemmer, after some gratuitous shots at President Obama, asked Sen. John McCain about U.S. policy in Libya, most notably who would replace Gadhafi if McCain gets his wish about regime change. … McCain then changed the subject, letting viewers know that the rebels have a website.

Number of black D.C. residents plummets as majority status slips away  —  Graphic: View how demographics in your neighborhood have changed over time.  —  The number of African Americans residing in the District plummeted by more than 11 percent during the past decade, with blacks on the verge …

Allies Are Split on Goal and Exit Strategy in Libya  —  WASHINGTON — Having largely succeeded in stopping a rout of Libya's rebels, the inchoate coalition attacking Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi's forces remains divided over the ultimate goal — and exit strategy — of what officials acknowledged Thursday …

Arizona Sheriff Arpaio and Steven Seagal send in the tanks to bust up chickens  —  America has gone crazy!  Well, Arizona certainly leads the way to bizzaro land with the actions of Sheriff Joe Arpaio.  And is there such a thing as Action Star Steven Seagal anymore?

F.B.I. Memorandum  —  Below is the text of an unsigned, internal F.B.I. memorandum, obtained by The New York Times, that provides guidance to agents about when, in the course of interrogating a terrorism suspect, they should advise the suspect of his so-called Miranda rights to remain silent …

Islamist Group Is Rising Force in a New Egypt  —  CAIRO — In post-revolutionary Egypt, where hope and confusion collide in the daily struggle to build a new nation, religion has emerged as a powerful political force, following an uprising that was based on secular ideals.

And While We're on the Subject of Reuters...  This is from a just-released Reuters news analysis of President Obama's alleged travails: … This, of course, is wildly inaccurate and misleading.  Say what you will about the second Iraq war, but George W. Bush made partnerships with many nations …

Against The F-Word  —  During a debate over neoconservatism, Damon Linker insists that the ideology isn't fascistic: … Agreed (but one needs to recall Leo Strauss's early love affair with Mussolini and his contempt for what he saw as decadent liberal democracy).

Ford Stops Making Black Vehicles (Briefly)  —  Natural disasters in Japan have lessened the supply of pigments necessary to make black paint.  —  WSJ ("Reverse Model T: Some Fords Won't Be Painted Black"): … The DC area will be particularly hard hit, as being in a large …

The GOP's Census problem  —  When the Census released its reapportionment totals in December, much of the focus was on the new seats in red states, and how it was a good thing for Republicans.  —  The data released by Census on Thursday, though, shows how those same population shifts are creating new challenges for the GOP.