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.

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.

Senate sends message to Obama on Keystone  —  Thursday's squeaker of a Senate vote on the Keystone XL pipeline serves both as a warning to President Barack Obama that a majority of both houses of Congress supports the pipeline and as encouragement to Republicans to keep pushing the issue.

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 …

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 …

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.”

Mitt: Pay for Your Own Damn College!  —  And get off my lawn while you're at it.  —  Earlier this week, a pretty interesting and telling exchange took place at a Mitt Romney town hall meeting.  A student asked Romney what he would do to make college more affordable for students who struggle to pay for it.

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 …

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 …

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.

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 …

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 …

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

Arizona Senate Passes Bill Allowing Doctors To Not Inform Women Of Prenatal Issues To Prevent Abortions  —  It's called a “wrongful birth” bill and it's all about preventing women from having an abortion, even if it kills them.  The Arizona Senate passed a bill this week that gives doctors …

Rush Limbaugh's Advertisers, March 8  —  At least 50 advertisers have reportedly dropped their ads from Rush Limbaugh's radio show in the wake of his misogynistic attacks on Sandra Fluke.  —  Here are his March 8 advertisers, in the order they appeared on WABC, the flagship station for Limbaugh's show.

Gas Prices Now A Big Factor In Presidential Election  —  MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) — It might be one of the biggest issues in the upcoming presidential election.  Last night, CBS News exit polls found 77 percent of those voting in seven Super Tuesday states say rising gas prices were an important factor in their vote.

Baby's Death Renews Debate Over a Circumcision Ritual  —  Prosecutors are investigating the death of a newborn boy who died in September after contracting herpes through a controversial practice of ritual circumcision, reviving a debate in New York over safety and religious freedom.

Did Health-Care Reform Cost Democrats the House?  —  House Democrats march to their doom.  —  Some of my favorite bloggy political scientists have a new paper out about the political effects of health-care reform.  The paper argues, “health care reform may have cost Democrats their House majority.”