Friday's Daily Brief

Friday, February 25, 2011 Wisconsin Assembly Passes Bill Stripping Union Rights From Public Workers The Wisconsin Assembly early Friday passed a bill that would strip most public workers of their collective bargaining rights - the first significant action on the new Republican governor's plan. The vote put an end to three straight days of punishing debate, but the political standoff over the bill is far from over. The measure now goes to the Senate, where minority Democrats have been missing for a week, preventing a vote in that chamber. No one knows when - or if - the Senate Democrats will return from their hideout in Illinois. Republicans who control the chamber sent state troopers out looking for them at their homes on Thursday, but they turned up nothing. WORLD Gaddafi: 'Leave Or You Will See A Massacre' POLITICS Dem Lawmakers Meet To Find More Cuts GREEN All Coral Reefs May Be Gone By 2050 BUSINESS Multi-Billion Dollar Mortgage Settlement Jeopardized? ENTERTAINMENT CBS: 'Two And A Half Men' Production ENDED For The Season BLOG POSTS Bob Cesca: Where are the Wisconsin-Style Protests Against the Congressional Republicans? Without any real opposition aimed at the slash-and-burn insanity on Capitol Hill, it might already be too late and the budgets for some of the most critical government services are nearly beyond resuscitation. Greg Mitchell: Stephen Colbert vs. Glenn Greenwald and Julian Assange While Stephen Colbert's interview of Glenn Greenwald this week was clearly tongue-in-cheek, it is worth revisiting Colbert's less amiable interview of Julian Assange last spring. Karen Brody: Memo to Moms: It's Eat, Pray, Sleep There is no formula for happiness, but what 43 years on this planet has taught me is that life is a circle. Good can turn to bad, and bad back to good -- sometimes instantaneously. Dr. Dennis Gottfried: Is The Media Covering Medicine Accurately? The news media's coverage of medical innovations does an unintentional disservice to American health care by reinforcing the idea that newer approaches always represent real medical advances. Rakim Brooks: Wisconsin, DOMA and Presidential Politics Will labor and the LGBT community forgive the president's slights in light of his recent returns on their investment or will they spurn him? Or, better yet, should they reward the president for being like any other politician?

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