WISCONSIN STATE SENATOR TO CHRIS MATTHEWS: “You are completely misinformed.”

UPDATE: Wisconsin TV station breaks embargo; publishes location of missing “Badger 14″ senators.

CHRIS EDWARDS: Wisconsin, Virginia, and Public-Sector Unions.

ROGER SIMON: Wisconsin: Liberals As Reactionaries. “These events — prompted by a culture stuck so completely in the past it cannot see the society around it with any clarity — occurred and are continuing to occur. . . . Liberalism has become a mask for greed in our culture — a way of hiding excessive selfishness from others and, importantly, from the self. It’s a deflection, really. . . . When the chips are down, our modern liberals are overcome by their own sense of entitlement.”

REVIEWING THE REVIEWERS: A roundup of book reviews from all over.

ANDREW MARCUS: Sights And Sounds Of The Protests In Madison.

HOUSING COLLAPSE may have been worse than thought: “An over-count of home sales may mean that there is a bigger backlog of unsold homes and that it will take longer for the U.S. housing sector to climb out of the deep hole it is already in, dragging on the broader economic recovery.”

UPDATE: Danger, Will Robinson, Danger!

LIBYA UPDATE: Libyan Crackdown Continues, Officials Quit In Protest.

CHINESE PEOPLE POWER: A Primer.

UPDATE: “Fairness:” George Orwell’s China.

NEW YORK POST: Columbia’s Dishonor: School Stained By Students Jeering Vet:

They teach many things at Columbia University — but common decency appears not to be among them. Nor how to recognize personal honor.

Consider the treatment given last week to Anthony Maschek, a Purple Heart combat vet of the Iraq war, when he spoke up in support of a return of reserve officer training to Columbia after a 40-plus-year absence. It was, in a word, disgraceful.

Maschek, a former US Army staff sergeant, was hospitalized for two years as he recuperated from 11 gunshot wounds received in a firefight near Kirkuk.

As The Post’s Annie Karni reported Sunday, he’s now a freshman economics major at the Ivy League school. Not surprising, he supports a return of ROTC to Columbia — the program having been banished during the anti-Vietnam War student tantrums of the ’60s. . . . The response? Laughter.

Catcalls.

And the usual sophistries about gay rights, economic justice, America’s hobnailed boots, whatever — the same bushwa dragged out by the academy whenever it feels the need to deflect attention from the obvious, which is that it hates the military and has for more than a generation.

Yeah, so much for blaming Don’t Ask Don’t Tell. It seems that our politics are achieving new levels of clarity these days.

UPDATE: A reader points out that they applauded Ahmadinejad.

BYRON YORK: In Wisconsin, Gap Widens Between GOP and Dems. “Walker has stood firm in the fight, but the truth is a lot of Republicans were nervous last week when crowds of protesters showed up and Democrats headed for the hills. What if the public supported the unions? After going home to their districts over the weekend, Republicans are feeling better. Many heard from constituents telling them to hang tough, and voters were especially unhappy with Democrats for hightailing it out of state. . . . In fact, for many Republican supporters, the big question is not whether the fight is worth the trouble but whether there’s some way the GOP can steamroll over the Democrats. But that’s not going to happen, at least for now. Republicans believe they are going to win without using extraordinary measures. . . . At the heart of all this, Republicans and Democrats are realizing there might be a gap between them that is bigger than they realized. To Republicans, the budget fight has involved the widespread shirking of responsibilities: teachers walking out on students, legislators running away from their offices, even doctors abandoning medical standards to make excuses for perfectly healthy teacher/protesters. To Democrats, the fight has touched a core issue; anything is justified to preserve union benefits.”

IN THE ATLANTIC, a physician on those fake medical excuses.

WISCONSIN STATE REPRESENTATIVE busted for sexual misconduct. “State Rep. Gordon Hintz says he is willing to take responsibility for his actions after he was cited this month for sexual misconduct. Records say the Oshkosh Democrat was arrested Feb. 10. The 37-year-old was accused of violating a City of Appleton ordinance of touching or offering to touch sexual parts.” The “Heavenly Touch Massage Parlor” in Appleton was involved. Good thing he never made it to the Tilted Kilt. Who knows what might have transpired.

SO IS THIS THE HOPE, OR THE CHANGE? Venezuelan blogger Miguel Octavio flees the country.

THE HILL: Freshman Republican To Senate: Get To Work To Avoid A Government Shutdown.

PETER WEHNER: $61.5 BILLION SIGN OF SERIOUSNESS. He’s right that these are unprecedented cuts. But I can’t help but think . . . Move the decimal over a place and it’ll be a lot more serious.

THINKPROGRESS? Think stupidity. “What is remarkable is how little liberal billionaires get for their investment in CAP and similar organizations. Talent, apparently, is in short supply on the left.”

ANN ALTHOUSE GETS A DEATH THREAT for exposing misbehavior by Madison city employees.

Related: Peter Wehner: Civility And Double Standards. (Bumped).

DIPLOMACY: Cables show China used debt holdings to press US. “Leaked diplomatic cables vividly show China’s willingness to translate its massive holdings of US debt into political influence on issues ranging from Taiwan’s sovereignty to Washington’s financial policy. China’s clout — gleaned from its nearly $900 billion stack of US debt — has been widely commented on in the United States, but sensitive cables show just how much influence Beijing has and how keen Washington is to address its rival’s concerns.”

AND TEACHERS ARE COMPLAINING IN WISCONSIN? Michigan Orders Detroit Public Schools To Make Huge Cuts. “Swift and severe changes are coming to Detroit Public Schools. State education officials have ordered Robert Bobb to immediately implement a financial restructuring plan that balances the district’s books by closing half of its schools, swelling high school class sizes to 60 students and consolidating operations.”

CHANGE: “The daunting tower of national, state and local debt in the United States will reach a level this year unmatched just after World War II and already exceeds the size of the entire economy, according to government estimates.”

ERIC SCHEIE EXPLAINS the true meaning of “hard right.”

JAMES MONTGOMERY: I’d Feel Better With Guns On Campus.

I had some similar thoughts here.

TRUTH: Politifact: George Will was right on Wisconsin.

RASMUSSEN: Voters back Scott Walker over unions, 48%-38%. Plus this: “A sizable majority of Americans say their states are now having major budget problems, and they think spending cuts, not higher taxes, are the solution. Most voters continue to oppose federal bailouts for financially troubled states. Voters aren’t thrilled with the idea of letting states declare bankruptcy, but they’re more supportive if told government employees might have their pensions reduced in the process. . . . Sixty-six percent (66%) of all voters nationwide favor a proposal to cut the federal payroll by 10% over the coming decade.”

INTERESTED IN DISASTER PREPAREDNESS? You might want to check out Bill Quick’s discussion forum.

Related: A list of recommended supplies.