The Rorschach plan (wonkish, or at least hard to read)  —  An old joke from my younger days: What do you get when you cross a Godfather with a deconstructionist?  Someone who makes you an offer you can't understand.  —  I found myself remembering that joke when trying to make sense of the Geithner financial rescue plan.

The Stimulus Bills: House vs. Senate  —  If all goes as expected today, the Senate will pass an $838 billion economic stimulus plan that follows a compromise reached over the weekend.  But before the package can go to President Obama's desk, the Senate will have to resolve differences with the House and its $819 billion version.

Fox passes off GOP press release as its own research — typo and all … During the February 10 edition of Fox News' Happening Now, co-host Jon Scott claimed that “the Senate is expected to pass the $838 billion stimulus plan — its version of it, anyway.  We thought we'd take a look back at the bill …

Eight arrested in Michael Phelps case  —  Updated:  —  COLUMBIA, SC (WIS) - New details have emerged about a party where Olympic champion Michael Phelps was spotted.  —  On Feb. 2, a British tabloid published a picture of the 14-time Olympic gold medalist using a water pipe to smoke marijuana.

Exit polls: Livni's Kadima leads in 2009 elections  —  Exit polls by Israel's three main television stations on Tuesday night showed Kadima as the leader in the 2009 general elections, with Likud coming a narrow second.  —  Channel 1, Channel 2 and Channel 10 polling of voters as they left …

How The World Almost Came To An End At 2PM On September 18  —  LiveLeak has caught a scary moment of previously undisclosed insight by Paul Kanjorski where he reveals some facts that have not been captured by the media previously.  At 2 minutes and 20 seconds in the video below …

Busy Sarah Palin Backs Out of CPAC; Rush Limbaugh Is Still Speaking  —  The opening-day headliner for the annual CPAC conservative convention February 26-28, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, has pulled out, citing state business in Juneau.  “We're obviously disappointed,” said a CPAC official.

Connecticut's Rell Is Queen Of The Hill At Midterm, Quinnipiac University Poll Finds; Dodd Has Worst Approval Ever  —  Halfway through her first elected term as Connecticut Governor and one week after a grim budget message, Jodi Rell has a 75 - 19 percent approval rating and tops …

Iranian mob attacks moderate ex-president Mohammed Khatami on anniversary  —  Iran's former president was set upon by an angry stick-wielding mob today amid celebrations of the 30th anniversary of the Islamic Revolution on the streets of Tehran.  —  The attack on Mohammed Khatami came …

Mr. Franken Comes to Washington  —  Entertainer Al Franken (D-Minn.) will spend the next two days in Washington readying himself to serve in the Senate, a move that comes even as the contested Minnesota Senate election plods on.  —  Franken arrives in town tonight and will be here through Thursday …

Salazar puts coastal drilling plans on hold  —  (02-10) 13:30 PST Washington - —  President Obama is shelving a plan announced in the final days of the Bush administration to open much of the U.S. coast to oil drilling, including 130 million acres off California's coast from Mendocino to San Diego.

Rahm Emanuel  —  WHAT a strange surname!  It appears Spanish, easy to pronounce, but it's not.  Never in my life have I heard or read about any student or compatriot with that name, among tens of thousands.  —  Where does it come from?  I wondered.  Over and over, the name came to mind …

Huckabee: Stimulus is ‘anti-religious’  —  Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee warned supporters Tuesday that the $828 billion stimulus package is “anti-religious.”  —  In an e-mail that was also posted on his blog ahead of the Senate's passage, Huckabee wrote: “The dust is settling …

Impressed Me Not  —  On Obama's first White House press conference.  —  Through most of his inaugural primetime press conference, Barack Obama seemed like he was channeling a particularly loquacious combination of Joe Biden, Bill Clinton, and the ghost of Hubert Humphrey.

Why Obama's new Tarp will fail to rescue the banks  —  Has Barack Obama's presidency already failed?  In normal times, this would be a ludicrous question.  But these are not normal times.  They are times of great danger.  Today, the new US administration can disown responsibility for its inheritance; tomorrow, it will own it.

You Might as Well Face It: You're Addicted to Success  —  Forced to take a buyout from the Kansas City Star last summer, Paul Wenske lost his sense of identity.  “I'd been an investigative reporter all my life, and then boom,” says Mr. Wenske, an award-winning journalist of 30 years.

Why Obama Wants Control of the Census  —  Counting citizens is a powerful political tool.  —  President Obama said in his inaugural address that he planned to “restore science to its rightful place” in government.  That's a worthy goal.  But statisticians at the Commerce Department …