Burris open to ethics probes, will cooperate with perjury review  —  U.S. Sen. Roland Burris said today he is open to a Senate ethics investigation into how he got the Senate seat from ex-Gov. Rod Blagojevich and that he has reached out to a Sangamon County prosecutor who is reviewing Burris' sworn testimony before Illinois lawmakers.

“Yes, we care!”  Porkulus protesters holler back  —  Hundreds of taxpayers took time out of their busy day to protest President Obama's “stimulus” bill-signing in Denver today.  Jim Pfaff of Colorado Americans for Prosperity, Jon Caldara and the Independence Institute, former Rep. Tom Tancredo …

Late Change in Course Hobbled Rollout of Geithner's Bank Plan  —  Just days before Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner was scheduled to lay out his much-anticipated plan to deal with the toxic assets imperiling the financial system, he and his team made a sudden about-face.

Politico's David Rogers Catches Republicans Lying About High-Speed Rail, Won't Call Them Liars  —  David Rogers has a piece in Politico that offers a nice summary of the recovery plan's actual high-speed rail provisions and the direct role of the White House in securing them:

Congress' Approval Rating Jumps to 31%  —  More positive ratings from Democrats largely responsible for increase  —  PRINCETON, NJ — Gallup's latest congressional job approval rating, from a Feb. 9-12 poll, shows a sharp 12 percentage-point increase from last month, rising from 19% to 31%.

Obama to Send 17,000 More Troops to Afghanistan  —  WASHINGTON — President Obama will send an additional 17,000 American troops to Afghanistan this spring and summer in the first major military move of his presidency, White House officials said on Tuesday.  —  The increase would come on top …

SEC Charges R. Allen Stanford, Stanford International Bank for Multi-Billion Dollar Investment Scheme  —  FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE  —  2009-26  —  Washington, D.C., Feb. 17, 2009 — The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged Robert Allen Stanford and three of his companies …

THIS BIKE IS NOT A PIPE BOMB.  —  Jeffrey Goldberg wasn't trying hard enough.  Despite stuffing Hezbollah flags into his carry-ons and waving fake boarding passes under the noses of security employees, Goldberg was unable to get TSA sufficiently riled up.  —  His efforts were wasted.

GM to End Brands, Cut 47,000 More Jobs  —  Saturn, Hummer Could Be History by 2011 as GM Plans to Slash Dealers; Chrysler Mentions Bankruptcy Option for First Time  —  General Motors Corp. and Chrysler LLC on Tuesday told the federal government they need at least $21.6 billion more combined …

Air Force chief to ask Gates for more F-22s  —  The Air Force chief of staff is going to make his case with Defense Secretary Robert Gates in the coming weeks for more F-22 Raptor jets.  —  Gen. Norton Schwartz said that the Air Force is looking to buy more than the 183 radar-evading F-22s now ordered …

McCain's Vote Should Trouble Obama  —  By the president's own standard of bipartisanship, he has failed.  —  “John McCain Was Right.”  —  That's one headline we ought to see when President Barack Obama puts his name to the stimulus bill in Denver later today.  But we won't.

Bristol Palin: Abstinence for teens ‘not realistic’  —  (CNN) — In her first interview since giving birth, the teenage daughter of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin said having a child is not “glamorous,” and that telling young people to be abstinent is “not realistic at all.”  —  “It's just, like, I'm not living for myself anymore.

Exclusive: Pat Robertson Says Obama ‘Showing Partisanship,’ Denounces Rush Limbaugh's ‘I Hope He Fails’ Remark  —  Interviewing Christian Broadcasting Network founder Pat Robertson recently for a forthcoming piece on the possibility of a Fairness Doctrine revival, I threw in a couple questions about President Obama.

Stop the Democratic Suicide  —  Blogs and Stories  —  If the Obama administration doesn't start to deal with the populist wave headed for Washington, Republicans will tap a reservoir of resentment that could destroy his presidency.  —  First they came for the bankers.  Then they came for the CEOs.

A Foreign Policy of Obsequiousness  —  Yesterday in Geneva, President Obama unveiled the new look of America's foreign policy — obsequiousness.  It was Day One for his emissaries to the U.N. planning committee of the Durban II conference.  This is the racist “anti-racism” bash to be held in Geneva in April.

Politicking, by David Axelrod  —  The indispensable Hyde Park Herald just put large portions of its archive online, offering access to some rather wonky Obama columns from the 1990s and early 2000s, and — better reading — to David Axelrod's reporting and columns from his days as a young reporter.

Ex-Border Patrol agents released early from prison  —  (CNN) — Two former U.S. Border Patrol agents — whose cases became flashpoints in the controversy over border security — were released early from prison Tuesday, one of their attorneys and a congressman said.

Resisting Home Evictions Becomes a Group Effort  —  As resistance to foreclosure evictions grows among homeowners, community leaders and some law enforcement officials, a broad civil disobedience campaign is starting in New York and other cities to support families who refuse orders to vacate their homes.

A new jihad?  —  Turkey witnesses some of the most passionate demonstrations in support of Gaza  —  At a weekend meeting in Istanbul, 200 religious scholars and clerics met with senior Hamas officials to plot a new jihad centred on Gaza.  —  The BBC's Bill Law was the only Western journalist at the meeting.

If You Got Money, It's Time to Spend Some  —  Edward L. Glaeser is an economics professor at Harvard.  —  In the last eight years, Americans have spent an extraordinary amount of money and borrowed a lot to make that spending possible.  Total outstanding consumer credit was $1.7 trillion in 2000; the current figure is $2.6 trillion.

Good News for Fans of the Status Quo  —  President Obama, with his constant chatter about change and shaking things up and new ways of doing things, had rattled some traditionalists in this area — especially those lacking a proper level of cynicism.  —  But a review of the early demographic data …

Geert Wilders Is a Test for Western Civilization  —  If Rushdie should be defended, why not the Dutch pol?  —  Twenty years ago, Andres Serrano put a plastic crucifix in a glass of urine, photographed it and called it art.  Conservatives in particular weren't pleased: not with Mr. Serrano …

Barbara Walters: Only the Morning Shows Will Last  —  “When I die and my obituary is written, it's going to say ‘She asked people what kind of a tree they wanted to be.’”  —  That's Barbara Walters, discussing “The Art of the Interview” this morning with 60 Minutes's Steve Kroft …

The Far Right's All Out Offensive Against Medical Research  —  Opponents of fixing our broken health care system are at it again, attempting to use their same old scare tactics and falsehoods to kill a common-sense health care provision is the economic recovery package.

Democrats' best choice in the 5th: Mike Quigley  —  The Tribune editorial board endorses Cook County Commissioner Mike Quigley in the Democratic primary for the 5th Congressional District.  —  The race to replace White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel in Congress has drawn nearly two dozen contenders …