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.

Cheney pushed Bush to grant Libby pardon  —  WASHINGTON - In the waning days of the Bush administration, Vice President Dick Cheney launched a last-ditch campaign to persuade his boss to pardon Lewis (Scooter) Libby - and was furious when President George W. Bush wouldn't budge.

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%.

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 …

President Obama's 2,000-point tumble  —  On Nov. 4, after Barack Obama clinched the White House, the market closed at 9,625.28.  —  In mid-morning trading today, the day President Obama signs his massive Generational Theft Act into law and a day before he unveils a massive new mortgage entitlement, the Dow dropped to to 7,606.53.

Bristol Palin Speaks Out  —  ABC's Teddy Davis and Sara Just report: Bristol Palin, the 18-year-old daughter of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, told Fox News in her first interiew since giving birth that she would like to be an advocate against teen pregnancy.  —  “Everyone should wait 10 years,” Palin said.

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:

For Obama, it's more about showmanship than sunlight  —  After rushing Congress to act, why did he wait for days to sign the “emergency” stimulus bill?  —  Back during the presidential campaign, Barack Obama promised something he called “Sunlight Before Signing.”

Justice Dept. Defends Bush Rule on Guns  —  But Interior Is Reviewing Measure, Which Allows Concealed Firearms in Parks  —  The Obama administration is legally defending a last-minute rule enacted by President George W. Bush that allows concealed firearms in national parks …

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.

EXCLUSIVE: Postmaster got $800,000 in pay, perks  —  Raise came amid calls for cuts in delivery  —  Postmaster General John E. Potter recently warned that economic times are so dire that the U.S. Postal Service may end mail delivery one day a week and freeze executive salaries.

Police: TV station founder beheaded wife  —  From Deborah Brunswick and LaNeice Collins  —  NEW YORK (CNN) — The founder of an Islamic television station in upstate New York aimed at countering Muslim stereotypes has confessed to beheading his wife, authorities said.

COLLEGE CHEATS  —  COLUMBIA BLIGHTED OWN HOOD  —  COLLUSION between Columbia University and the Empire State Development Corp. over using the ESDC's powers of eminent domain to acquire land for the school seems to violate both the letter and spirit of the law.

A ‘fraud’ bigger than Madoff  —  Senior US soldiers investigated over missing Iraq reconstruction billions  —  In what could turn out to be the greatest fraud in US history, American authorities have started to investigate the alleged role of senior military officers in the misuse of $125bn …

Tennis Channel Won't Televise Dubai Event in Protest  —  The Tennis Channel will not televise the Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships this week to protest the United Arab Emirates' refusal to grant an entry visa to the Israeli player Shahar Peer.  Peer was scheduled to play Anna Chakvetadze in the first round.

Growth pattern crippled Phoenix  —  Half-empty outskirts suffer as once-reliable cycle busts  —  Phoenix grew into the nation's fifth-largest city through a reliable pattern: Build affordable homes on the metro area's edges, welcome waves of new buyers, and then roads, schools and retail centers follow.

Japan's Finance Minister Quits After G-7 Blunder  —  TOKYO — Japan's finance minister resigned Tuesday after widespread criticism of embarrassing behavior at the weekend Group of 7 meeting in Rome.  —  The minister, Shoichi Nakagawa, raised eyebrows for his slurred speech and muddled answers …

Green Cities, Brown Suburbs  —  On a pleasant April day in 1844, Henry David Thoreau—the patron saint of American environmentalism—went for a walk along the Concord River in Massachusetts.  With a friend, he built a fire in a pine stump near Fair Haven Pond, apparently to cook a chowder.

Six Keys to Turning Around the Republican Party  —  Here's how the GOP can charge into 2010 with a fired-up conservative base and appeal to a wider slice of the American public.  —  If we want to fix what ails the Republican Party, it's worth taking a few moments to diagnose what went wrong …

STILL SPIRALING  —  Former Rep. J.D. Hayworth (R-AZ) was on Hardball last night and put on a dizzying display as he tried to blame George Soros and Chuck Schumer for the economic collapse:

A Truth Commission?  —  The Danger in Democrats' Rush to Investigate  —  A growing chorus of critics is demanding the creation of a special commission to “investigate” the Bush administration's alleged abuses of power, especially prosecution of the war on terrorism.

Transcript has Burris dancing around the truth  —  Here's the proof that he really is a lying little sneak  —  Sen. Roland Burris says the transcript of his Illinois House impeachment committee testimony proves he is not a lying little sneak.  —  It doesn't.  But judge for yourself.

Some F-22 Links  —  If you're interested in a more substantive take on why Mark Bowden's F-22 advertorial in The Atlantic was silly, please read Robert Farley.  —  For a really serious look at the overall defense budget, procurement priorities, and national strategy please check out this report …

Sure the Israeli right won?  Peace lost?  Look closer  —  To judge solely from the gloating, the right conclusively won last week's election.  Hawkish politicians were swift to crow triumph.  Hardline analysts and legions of talkbackers have positively glowed in pronouncing the end of the left …

Obama Gains Support From G.O.P. Governors  —  WASHINGTON — President Obama must wish governors could vote in Congress: While just three of the 219 Republican lawmakers backed the $787 billion economic recovery plan that he is signing into law on Tuesday, that trifling total …

Calling Out Clive Crook  —  I know and truly like Clive Crook.  We were colleagues for a while when I wrote for nationaljournal.com, and the BTW and I have joined Clive and his wonderful wife for dinner a number of times.  He is smart, perceptive, funny, and a gifted writer.