Buy-Buy, Mr. Burris  —  WHEN THEN-Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich was arrested in December for, among other things, allegedly trying to auction off the U.S. Senate seat left open by Barack Obama's election to the presidency, we feared that whomever Mr. Blagojevich eventually chose would be tainted by the association.

Obama's housing plan: ‘All of us pay’  —  President Barack Obama, announcing a $75-billion federal aid plan for millions of homeowners facing mortgage foreclosures, today will say the nation is facing “a crisis unlike any we've ever known.”  —  Appearing in Mesa, Arizona …

The White House's missing documents  —  Featured Topics: - Barack Obama - Presidential Transition  —  In his first weeks in office, President Barack Obama shut down his predecessor's system for reviewing regulations, realigned and expanded two key White House policymaking bodies …

Palin must pay tax on past per diem, state says  —  EXPENSES: Governor received meal money while living in Wasilla.  —  ldemer@adn.com  —  Gov. Sarah Palin must pay income taxes on thousands of dollars in expense money she received while living at her Wasilla home, under a new determination by state officials.

Nutroots suddenly hypersensitive about Nazi/president comparisons  —  For eight years, we've heard “Bushitler” invoked endlessly.  —  Again:  —  And again.  —  And again.  —  And again.  —  And again:  —  Now, the tables have been turned.  Some folks are invoking Nazi allusions against Barack Obama.

GOP ousts Senate leader, budget deal in question  —  (02-18) 02:28 PST Sacramento — A state budget deal to close a $41 billion shortfall has been put further into question early this morning after Senate Republicans ousted their leader who had helped negotiate the long-awaited plan with other top lawmakers in California.

Dem exclusive?  Reporters jump ship  —  In three months since Election Day, at least a half-dozen prominent journalists have taken jobs working for the federal government.  —  Journalists, including some of those who've jumped ship, say it's better to have a solid job in government than a shaky job …

Islamic subversion alleged by speaker  —  A former FBI special agent told law enforcement and Homeland Security personnel that a network of Islamic organizations are working to incrementally implement Islamic law in the United States.  —  During a presentation at the Bedford County Emergency …

Cheney and the Goat Devil  —  I was dubious about Will Ferrell doing his Bush impersonation one more time on Broadway.  —  As we lurch through the disasters bequeathed by W. — the economy tanking, 17,000 more troops going to Afghanistan, Chrysler pleading for a total of $9 billion …

Florida's Crist Has Pick Of Gov. Or Senate Race, Quinnipiac University Poll Finds; Voters Back Seminole Casino Plan  —  Florida voters, by a 41 - 22 percent margin, prefer Charlie Crist run for re-election as Governor, rather than the U.S. Senate, but his 67 - 22 percent job approval rating …

Major cache of fossils unearthed in L.A.  —  Volunteer Judy Scharf, left, assistant lab supervisor Trevor Valle and volunteers Pat Simun and Linda Wright carefully brush away dirt surrounding the pelvis of a mammoth at the Page Museum in Rancho La Brea.  The mammoth, which museum researchers …

Comrade Greenspan: Seize the economy's commanding heights!  —  Here.  Truly, it's amazing how compelling the logic of temporary nationalization is.  How long will it be before the Obama administration is ready to take the plunge?  —  The WaPo reports that Tim Geithner realized late …

Howard Jacobson: Let's see the ‘criticism’ of Israel for what it really is  —  Emotions have run high over recent events in Gaza.  And in this impassioned and searching essay, our writer argues that just below the surface runs a vicious strain of ancient prejudice

Jindal Signals Louisiana May Not Take Stimulus Money  —  Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal, a potential 2012 GOP presidential candidate, has suggested his state may not be interested in all of the roughly $4 billion allotted to it in the economic stimulus package to be signed by President Obama today.

New York Post Chimp Cartoon Compares Stimulus Author To Dead Primate  —  A cartoon likening the author of the stimulus bill, perhaps President Barack Obama, with a rabid chimpanzee graced the pages of the New York Post on Wednesday.  —  The drawing, from famed cartoonist Sean Delonas …

Back Home in Alaska, Palin Faces Scrutiny and Second-Guessing From All Sides  —  Scrutiny Has Been Intense Since Election  —  JUNEAU, Alaska — A couple of weeks before the Alaska legislature began this year's session, a bipartisan group of state senators on a retreat a few hours from here invited Gov. Sarah Palin to join them.

Obama approval over 50  —  Obama Approval in North Carolina:  —  Approve 52  —  Disapprove 41  —  Barack Obama has the highest approval PPP has ever found for the President in North Carolina.  Of course that may have something to do with the fact that we were formed during the Bush administration...