Bunning: Justice Ginsberg likely will be dead in 9 months  —  ELIZABETHTOWN, Ky. — U.S. Sen. Jim Bunning predicted over the weekend that U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg would likely be dead from pancreatic cancer within nine months.  —  During a wide-ranging 30-minute speech …

Schwarzenegger to GOP: Put Aside Ideology  —  California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger repeated today on “This Week” that he'd take any state aid money GOP governors like Gov. Mark Sanford, R-S.C. turn down — a position that has raised the ire of many of his Republican colleagues in Washington, D.C. this weekend.

U.S. Eyes Large Stake in Citi  —  Taxpayers Could Own Up to 40% of Bank's Common Stock, Diluting Value of Shares  —  Citigroup Inc. is in talks with federal officials that could result in the U.S. government substantially expanding its ownership of the struggling bank, according to people familiar with the situation.

Rahm Emanuel Suggests He Agrees Stimulus Package Wasn't Big Enough  —  Here's an intriguing swathe of Ryan Lizza's profile of Rahm Emanuel: … Whether or not you think Emanuel is right about the legislative politics, it seems to significant for the White House Chief of Staff to concede …

Fox News “war games” the coming civil war  —  (updated below)  —  Bill Clinton's election in 1992 gave rise to the American “militia movement”: hordes of overwhelmingly white, middle-aged men from suburban and rural areas who convinced themselves they were defending the American way of life from the …

ASTRONOMY PICTURE OF THE DAY  —  Astronomy Picture of the Day, run by NASA, has been around for a while, but I just learned of it from a reader last week.  It's a fun site, and helps put your declining net worth in perspective—something we can all use these days.

Bobby Jindal's Blustery Day  —  Bobby Jindal is a very smart fellow.  Back when he was in Congress, I'd try to check in with him every six months or so, just to see what he was thinking about.  At first, we talked about health insurance—his specialty.  Then, about the federal response to Hurricane Katrina (he was appalled).

Palin shuns spotlight to pick up the pieces  —  Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin (R) is uncharacteristically shunning the spotlight this week in an apparent effort to repair damage to her political stature back home.  —  Even though just about every big-name governor and leading conservative …

The right way to create a good bank and a bad bank  —  Policymakers continue to struggle to figure out how to turn a troubled bank into a good bank and a bad bank.  Under the good-bank/bad-bank policy, the good bank will operate free from concerns about troubled assets …

OSCARS CRISIS!  Hollywood Frustrations And Fears Over Sunday's Awards; Stars And Advertisers Give Show Cold Shoulder  —  OSCARS ALERT: I will be live-blogging (more like live-snarking) the Academy Awards tonight.  Come for the cynicism.  Stay for the subversion.  Add your comment.

Shelby dabbles in citizenship rumor [UPDATED]  —  A dispatch from Cullman, Alabama: … I emailed Shelby's spokesman, Jonathan Graffeo, to ask if Shelby believes there's substance to this rumor, for which no supporting evidence has ever emerge, and which has been debunked repeatedly and in detail.

REMEMBERING THE INDISPENSABLE MAN  —  Today is the anniversary of the birth of George Washington.  Of all the great men of the revolutionary era to whom we owe our freedom, Washington's greatness was the rarest and the most needed.  At this remove in time, it is also the hardest to comprehend.

EUROPE'S POLITICIANS DON'T PAY THEIR TAXES, EITHER  —  The European Union's internal audit office investigated cheating on expenses by members of the European Parliament and found it is widespread.  The internal audit office wrote a 92-page report to that effect, but kept it secret.