Obama Budget Would Create $634 Billion Health-Care Fund  —  President Obama intends to release a budget tomorrow that creates a 10-year, $634 billion “reserve fund” to partially pay for a vast expansion of the U.S. health care system, an overhaul that many experts project will cost as much as $1 trillion over the next decade.

The Joe-the-Plumberization of the GOP  —  With CPAC upon us, I had wanted to write a state-of-the-movement piece, and describing what I felt had gone wrong.  But I couldn't quite put my finger on it.  It hit me like a ton of bricks when I saw this:  —  It could have been like any other of the hundreds …

Rush: If you think Jindal reeked last night, I don't want to hear from you again  —  Sounds like Ace and I are now Republican personas non grata.  As are an awful lot of commenters in last night's megathread, I might add.  —  That's okay.  One of these days Andy Levy and I are going to start a secular …

Holder: Closing Gitmo won't be easy  —  WASHINGTON (AP) — Attorney General Eric Holder said Wednesday the Guantanamo detention center is a well-run, professional facility that will be difficult to close — but he is still going to do it.  —  Holder visited the U.S. naval base at Guantanamo Bay …

Lawmaker's HIV, promiscuity comments cause uproar  —  For the second time in three days at the state Capitol, a Republican senator's remarks about sexuality have caused offense.  —  Wednesday it was Sen. Dave Schultheis, R-Colorado Springs, who opposed a bill requiring all pregnant women …

Chris Matthews Explains “Oh, God!”  Utterance  —  Here's a bit of what Matthews will say, according to an NBC spokesperson: … Jindal has reportedly declined an invitation to appear on this evening's edition of Hardball.  —  FAQ: Comments and Moderation FAQ: HuffPost Accounts

Helen Thomas said what about Bobby Jindal?  —  Helen Thomas has been gabbing with a film crew this morning, according to Washington Times White House correspondent Christina Bellantoni. … No word on whether she also channeled Joe Biden or Hillary Clinton and made any 7/11 and gas station cracks.

Bailout Hearings  —  Wow!  I work in the business jet industry.  This strip is posted all over.  2 Thumbs up!!!  —  Log in to flag this comment  —  This is bare none, the best Dilbert of all time.  —  Log in to flag this comment  —  User Name:  —  apease Feb 25, 2009  —  One of the best ever.

ACLU sues city of Clearwater over tackle shop's fish mural  —  Herb Quintero, owner of the Complete Angler, and the ACLU's Becky Steele talk Tuesday after suing the city of Clearwater.  —  Times]  —  CLEARWATER — A fight over a fish mural has landed in federal court.

Obama's Straw Men  —  Why does he routinely ascribe to opponents views they don't espouse?  —  President Barack Obama reveres Abraham Lincoln.  But among the glaring differences between the two men is that Lincoln offered careful, rigorous, sustained arguments to advance his aims and …

Gov. Jindal's volcano remark has some fuming  —  (CNN) — Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal's swipe at federal spending to monitor volcanoes has the mayor of one city in the shadow of Mount St. Helens fuming.  —  “Does the governor have a volcano in his backyard?”  Royce Pollard, the mayor of Vancouver, Washington, said on Wednesday.

Limbaugh To Convene A ‘Female Summit’ To Figure Out Why Women Hate Him  —  Limbaugh To Convene A ‘Female Summit’ To Figure Out Why Women Hate Him  —  Women don't really like Rush Limbaugh.  On Feb. 23, Public Policy Polling released findings showing that only 37 percent of women hold …

Republicans' Day of Reckoning  —  After Tuesday night, no one should doubt Barack Obama's ambition.  His silent dismissal of the efforts of his immediate predecessors — he mentioned none of them — is only one indication of the extent to which he intends to be a new president breaking new ground in a new era.

FBI raids University of Florida nuclear power institute  —  GAINESVILLE - The FBI searched the offices of a University of Florida scientist Wednesday in a case alleging the professor and his family took “hundreds of thousands of dollars of illegally obtained government funds” from the nation's space agency.

AIG considers break-up in bid to stay afloat  —  By Francesco Guerrera in New York and Sundeep Tucker in Hong Kong  —  AIG and the US authorities are in advanced discussions over a radical restructuring that would split the stricken insurer into at least three government-controlled divisions …