Democrats' Diversionary Tactics  —  In the first two months of 2009, the Democratic Congress and the White House have spent more money than the combined cost of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars and the response to Hurricane Katrina.  After they doled out taxpayer dollars at such a blistering pace …

Freeman NOW Gets Vetted?  —  Eli Lake reports that Chas Freeman is indeed to be investigated by the Inspector General.  At issue are his ties the to China National Offshore Oil Corp, in which the Chinese government has a majority stake, and his role as president of the Middle East Policy Council (MEPC), which is in part Saudi-funded.

For Young President, Flecks of Gray  —  WASHINGTON — Well, that didn't take long.  Just 44 days into the job, and President Obama is going gray.  —  It happens to all of them, of course — Bill Clinton still had about half a head of brown hair when he took office but was a silver fox two years later …

White House Rethinks Tax Hikes  —  Obama Open to Revising Plan to Cap Breaks on Mortgage Interest and Donations  —  WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama is meeting strong Democratic Party resistance to his proposal to reduce tax deductions enjoyed by upper-income Americans and could be forced to drop or modify the idea.

GM: ‘Substantial doubt’ about survival  —  Automaker's annual report says it hopes to get $7.7 billion from the government to remain viable.  —  NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — General Motors Corp. said in a government filing Thursday that its accounting firm has found there is “substantial doubt” about the automaker's ability to survive.

US schools chief wants DC kids to keep vouchers  —  WASHINGTON (AP) — Education Secretary Arne Duncan said Wednesday that poor children getting vouchers to attend private schools in the District of Columbia should be allowed to stay there, putting the Obama administration at odds with Democrats trying to end the program.

Professor Takes Heat for Calling Cops on Student Who Discussed Guns in Class  —  A professor in Connecticut reported one of her students to the police after he gave a class presentation on why students and teachers should be allowed to carry concealed weapons on campus.

Obama Taps Clinton Ideas but Not Clinton Herself  —  WASHINGTON — Hillary Rodham Clinton has not participated in any of the White House's planning sessions on health care, the issue that defined her public persona during the 1990s.  Intent on establishing herself as a powerful secretary of state …

Ex-First Lady Barbara Bush Has Heart Surgery  —  Bush Aide Says the Former First Lady Was ‘Alert and Funny’ After Surgery  —  Former first lady Barbara Bush had open-heart surgery Wednesday and is resting comfortably at a Houston hospital with her husband, former President George H.W. Bush …

A Global Retreat As Economies Dry Up  —  As World Trade Plummets, Bustling Ports Stand Idle And Foreign Workers Track Back Home  —  SINGAPORE This shimmering city-state was the house globalization built.  When world trade boomed, Singapore's seaport at the crossroads of East and West became …

President Barack Obama just plain rude to Britain.  Don't call us in future.  —  Why couldn't President Obama have put on more of a show for his British guests?  He looked like he simply couldn't be bothered.  —  Gordon Brown and Barack Obama  —  Number 10 may be content …

For GOP: all pain, no gain  —  Four months after John McCain's sweeping defeat, senior Republicans are coming to grips with the fact that the party is still - in stock market terms - looking for the bottom.  —  Republicans this week are processing two sobering new polls that found …

Merrill Men Paid Over $10 Million Subpoenaed  —  New York state's attorney general, Andrew Cuomo, has issued subpoenas to several top Merrill Lynch & Co. executives who were each paid more than $10 million in cash and stock last year, according to people familiar with the situation.

Challengers to Gillibrand Emerging  —  ALBANY — In a sign that Kirsten E. Gillibrand, the newly appointed United States senator, has yet to win over her party's base downstate, the Manhattan borough president said Wednesday that he was considering challenging her in the Democratic primary next year.

Mission Accomplished!  Did Obama intentionally nuke the economy?  —  Is President Obama intentionally attempting to bring the stock market to its knees?  Some argue that, indeed, he is.  “The free market has failed,” he could say, “just as it failed the housing market!”

Eight plus minutes of truth  —  digg it  —  This early morning I could write about Rush Limbaugh again but those insurance companies that are not insolvent have mortality tables which say it's likely we've got another 4 years, 1 month to make fun of Rush Limbaugh.  So let's pace ourselves.

I Daresay It Is Time We Deal With the Mutineers Aboard the S.S. Conservatism  —  [ed. note: a number of you have written requesting I invite T. Coddington Van Voorhees VII back for another analysis of the sad state of the conservative movement.  After some cajoling and a bottle of VSOP, he agreed.]

Drone attacks — a survey  —  The Aryana Institute for Regional Research and Advocacy, a think tank of researchers and political activists from the NWFP and FATA, conducts research, surveys and collect statistics on various issues concerning the Taliban and Al-Qaeda terrorism and human security there.

Health Industry Voices Support for Obama Health Plan  —  Health Industry Voices Support For Obama's Plan — for Now  —  Just four months ago, the pharmaceutical industry was prepared for the worst.  Drugmakers feared that Barack Obama would press for price controls on prescription drugs …

Bailout to Aid 1 in 9 Homeowners  —  WASHINGTON — The Obama administration announced details of a housing-rescue plan it said would help as many as many as one in nine homeowners, from low-income Americans struggling to avoid foreclosure to well-off borrowers who owe more than their homes are worth.

Beware of Doing Deals With Putin  —  The U.S. shouldn't get too cozy with a regime on the skids.  —  Vladimir Putin's regime is fighting for its political life.  That's the good news.  But the bad news is that the Obama administration is sending out mixed messages that may help the Russian autocratic regime survive.

Matters of Principal  —  TO stanch the hemorrhage of foreclosures, we don't need another bailout.  What we need is a fix — and the wisdom to see what is in our own self-interest.  —  An avalanche of foreclosures is coming — as many as eight million in the next several years.

Democrats Stop Effort To Remove Earmarks  —  The Senate approved $10 million in funding yesterday for clients of a now-disbanded lobbying firm that is under federal investigation for alleged fraud in political contributions to members of Congress, while approving an additional $16 million …

When Will Voters Blame Obama?  —  Buried in the latest NBC/WSJ survey (.pdf) is a question asking voters who they blame for the country's economic problems.  Currently, 8 percent of voters say that Obama's policies are “mostly responsible” for the poor economy and another 6 percent blame him in part.