Chas Freeman and preemptive cringe  —  Charles “Chas” Freeman, the former U.S. ambassador to Saudi Arabia who is slated to become chair of the National Intelligence Council (NIC), is being praised by his supporters as a brilliantly “contrarian” analyst.  But has anyone gone back to examine the analyses?

Charlie Gasparino Talks to Fallen Wall Street Titan Jimmy Cayne  —  Blogs and Stories  —  As the pundit begins a series of national debates this week, Meghan McCain says that having her as the face of the Republican Party is a recipe for disaster.  —  It is no secret that being a Republican …

Obama Aims to Shield Science From Politics  —  When President Obama lifts restrictions on funding for human embryonic stem cell research today, he will also issue a presidential memorandum aimed at insulating scientific decisions across the federal government from political influence, officials said yesterday.

Don't Rely on Bush's Signing Statements, Obama Orders  —  WASHINGTON — Calling into question the legitimacy of all the signing statements that former President George W. Bush used to challenge new laws, President Obama on Monday ordered executive officials to consult with Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr …

GOP Rep: “Our Goal Is To Bring Down Approval Numbers” For Dems  —  GOP Rep. Patrick McHenry, a key player in helping craft the Republican message, has offered an unusually blunt description of the Republican strategy right now.  —  McHenry's description is buried in this new article from National Journal (sub. only):

Republicans See Their Party As Leaderless  —  Who's in charge here?  —  Sixty-eight percent (68%) of Republican voters say their party has no clear leader, according to a new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey.  Another 17% are undecided.  —  Just five percent (5%) …

Behind the Curve  —  President Obama's plan to stimulate the economy was “massive,” “giant,” “enormous.”  So the American people were told, especially by TV news, during the run-up to the stimulus vote.  Watching the news, you might have thought that the only question was whether the plan was too big, too ambitious.

Dailykos, firedoglake on blogging in the Obama era  —  WASHINGTON (CNN) — Liberal bloggers were the cyber cheerleaders for Barack Obama in the 2008 race for the White House.  But now that he has won, these “netroots” activists face a major challenge: criticizing the new president and his administration.

The 10 Major Newspapers That Will Either Fold or Go Digital Next  —  A San Francisco Chronicle newspaper vendor  —  Over the last few weeks, the newspaper industry has entered a new period of decline.  The parent of the papers in Philadelphia declared bankruptcy as did the Journal Register chain.

Geithner, With Few Aides, Is Scrambling  —  WASHINGTON — Rarely have so few people had so little time to prop up so many pillars of the economy as those in the Treasury Department under Timothy F. Geithner.  —  In the six weeks since Mr. Geithner took over as Treasury secretary …

Cramer Takes on the White House, Frank Rich and Jon Stewart  —  Suddenly, bloggers, opinion people, columnists and, yes, pundits who haven't paid attention to anything I have been saying or writing for the past 18 months are all over me.  Suddenly, I find myself in the center of a firestorm …

How I learned to stop worrying and love the f-bomb  —  Let me begin by noting that this post is not about Rush Limbaugh.  —  You're welcome.  —  Now, just to be clear, Mr Limbaugh will appear in the post — and as a character he will be prominently featured — but this post is no more about Rush than …

Connecticut's Chris Dodd Faces a Backyard Rebellion  —  In many respects, Senator Chris Dodd is more powerful than ever on Capitol Hill these days.  After enduring eight years in the political wilderness, the Connecticut Democrat is one of his ascendant party's senior statesmen …

Some Myths About Banks  —  Nationalization would undermine confidence in the financial system.  —  The story of our economic crisis mirrors every great market bubble in history.  Clearly, banks were key participants, but they were not alone.  Mortgage lenders, borrowers, regulators …

PERV GROUP PUTS 10G ‘HIT’ ON ANDY  —  ALBANY - A $10,000 In ternet bounty was placed on Attorney General An drew Cuomo's head by a suspected agent of the North American Man/Boy Love Association, The Post has learned.  —  The shocking death threat by the infamous organization of pederasts …

Dean Allies Suspicious Of Surgeon General Leaks, See Politics At Play  —  Allies of Howard Dean are saying that recent leaks from the White House, in which anonymous officials suggest that the former DNC Chair is being considered for the post of Surgeon General, seem suspiciously-timed and politically motivated.

WHAT'S BEHIND BARACK'S BRIT SNIT  —  PRESIDENT Obama's first hosting of a foreign leader, the UK's Gordon Brown, was a diplomatic disaster.  —  Obama failed to hold a joint Rose Garden press conference, the usual protocol when a US president and a British prime minister first meet …

Connecticut moving to regulate the Catholic Church?  —  According to the First Amendment and the Establishment Clause, the government has no business dictating to religious organizations how they should structure themselves.  In Connecticut, though, some lawmakers seem to have skipped over the Constitution.

Obama's Double Talk  —  To those who believe that Barack Obama is a different kind of politician — more honest, more courageous — please don't examine his administration's budget.  If you do, you may sadly conclude that he resembles presidents stretching back to John Kennedy in one crucial respect.

Saudis order 40 lashes for elderly woman for mingling  —  (CNN) — A Saudi Arabian court has sentenced a 75-year-old Syrian woman to 40 lashes, four months imprisonment and deportation from the kingdom for having two unrelated men in her house, according to local media reports.

Cutting Earmarks Doesn't Save Money  —  I think it's reasonable well-understood at this point among non-stupid, non-dishonest people that “earmarks” are a minor aspect of the budget and the bloviating about them is just hot air not serious budget policy.  Less well-understood is Stan Collender's point …

Who's Filibustering Now?  —  When President George W. Bush was stocking the federal courts with conservative ideologues, Senate Republicans threatened to change the august body's rules if any Democrat dared to try to block his choices, even the least-competent, most-radical ones.

In Defense of Obamanomics  —  History shows that the president's tax plans are consistent with strong economic growth.  —  If leadership is defined as recognizing a crisis, addressing its challenges, and setting new directions while remaining true to one's values, then Barack Obama is already demonstrating his strengths as a leader.

Adviser: Steele overhauling GOP  —  Over the past week, new RNC Chairman Michael Steele has walked through the fire, or more accurately, through a shooting gallery inside the Beltway.  To be clear, some of this was self-inflicted.  As the chairman has said, he made some missteps in a few media appearances.