Treasury Learned of AIG Bonuses Earlier Than Claimed  —  Though Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner told Congressional leaders Tuesday he only learned of the impending $160 million bonus payments to members of AIG's troubled financial products unit March 10, sources tell TIME that the New …

How Jon Stewart Went Bad  —  Inside Fritzl's Dungeon by Barbie Latza Nadeau  —  Blogs and Stories  —  There is a virtual ban on criticism of him in the press.  Uncritical praise corrupts absolutely.  —  Jon Stewart's recent attack on CNBC's Jim Cramer was so brilliantly performed …

For immediate release  —  Information received since the Federal Open Market Committee met in January indicates that the economy continues to contract.  Job losses, declining equity and housing wealth, and tight credit conditions have weighed on consumer sentiment and spending.

Dodd facing fresh political firestorm  —  Featured Topics: - Barack Obama - Presidential Transition  —  Sen. Chris Dodd (D-Conn.) looks like he may be facing a fresh political firestorm.  —  Dodd just admitted on CNN that he inserted a loophole in the stimulus legislation …

Palinphobes and the audacity of type  —  Now that the Obama presidency is nearing the 60-day mark, it's time to thank those fastidious scribes on the left and the right who worked so hard to warn us against Gov. Sarah Palin of Alaska, and the dire things that would surely occur if she ever got close to executive power.

Is There an Antidote to the Republican Amnesia?  —  Memory eventually fails us all, but apparently the decline strikes one party far more than the other.  —  In recent weeks, my friends across the aisle have expended a lot of breath proclaiming that the Democrats caused the present financial crisis …

Hundreds of New Civilian Employees Proposed for Afghanistan  —  Hundreds of additional U.S. diplomats and civilian officials would be deployed to Afghanistan as part of the new civil-military regional strategy that President Obama's top national security advisers plan to present for his signature next week …

Obama backs off plan to alter vets' healthcare  —  The White House on Wednesday backed off a controversial plan that would have dramatically altered the way the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) handles insurance claims, after veterans groups staged an all-out fight against such a proposal.

Split Emerging Between Conservative Media And GOP Leadership On AIG Mess  —  Here's an interesting subplot developing amid the AIG mess: The emerging split between leading conservative media figures and GOP leaders over how to respond.  —  GOP Congressional leaders have roundly condemned AIG …

Some Guantanamo prisoners could be released in U.S.  —  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Some of the Guantanamo Bay prisoners could be released into the United States while others could be put on trial in the American court system, Attorney General Eric Holder said on Wednesday.

Put Down the Pitchforks!  —  I am starting to be genuinely worried by the potential destructiveness of a growing torch-and-pitchfork mentality that is partly the result of cynical manipulation, partly a result of failures of understanding, and partly the result of perfectly justified by presently misdirected anger.

The Next AIG Scandal?  —  The firm's problems may extend to its ‘healthy’ insurance side. … Outrageous.  It's the preferred adjective used by Barack Obama and Ben Bernanke to describe AIG, the crippled giant that has turned into a national money pit.  AIG has swallowed at least $170 billion …

LOOKING FURTHER  —  In a series of posts last night I looked at various pieces of evidence suggesting fraud and criminal activity at AIG's Financial Products division.  We're continuing to dig on that front.  But for those of you doing your own sleuthing we want to be looking very closely …

The Official Guide To Obama Kitsch  —  I am pleased to introduce The Official Guide To Obama Kitsch.  —  Kitsch is a word of Germanic origin which denotes something that is in poor taste, tacky, pretentious, cheap or trashy.  —  In order to qualify, the product must (1) …

Army Investigating How and Why Troops Were Sent Into Alabama Town After Murder Spree  —  (CNSNews.com) - The U.S. Army has launched an inquiry into how and why active duty troops from Fort Rucker, Ala., came to be placed on the streets of Samson, Ala., during last week's murder spree in that tiny South Alabama community.

Exclusive: This is CNN (& BBC-UNRWA connection revealed)  —  * CNN Jerusalem producer's shocking public outburst against Israel (see video below)  —  * Revealed: UNRWA spokesman who lied about Israel's shelling of a school previously worked at the BBC with Jeremy Bowen

Are Bailouts Saving the U.S. from a New Great Depression?  —  Citing Justin Fox's terrific chart of unemployment then and Kevin Drum's comments, the always-insightful Matt Yglesias writes: … Yglesias is right: It's hard to say exactly what might have happened without the bailouts and stimulus.

Dems announce bill to tax bonuses  —  Featured Topics: - Barack Obama - Presidential Transition  —  The AIG bonuses outrage has Congress moving at warp-speed.  —  House Democratic leaders announced that a bill designed to tax the bonuses out of existence will come to the House floor Thursday …

Military Laser Hits Battlefield Strength  —  Huge news for real-life ray guns: Electric lasers have hit battlefield strength for the first time — paving the way for energy weapons to go to war.  —  In recent test-blasts, Pentagon-researchers at Northrop Grumman managed to get its 105 kilowatts …

All of the people should be executed with piano wire around their neck  —  Update: Allah's got video.  Ditto what Allah says about Frank: “What a wretch.”  —  I noted in the public flogging liveblogging below that Rep. Barney Frank rather flippantly dismissed the death threats against AIG executives.