Top Items:
David Harsanyi / Denver Post:
There are fates worse than bonuses — Here's an idea: If you stop nationalizing banks, there will be no need to engage in phony-baloney indignation over bonus payments anymore. — This cockamamie populism in Washington really hit its stride when Iowa Republican Sen. Charles Grassley suggested …
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Edward M. Liddy / Washington Post:
Repairing AIG and Repaying the Public — The government rescue of American International Group (AIG) and other financial firms has produced a palpable wave of anger on the part of Americans and a rising public demand for accountability from corporate and government leaders.
Washington Post:
White House Calls Bonuses a Late Surprise — Congress Moves to Impose Hefty Tax on Executives Who Don't Return Money — Senior White House officials said last night that President Obama did not learn that bonuses worth $165 million were to be paid to executives of American International …
Glenn Greenwald / Salon:
The dishonest “Blame Dodd” scheme from Treasury officials — (updated below - Update II) — There is a major push underway — engineered by Obama's Treasury officials, enabled by a mindless media, and amplified by the right-wing press — to blame Chris Dodd for the AIG bonus payments.
Julie Hirschfeld Davis / Associated Press:
Washington knew AIG was preparing to pay bonuses
Washington knew AIG was preparing to pay bonuses
Discussion:
Power Line, The Huffington Post, Washington Post, The Politico, Gateway Pundit and The Note
Tahman Bradley / Political Punch:
Obama Administration: We Didn't Find Out About AIG Bonuses Until This Month
Obama Administration: We Didn't Find Out About AIG Bonuses Until This Month
New York Times:
Outcry Builds in Washington for Recovery of A.I.G. Bonuses
Outcry Builds in Washington for Recovery of A.I.G. Bonuses
Discussion:
Think Progress, Associated Press, New York Times, TIME.com, DealBook and Room for Debate
Maureen Dowd / New York Times:
No Boiled Carrots — Barack Obama even needs a teleprompter to get mad. — On St. Patrick's Day, the president spoke a bit of Gaelic, dyed the White House fountains green and talked about his distant relatives in the tiny Irish town of Moneygall, aptly named since money and gall are the two topics now consuming him.
Discussion:
Commentary
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David Leonhardt / New York Times:
Paying Workers More to Fix Their Own Mess — We cannot attract and retain the best and the brightest talent to lead and staff the A.I.G. businesses — which are now being operated principally on behalf of American taxpayers — if employees believe their compensation is subject to continued and arbitrary adjustment by the U.S. Treasury.
Associated Press:
Begorra! Irish PM trips over White House speech — Featured Topics: - Barack Obama - Presidential Transition — WASHINGTON - Irish Prime Minister Brian Cowen was just a few paragraphs into an address at a St. Patrick's Day celebration at the White House when he realized something sounded way too familiar.
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Mark Steyn / The Corner:
Healing the planet — The President of Brazil gets the Obama treatment: — RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — His meet and greet with the U.S. president was bumped to Saturday, and when the White House announced his official visit, they misspelled his name. — I was hoping they'd misspelt it as “Lulu”.
Serena Ng / Wall Street Journal:
Hedge Funds May Get AIG Cash — Some Bailout Money Is Set Aside to Pay Firms That Bet Housing Market Would Crater — Some of the billions of dollars that the U.S. government paid to bail out American International Group Inc. stand to benefit hedge funds that bet on a falling housing market …
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Alice Gomstyn / ABCNEWS:
AIG CEO to Testify Before Congress Today — Edward Liddy to Testify in Wake of Bailout, Bonus Outrage — ABC NEWS Business Unit — As outrage continues to swell around bailed-out insurance giant American International Group, the company's chief executive will take the hot seat today …
Rob Gillies / Associated Press:
Bush says it's ‘essential’ to help Obama — CALGARY, Alberta - Former President George W. Bush, making his first public speech since leaving office in January, says he wants Barack Obama to succeed and that it's “essential” to support the new leader. — Bush declined to critique …
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Pamela A. MacLean / LAW.com:
In a First, Bankruptcy Judge Rules Calif. City Can Void Union Contracts — Post a Comment Printer-friendly Email this Article Reprints & Permissions — In the first ruling of its kind, a bankruptcy judge held the city of Vallejo, Calif. has the authority to void its existing union contracts …
Ira Iosebashvili / themoscowtimes.com:
At G20, Kremlin to Pitch New Currency — The Kremlin published its priorities Monday for an upcoming meeting of the G20, calling for the creation of a supranational reserve currency to be issued by international institutions as part of a reform of the global financial system.
Mary Kate Cary / US News:
Obama's Jay Leno Tonight Show Gig Will Diminish His Presidency — By Mary Kate Cary, Thomas Jefferson Street blog — When I was writing speeches for President Bush #41, we'd start working every Spring on the annual “joke” dinners—the Gridiron Club, the Alfalfa Club, and the White House Correspondents Dinner.
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Marybeth Hicks / Washington Times:
Men are women's ‘issue’ — Last week, President Obama signed an executive order creating the White House Council on Women and Girls. He did so with a speech in which he praised the perseverance and pluck of his own single mother, the grandmother who ultimately raised him, and especially his wife …
Discussion:
Dr. Helen
Lori Montgomery / Washington Post:
President's Budget Strategy Under Fire — Tactic May Break Obama's Bipartisan Pledge, GOP Says — Senior members of the Obama administration are pressing lawmakers to use a shortcut to drive the president's signature initiatives on health care and energy through Congress without Republican votes …
Ann Scott Tyson / Washington Post:
Veterans Groups, Lawmakers Condemn Obama Idea to Bill Private Insurers for Service-Related Care — An Obama administration proposal to bill veterans' private insurance companies for treatment of combat-related injuries has prompted veterans groups to condemn the idea as unethical …
Washington Times:
Guns on a plane — Obama secretly ends program that let pilots carry guns — After the September 11 attacks, commercial airline pilots were allowed to carry guns if they completed a federal-safety program. No longer would unarmed pilots be defenseless as remorseless hijackers seized control …
Wall Street Journal:
Financial Journalists Fail Upward — “Listen, you knew what the banks were doing and yet were touting it for months and months,” said “Daily Show” host Jon Stewart to CNBC superstar Jim Cramer in their much-discussed confrontation last week. “The entire network was, and so now to pretend …
Mickey Kaus / Kausfiles:
The Uninvited — Brad DeLong objects to the hed—"Inside the echo chamber"—on Michael Calderone's piece discussing the underknown leftish email cabal organized by Ezra Klein: … Fair enough. But I think the headline-writers' worry was that an “echo chamber” is what the outside world tends …
Gina Chon / Wall Street Journal:
Iran's Cheap Goods Stifle Iraq Economy — NAHRWAN, Iraq — Brick-factory owner Dhary al-Shimary is thinking of calling it quits after 30 years in business, even though Iraq's demand for bricks has never been higher. — “Iranian bricks are invading Iraq,” says Mr. Shimary …