Treasury Department Releases Details on Public Private Partnership Investment Program  —  The Financial Stability Plan - Progress So Far: Over the past six weeks, the Treasury Department has implemented a series of initiatives as part of its Financial Stability Plan that …

I Was Followed, Harassed, And Ambushed By Bill O'Reilly's Producer  —  On March 1, ThinkProgress picked up on a story by News Hounds, which noted that Fox News host Bill O'Reilly — who has made controversial comments about rape victims in the past — was slated to speak at a March 19 fundraiser for the Alexa Foundation.

HE'S NOT ‘PUNCH DRUNK’.... For a while, the lead story from Politico last night was the idea that President Obama chuckled a little too much during his interview with Steve Kroft on “60 Minutes.”  The headline on the piece read, “Kroft to Obama: Are you punch-drunk?”

Tea Parties, Going Galt, Iraq, and Delicious Irony  —  I've been following the growing “Tea Party” and “Going Galt” movements with no small amount of amusement, in part because there is really just too much sweet, delicious irony surrounding both of these groups of people (who, I might add, are largely the same people).

JPMorgan Chase To Spend Millions on New Jets and Luxury Airport Hangar  —  Outraged Critics Decry the Proposal, Call For Bank To Abandon Plans  —  Embattled bank JPMorgan Chase, the recipient of $25 billion in TARP funds, is going ahead with a $138 million plan to buy two new luxury corporate jets and build …

Obama writes letter to Chirac - blogosphere goes crazy  —  Want to know how quickly rumors get spread on the Internet?  Here's a prime example.  —  The right side of the web is apoplectic this morning claiming that President Obama doesn't know who the French president is.

Texas School Board Set to Vote on Challenge to Evolution  —  The Texas Board of Education will vote this week on a new science curriculum designed to challenge the guiding principle of evolution, a step that could influence what is taught in biology classes across the nation.

Michele Bachmann on D.C.: “I'm a Foreign Correspondent On Enemy Lines”  —  During a Saturday afternoon interview on WWTC 1280 AM with The Northern Alliance's John Hinderaker and Brian Ward, Minnesota Republican Congresswoman Michele Bachmann discussed her staunch opposition to several Democratic-led efforts …

Dodd's Wife a Former Director of Bermuda-Based IPC Holdings, an AIG Controlled Company  —  No wonder Senator Christopher Dodd (D-Conn) went wobbly last week when asked about his February amendment ratifying hundreds of millions of dollars in bonuses to executives at insurance giant AIG.

Law Professor Who Advised Obama Says House AIG Bill May Be Unconstitutional  —  I just got off the phone with Harvard professor Laurence Tribe, who advised Obama during the campaign, and he says he's leaning towards seeing the new House bill to tax back all the AIG bonuses as unconstitutional.

500 miles later, I'm back in Madison.  —  Did you understand the previous post?  If not, the answer — along with much congratulations and debate — appears in the comments, notably here.  Let there be no doubt about it: A blogger — Althouse — is engaged to be married to a man who began …

Obama Sells Out a Friend From Connecticut  —  The thought has surely crossed Chris Dodd's mind more than once these past few days: is this how Barack Obama treats his friends?  —  When word spread a week ago that A.I.G. had used $165 million in federal bailout money to lavish bonuses …

IT'S THE PRICING, STUPID.  —  Here, in its simplest form, is what the administration seems to think (this comes from conversations I had with administration officials over the weekend).  It may be the case that these are mispriced assets rather than worthless assets.

The 50-Vote Senate  —  Could an obscure Senate rule free Barack Obama from the filibuster and enable health-care reform?  —  It's hard to imagine another town in which the most divisive thing you could do would be called “reconciliation.”  But this is Washington.

WOW, I NEEDED THAT  —  As part of their efforts to make the scale and scope of Bernie Madoff's crimes clear to Judge Denny Chin in deciding the terms of his plea, confinement and eventual sentencing, the folks at the US Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York submitted emails …

Matthews Renews Contract at MSNBC  —  Chris Matthews, the usually garrulous host of “Hardball” on MSNBC, has quietly signed a new long-term contract to remain with the cable network through the next election, signaling that he had quit entertaining any plans to run for a Senate seat.

Howard Dean To Become Regular CNBC Contributor  —  Former DNC Chair Howard Dean will become a regular contributor for the business news network CNBC, a source close to the former Vermont Governor confirms.  Dean started his new gig on Monday morning with a guest-hosting appearance on the station.

Give Obama more time.  Then give him hell  —  The president has had only two months - harsh judgments are premature  —  The former New York City mayor Ed Koch was renowned for strolling about Manhattan when he was in office, grabbing strangers by the lapel and asking, “How am I doing?”

Winning friends internationally again; Update: The missing context of the Chirac letter  —  Remember when Democrats insisted that we needed a change in parties in order to restore our friendships with our allies, especially in Europe?  So far, they've done a bang-up job of it.

Court weighs double jeopardy for ex-Enron exec  —  Featured Topics: - Barack Obama - Presidential Transition  —  WASHINGTON - The Supreme Court appears inclined to bar prosecutors from retrying a former Enron Corp., executive on charges related to financial fraud at the one-time energy giant.

Court won't hear appeal by former Border Patrol  —  Featured Topics: - Barack Obama - Presidential Transition  —  WASHINGTON - The Supreme Court has refused to hear an appeal from two former Border Patrol agents convicted of shooting a fleeing drug smuggler and trying to cover it up.

Kremlin critic says he was doused with ammonia  —  MOSCOW - Russian police were investigating Monday after a Kremlin critic running for mayor of the city hosting the 2014 Winter Olympics said he was doused with ammonia in an attack he blamed on the government.

D.C. Homeless People Use Cellphones, Blogs and E-Mail to Stay on Top of Things  —  Homeless People Turn to Technology to Track Assistance and Opportunities  —  To the usual trappings that help many homeless people endure life on the streets — woolen blankets, shopping carts or cardboard box shelters — add the humble cellphone.

US to bypass Karzai with Afghan ‘PM’  —  White House plans new executive role to challenge corrupt government in Kabul  —  The US and its European allies are ­preparing to plant a high-profile figure in the heart of the Kabul government in a direct challenge to the Afghan president, Hamid Karzai, the Guardian has learned.