Obama Says Bipartisanship, But What He Wants Is GOP Surrender  —  Posted by Mark Knoller Unannounced, President Obama took to the lectern in the White House briefing room today to give a personal readout of his meeting earlier with congressional leaders of both parties.

In poll, Republicans gaining political ground on Obama  —  Republicans have significantly narrowed the gap with Democrats on who is trusted to deal with the country's problems and have sharply reduced several of President Obama's main political advantages, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll.

Obama Doesn't ‘Begrudge’ Bonuses for ‘Savvy’ Blankfein, Dimon  —  Feb. 10 (Bloomberg) — President Barack Obama said he doesn't “begrudge” the $17 million bonus awarded to JPMorgan Chase & Co. Chief Executive Officer Jamie Dimon or the $9 million issued to Goldman Sachs Group Inc. CEO Lloyd Blankfein …

Brilliant: ‘Vagina Monologues’ Creator Tells Palin to Look at ‘Earthquakes and Tsunamis’ for Global Warming Proof  —  No matter what former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin does, she's not going to win any friends in the mainstream modern feminism activist movement in the United States.  But that might not be a bad thing.

In Albany, a Rumor of a Rumor Catches Fire  —  Albany — long a place of scandal, the rumor of scandal and the echoing talk about the rumor of scandal — has had a week a bit unlike any other.  Newspapers, blogs, reputable outfits and fringe gossip sites have worked themselves into a frenzy …

New York Senate Expels Monserrate Over Assault  —  ALBANY — The State Senate on Tuesday expelled a senator convicted of domestic assault, the first time in nearly a century that the Legislature has forced a member from office.  —  The Senate voted 53-to-8 to immediately oust the senator …

New Wind Farms in the U.S. Have Not Led to Jobs  —  Millions Have Been Invested in Wind Farms, but That Hasn't Brought Jobs  —  Despite all the talk of green jobs, the overwhelming majority of stimulus money spent on wind power has gone to foreign companies, according to a new report …

Anti-Tea Party Web Site Part of Scheme to Funnel Funds  —  A new Web site targeting the tea parties is a part of a complex network of money flowing from the mountainous coffers of the country's biggest labor unions and trickling slowly into political slush funds for Democratic activists.

Exposed: Naked Body Scanner Images Of Film Star Printed, Circulated By Airport Staff  —  Authorities' claim that virtual strip search pictures immediately destroyed proven fraudulent - use of devices needs to be halted now  —  Claims on behalf of authorities that naked body scanner images …

Carl Levin: Filibuster Could Fall ‘After Massive Conflict On The Floor’  —  WHAT'S YOUR REACTION?  —  Senate Republicans made a persuasive case for abolishing or reforming the filibuster on Tuesday night when they blocked a routine nomination to the National Labor Relations Board that had been held up since April.

PRESS ROOM LAUGHTER DIES DOWN  —  The White House press room was a jovial place to be in the early days of President Barack Obama's presidency.  But times have changed.  —  Back in May, POLITICO analyzed the press briefings and found that the instances of laughter — as indicated by " …

Pam Geller tries to tell Ron Reagan Jr. she knows better what his father would think of Palin  —  If you ever needed evidence that right-wingers have no boundaries — in terms logic, ethics, or basic decency — that they will not trample all over in the defense of conservative “values” …

Binyam Mohamed case  —  The Foreign Secretary said the Government accepts the decision of the Court of Appeal and has published the seven paragraphs at issue in the case of Binyam Mohamed.  —  Foreign Secretary, David Miliband, said:  —  'The Government accepts the decision of the Court of Appeal that …

Heart of Redness  —  [Ungawa!  The Tea Party natives are restless, sparking alarm among the civilized panjandrums of the coastal media Raj.  Who are these mysterious Fly-Over savages?  What do they want?  Conjectures abound, but only a few brave souls have dared strap on the pith helmet and safari into the belly of the beast.

Towards A World of Smaller Books … I think you can push this argument further.  I would estimate that about 80% of the non-academic non-fiction books that I do not find a complete waste of time (i.e. good books in politics, economics etc - I can't speak to genres that I don't know) are at least twice as long as they should be.

Reuters photographer says reborn after freed by U.S.  —  BAGHDAD (Reuters) - The U.S. military freed a Reuters photographer in Iraq on Wednesday, almost a year and a half after snatching him from his home in the middle of the night and holding him without charge.

NYS Assembly Special Election Results Bode Ill for Paterson Staying in Gubernatorial Race and for Democrats Holding the NYS Senate in November  —  In Tuesday's 4 special elections to fill vacant NYS Assembly seats, Republicans won 3 of the 4 races - and garnered a net gain of 2 seats.

Caged Panther investigation  —  The Democratic Congress is shirking its oversight responsibility  —  In their bid to protect President Obama's liberal political appointees at the Justice Department, congressional Democrats are surrendering their responsibility to keep a presidential administration honest.

Revised Baseline Scenario: February 9, 2010  —  Caution: this is a long post (about 3,000 words).  The main points are in the first few hundred words and the remainder is supportive detail.  This material was the basis of testimony to the Senate Budget Committee today by Simon Johnson.

Ehlers To Retire  —  Rep. Vern Ehlers (R-MI 03) will announce his retirement at a 10 a.m. presser tomorrow morning, according to a MI-based source.  —  A press release from Ehler's office says the presser “follow[s] speculation about his plans to continue serving” in the House.

‘Tenther’ movement aims to put power back in states' hands  —  Washington (CNN) — Their message is loud and clear: Big government is out of control; states need to take back their constitutional rights.  —  A movement has been growing over the past two years of urging states to exert their rights under the 10th Amendment.