Latest Cuts To The Stim Package: Head Start, Child Nutrition, Food Stamps Public Transit  —  I've just obtained an internal Senate committee memo detailing the latest cuts being eyed by the gang of Senators being led by Dem Ben Nelson and GOPer Susan Collins.  Here is what's being eyed in the bill right now:

“Bristol”  —  I've given up counting, but I should note that none of her defenders on the right have really dealt with the documented fact of her repeated self-refutations and delusional assertions of “facts” that are indisputably non-facts.  Her unstable grip on reality, taken for granted in Alaska …

Reporter restrained after hearing  —  Following Leon Panetta's confirmation hearing Thursday, several reporters approached the CIA director-designate in the hallway outside room G-50 in the Dirksen Building.  —  There, CongressDaily reporter Chris Strohm — upon asking a question …

Newt: Obama speech was Carter-like  —  Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich issued a sharp critique of President Barack Obama's speech before House Democrats in Williamsburg, Va.  —  “It shrinks his presidency,” said Gingrich Friday at the American Enterprise Institute.

CEOs, Bankers Used Corporate Credit Cards for Sex, Says New York Madam  —  Wall Street Exposed as Convicted Escort Boss Reveals Client List of 9,800  —  Wall street lawyers, investment bankers, CEOs and media executives often used corporate credit cards to pay for $2,000 an hour prostitutes …

REPORT: GOP Lawmakers Outnumber Dem Lawmakers By Almost 2 To 1 In Cable News Stimulus Debate Again  —  Last week, ThinkProgress released a report showing that, in the debate over the House economic recovery bill on the five cable news networks, Republican members of Congress outnumbered …

How Bad Is It?  —  This bad, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's office shows us:  —  If you are having trouble reading the fine print: The blue line shows job losses in the 1990 recession; the red line is 2001, and the green line is the path we are on now.  —  UPDATE: To clarify, these are not projections.

Congressman Twitters an Iraq Security Breach  —  A congressional trip to Iraq this weekend was supposed to be a secret.  —  But the cat's out of the bag now, thanks to a member of the House Intelligence Committee who broke an embargo via Twitter.  —  A delegation led by House Minority Leader John …

HHS rumors spark Bredesen backlash  —  Tennessee Gov. Phil Bredesen is under consideration by the Obama administration for health secretary, sources familiar with the process say - but talk of his possible appointment has sparked an outcry from the same advocates Obama would need to pass universal health care.

No, Seriously: Republicans Don't Get It  —  With this latest attempt to strip bike finding from the recovery bill, Republicans have once again demonstrated how out of touch they are with their pathologically short-sighted attacks on bicycles.  To their detriment, they are continuing their trend …

Obama's Preemptive Strike  —  President Obama's desire to talk — and talk, and talk — to the American public could cost broadcast networks millions, and millions, and millions of prime-time TV dollars.  —  Broadcasters are bracing themselves for the likelihood of three prime-time interruptions …

Exclusive Interview: Conservative Evangelical Leader Tony Perkins Sours on the GOP  —  Doing some reporting on how the religious right is greeting the election of Michael Steele—who's been portrayed as squishy on some social issues—as Republican Party chairman, I called Family Research …

McCain blasts Obama  —  Sen. John McCain took his most direct shot at President Barack Obama since the presidential campaign on Friday morning, using a Senate floor speech to criticize the president for mocking the Republican concerns over the massive economic stimulus package.

Mamma Mia!  Putin denies mystery ABBA concert … Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin's office moved on Friday to quash claims he attended a mystery concert featuring ABBA lookalikes singing to him from behind a veil at a military-style compound.  —  Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov reacted …

How Theresa Hatt Caused The Financial Crisis  —  Last month, Theresa Hatt died at 52, after a brief struggle with cancer.  —  Hatt, who lived in Portland, Maine, and worked for the city of Scarborough, had had several credit cards in her name.  So, shortly after her death, Hatt's son …

Obama meets with families of victims  —  President Obama's powers of persuasion seem to have won over some terrorism victims' family members who had been upset over his decision to close the Guantanamo Bay prison camp and suspend military trials for detainees there.

Thank You, Readers  —  Thank you to the readers of the Huffington Post for voting me the “Hottest Freshman” of the 111th Congress.  It's about time politicians from Illinois were known for something other than bad haircuts or having the ability to walk on water.

Cher: Republican Rule Almost ‘Killed Me’  —  (CNSNews.com) - Grammy award-winning singer and Academy award-winning actress Cher told CNSNews.com that living under Republican rule almost “killed” her, and she does not understand why anyone would want to be a Republican.

Pueblo manager for McCain campaign arrested on molestation charges  —  Jeffrey Claude Bartleson, 52, was arrested on separate charges of sexual assault on a child Jan. 28 and Feb. 4 in Pueblo.  (Photo/Pueblo County Jail)  —  Police arrested the former manager of Sen. John McCain's Pueblo …

Confidence in Obama Remains High After Cabinet Troubles  —  Public believes controversy a normal part of filling high government positions  — USA - Governance - Government and Politics - Leadership - The Presidency - Americas - Northern America  —  PRINCETON, NJ — President Barack …

Captives in our homes  —  In democracies the people get what they want.  In America, we've always dreamed of owning a house—a 1,500-square-foot stake in the community.  We demand roots—with a rec room.  So over the past decade our government obligingly delivered a heady brew of monetary policy …

The “compromise” is a crock of you-know-what; Sellouts on the Senate floor; Show us the bill  —  Scroll for updates...Sellouts on the Senate floor 7:30pm Eastern...  Gold-plated poop.  —  Details of GOP Sen. Susan Collins' “compromise” “stimulus” proposal are coming out.

Is Support for the Stimulus Plan Falling?  —  Is support for the economic stimulus legislation falling?  Three polls provide data on point this week: Gallup says support is flat, while CBS News and Rasmussen Reports say support is declining.  —  While it is easy to plot the trends in a chart (as above), caution is in order.

Liberals, Ideology, and Big Government  —  Several years ago, in a piece that's long since vanished into The New Republic's world-devouring archives, Jon Chait suggested that liberalism was, by its very nature, more pragmatic and less ideological than conservatism.

Iran: US must rethink policies for reconciliation … MUNICH (AP) - Iran sternly dismissed decades of U.S. policies targeting Tehran and declared Friday that the new American administration had to admit past wrongs before it could hope for reconciliation.  —  The comments by Iranian …

Diane Feinstein “Reserves The Right To Vote Against” Stimulus Bill—UPDATED  —  Is Diane Feinstein an obstructionist?  —  It occurs to me that Barack Obama campaigned in language that made him sound like a small government guy.  No wonder people hate the Stimulus Bill.