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2:40 PM ET, February 17, 2009

memeorandum

 Top Items: 
Washington Post:
Late Change in Course Hobbled Rollout of Geithner's Bank Plan  —  Just days before Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner was scheduled to lay out his much-anticipated plan to deal with the toxic assets imperiling the financial system, he and his team made a sudden about-face.
RELATED:
Steve Benen / Washington Monthly:
WHY GEITHNER'S PLAN LACKED DETAILS.... Last week, Treasury …
Discussion: TPMDC
Yves Smith / naked capitalism:
William Black: “There Are No Real Stress Tests Going On”
Discussion: Newshoggers.com
Newsdesk / Clout St:
Burris now acknowledges fundraising effort for Blagojevich  —  U.S. Sen. Roland Burris has acknowledged he sought to raise campaign funds for then-Gov. Rod Blagojevich at the request of the governor's brother at the same time he was making a pitch to be appointed to the Senate seat previously held by President Barack Obama.
RELATED:
Newsdesk / Clout St:
Burris unscripted: More details about Blagojevich contacts  —  U.S. Sen. Roland Burris has offered a more detailed explanation of his actions amid the renewed furor over his appointment, saying he is worried the media is destroying his reputation.  Talking to reporters who caught …
Jeffrey M. Jones / Gallup:
Congress' Approval Rating Jumps to 31%  —  More positive ratings from Democrats largely responsible for increase  —  PRINCETON, NJ — Gallup's latest congressional job approval rating, from a Feb. 9-12 poll, shows a sharp 12 percentage-point increase from last month, rising from 19% to 31%.
RELATED:
Steve Benen / Washington Monthly:
CONGRESS GETS APPROVAL BOOST.... Republicans have spent quite a bit of time lately criticizing Congress.  By now, the arguments are probably familiar: the Democratic leadership hasn't been “bipartisan” enough.  They completed a stimulus package behind closed doors.
Discussion: The Plum Line
Thomas M. Defrank / NY Daily News:
Cheney pushed Bush to grant Libby pardon  —  WASHINGTON - In the waning days of the Bush administration, Vice President Dick Cheney launched a last-ditch campaign to persuade his boss to pardon Lewis (Scooter) Libby - and was furious when President George W. Bush wouldn't budge.
RELATED:
Andy Barr / The Politico:
Rove: Cheney's fight ‘overblown’
Discussion: Talking Points Memo
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission:
SEC Charges R. Allen Stanford, Stanford International Bank for Multi-Billion Dollar Investment Scheme  —  FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE  —  2009-26  —  Washington, D.C., Feb. 17, 2009 — The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged Robert Allen Stanford and three of his companies …
RELATED:
Sara Just / Political Radar:
Bristol Palin Speaks Out  —  ABC's Teddy Davis and Sara Just report: Bristol Palin, the 18-year-old daughter of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, told Fox News in her first interiew since giving birth that she would like to be an advocate against teen pregnancy.  —  “Everyone should wait 10 years,” Palin said.
RELATED:
Michelle Malkin:
President Obama's 2,000-point tumble  —  On Nov. 4, after Barack Obama clinched the White House, the market closed at 9,625.28.  —  In mid-morning trading today, the day President Obama signs his massive Generational Theft Act into law and a day before he unveils a massive new mortgage entitlement, the Dow dropped to to 7,606.53.
Byron York / www.dcexaminer.com:
For Obama, it's more about showmanship than sunlight  —  After rushing Congress to act, why did he wait for days to sign the “emergency” stimulus bill?  —  Back during the presidential campaign, Barack Obama promised something he called “Sunlight Before Signing.”
Wall Street Journal:
McCain's Vote Should Trouble Obama  —  By the president's own standard of bipartisanship, he has failed.  —  “John McCain Was Right.”  —  That's one headline we ought to see when President Barack Obama puts his name to the stimulus bill in Denver later today.  But we won't.
Myglesias / Matthew Yglesias:
Politico's David Rogers Catches Republicans Lying About High-Speed Rail, Won't Call Them Liars  —  David Rogers has a piece in Politico that offers a nice summary of the recovery plan's actual high-speed rail provisions and the direct role of the White House in securing them:
Discussion: Shakesville
Jim McElhatton / Washington Times:
EXCLUSIVE: Postmaster got $800,000 in pay, perks  —  Raise came amid calls for cuts in delivery  —  Postmaster General John E. Potter recently warned that economic times are so dire that the U.S. Postal Service may end mail delivery one day a week and freeze executive salaries.
Juliet Eilperin / Washington Post:
Justice Dept. Defends Bush Rule on Guns  —  But Interior Is Reviewing Measure, Which Allows Concealed Firearms in Parks  —  The Obama administration is legally defending a last-minute rule enacted by President George W. Bush that allows concealed firearms in national parks …
David Frum / NewMajority.Com Scroll:
MORMONS FOR PRESIDENT?  —  If the polls are to be believed, Mormons rank among America's most disliked religious denominations.  Despite this animus, Mormons have achieved considerable success.  Fourteen Mormons serve in the current Congress, including the Senate Majority leader.
Mark Naymik / Openers:
Jennifer Brunner announces candidacy for U.S. Senate … COLUMBUS — Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner is turning to the Web to make her announcement that she is officially entering the race for the U.S. Senate seat.  She made the announcement around 2 P.M. through a video on a new campaign Web site.
David Abel / Boston Globe:
2 Romney estates hit the market  —  The ski home that Mitt and Ann Romney own in Deer Valley overlooks a reservoir and mountains.  The Romneys own four mansions across the country.  —  The “cabin” in Deer Valley, Utah, which overlooks a reservoir and mountains, comes fully furnished …
CNN:
Police: TV station founder beheaded wife  —  From Deborah Brunswick and LaNeice Collins  —  NEW YORK (CNN) — The founder of an Islamic television station in upstate New York aimed at countering Muslim stereotypes has confessed to beheading his wife, authorities said.
Discussion: Shakesville, PoliBlog and Pharyngula
Jeff Bercovici / Portfolio:
Barbara Walters: Only the Morning Shows Will Last  —  “When I die and my obituary is written, it's going to say ‘She asked people what kind of a tree they wanted to be.’”  —  That's Barbara Walters, discussing “The Art of the Interview” this morning with 60 Minutes's Steve Kroft …
Hiroko Tabuchi / New York Times:
Minister Quits at Bad Time for Japan's Economy  —  TOKYO — The resignation of Japan's finance minister, who faced criticism for his odd behavior at a news conference at a Group of 7 meeting in Rome over the weekend, poses fresh problems for the country's leadership during a worsening recession.
Damon W. Root / New York Post:
COLLEGE CHEATS  —  COLUMBIA BLIGHTED OWN HOOD  —  COLLUSION between Columbia University and the Empire State Development Corp. over using the ESDC's powers of eminent domain to acquire land for the school seems to violate both the letter and spirit of the law.
Sheryl Gay Stolberg / New York Times:
In a World Not Wholly Cooperative, Obama's Top Economist Makes Do  —  For Lawrence H. Summers, the chief White House economic adviser, finely honed theories have collided with messy realities of Capitol Hill and Wall Street.
Discussion: The New Republic, Corrente and TPMDC
Steve Benen / Washington Monthly:
THE DEBATE OVER FILIBUSTER REFORM.... There's been some good discussion over the last several days about the Senate filibuster and whether the process should be reformed.  It seems, however, that some of participants have been talking past one another.  —  At The Moderate Voice, for example …
David Kurtz / Talking Points Memo:
STILL SPIRALING  —  Former Rep. J.D. Hayworth (R-AZ) was on Hardball last night and put on a dizzying display as he tried to blame George Soros and Chuck Schumer for the economic collapse:
Washington Post:
A Truth Commission?  —  The Danger in Democrats' Rush to Investigate  —  A growing chorus of critics is demanding the creation of a special commission to “investigate” the Bush administration's alleged abuses of power, especially prosecution of the war on terrorism.
Discussion: Salon, DownWithTyranny! and Overruled
Anne Schroeder Mullins / Anne Schroeder's Blogs:
Going gray's just fine, man  —  Everyone seems to have an opinion about Howard Fineman's hair lately.  —  The Newsweek reporter and MSNBC commentator has let his hair go gray, and it's all anyone can talk about.  —  Perfect strangers, we hear, go up and talk to him about it.
Discussion: JammieWearingFool
Tim Franks / BBC:
Explosives haul missing in Gaza  —  Israeli aircraft dropped hundreds of tons of explosives on Gaza, not all of which exploded  —  A large stockpile of unexploded weapons has disappeared in Gaza, before United Nations experts were able to dispose of it safely, the BBC has learned.
Discussion: Elder of Ziyon
Ben Feller / Associated Press:
Obama to sign stimulus bill today in Denver  —  Featured Topics: - Barack Obama - Presidential Transition  —  WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama is poised to sign into law the most sweeping economic package in decades, a rescue plan designed to create millions of jobs, spur consumer spending and revive the nation's outlook.
Warriorjason / THE VOICE OF WARRIORS:
CBS News fooled by Faux military equipment in Pakistan  —  Everyone who has been in the military, especially to Iraq or Afghanistan, within the last few years needs to watch the first part of this video.  Look at the “military equipment” CBS is pushing as recently stolen or “looted” from US Forces.
 
 
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 More Items: 
Panama City News-Herald:
RON HART: Hey, what happened to all that hope?
Discussion: Reason and Outside The Beltway
Ezra Levant:
Alberta cabmin: HRC acting like a “kangaroo court”
Discussion: five feet of fury
Alex Tabarrok / Marginal Revolution:
Free Market Bank Nationalization
Discussion: EconLog and marbury
Catherine Reagor / Arizona Republic:
Growth pattern crippled Phoenix
Discussion: Washington Monthly
Joan Biskupic / USA Today:
Supreme Court case with the feel of a best seller
 Earlier Items: 
Myglesias / Matthew Yglesias:
Some F-22 Links
City Journal:
Green Cities, Brown Suburbs
Discussion: Philly.com and Eschaton
Claire Heininger / New Jersey Online:
Governor spent 105 days in'08 outside N.J.
Discussion: Ben Smith's Blogs
Scott / Power Line:
Coleman's complaint  —  In its ruling Friday on the standard applicable …
Dan / Riehl World View:
Will You Fight, Flee Or Just Read?
Discussion: Wizbang and Right Wing News
Wall Street Journal:
Don't Believe the Stimulus Scaremongers
Discussion: Washington Post and EconLog