Knoxville, Tennessee.

SAY IT AIN’T SO: “The Washington Times notes today that many of the recipients of federal bailout funds are also major political donors.”

This is not so much a stimulus, as a massive transfer of wealth from the politically unconnected to the politically connected.

UPDATE: Somewhat related item here.

ANOTHER UPDATE: Political Interference Seen in Bank Bailout Decisions.

BEWARE the dread bee infestation!

THE NFL stiffs the military? That’s not nice.

IS TIM GEITHNER benefiting from the “Rangel Rule?”

A MILLI VANILLI START TO THE OBAMA PRESIDENCY? THE INAUGURAL MUSIC was faked.

It’s important that things go smoothly.

UPDATE: Bob Owens emails that he was ahead of the curve on the Milli Vanilli comparisons.

HOPE IT WORKS OUT: First Embryonic Stem-Cell Trial Gets Approval From the FDA.

SO LAST NIGHT I FINISHED HARRY TURTLEDOVE’S The Man With the Iron Heart. it’s an alt-history story in which Reinhard Heydrich survived and led a post-VE-day insurgency in Germany, and a pretty obvious allegory for Iraq. I won’t give away the ending, but I’m happy to say that things have gone a lot better in Iraq than they do in Turtledove’s Germany. Like just about all Turtledove, it’s a good read, but it’s made more enjoyable by realizing that our outcome has been superior.

IT’S A GROUNDSWELL! TalkLeft: Time to Lower the Drinking Age.

FORBES: The 25 Most Influential Liberals In The U.S. Media.

Among them is Andrew Sullivan, described thusly: “A granddaddy of Washington blogging and a former editor of The New Republic, he clings unconvincingly to the ‘conservative’ label even after his fervent endorsement of Obama.” And John Kerry.

Plus, will Glenn Greenwald really “keep Obama honest?” Stay tuned!

UPDATE: Reader Andrew Hansen is appalled: “Did you notice the lack of gender/ethnic diversity on the list? Very male and very white.” Clearly the liberal media needs to be more inclusive.

THE EXAMINER: Washington has gone bonkers over stimulus spending.

CHRIS DODD UPDATE: He’s getting flak from The Nation.

Over the next few months, she met three more times with Countrywide management, getting nowhere. “They didn’t want to admit they were doing anything wrong.”

Elected officials appeared equally blind to the extent of the problem. Countrywide’s stock had plummeted, but the influence of the nation’s largest mortgage lender still ran deep. Mozilo’s so-called Friends of Angelo program had cut favorable deals on loans to his highly placed acquaintances, including Christopher Dodd and Kent Conrad, chairs of the Senate banking and budget committees, respectively. And Countrywide, along with other top mortgage lenders and industry associations, spent tens of millions of dollars lobbying Congress and gave millions more in campaign contributions.

Dodd still hasn’t released those mortgage documents. According to the Dodd Clock we’re at Day 182. Meanwhile, DumpChrisDodd.com is up and running.

MATT WELCH: Carlos Slim, buying good coverage from The New York Times.

DO ANY OF THESE PEOPLE PAY THEIR TAXES? Housekeeper and Taxes Are Said to Derail Kennedy’s Bid. And what’s with the seemingly ubiquitous servant problems?

ROBERT REICH: Racist?

OUCH:

President Obama literally just said at the State Department, “The United States will not torture.”

So what? He’s also said “I support the Second Amendment.”

Indeed he has . . . .

HOPE, CHANGE, and the occasional “snafu.” In an “otherwise smooth” operation!

THE ONE IS NUMBER TWO: The Obama inauguration was watched by 37.8 million, second only to Reagan’s 41.8 million in 1981.

OF COURSE HE WON’T: Obama spy choice won’t call waterboarding torture.

THE TEMPTATION OF totalitarian birth control.

Well, after seeing how China’s policy has worked out, why not?

POLITICO: Obama Flashes Irritation in Press Room Visit: “President Obama made a surprise visit to the White House press corps Thursday night, but got agitated when he was faced with a substantive question.”

Well, you can see why that would catch him by surprise . . . .

MICHAEL SILENCE: “Why do I get the impression the bailouts are going to be a Comedy of Corruption?” Comedy, tragedy, whatever. The corruption, at least, is a given it appears. “Mr. Frank, by his own account, wrote into the TARP bill a provision specifically aimed at helping this particular home-state bank. And later, he acknowledges, he spoke to regulators urging that OneUnited be considered for a cash injection.”

QUESTIONS ABOUT Leon Panetta, rendition, and torture. “It is indeed hypocritical to condemn certain intelligence procedures as unethical when practiced by a Republican Administration, and remain silent when these very same procedures are exercised under Democratic rule.”

IS YALE’S TAX-EXEMPT STATUS AT RISK for violating the Solomon Amendment?

ASKING THE UNCOMFORTABLE QUESTIONS (CONT’D): “How come progressives opposed to TARP II are very, very worried about the cost to the taxpayer, but not worried at all by the cost to the taxpayer of a massive fiscal stimulus, a lot of which is nearly guaranteed to be wasted by virtue of the speed with which the money must fly out the Treasury’s door? And where are the conservatives taking the equal and opposite stance?”