Supreme Court to hear Cheney-Secret Service case

The Supreme Court said on Monday it will decide whether a man arrested after touching then-Vice President Dick Cheney and criticizing his Iraq war policies can sue two Secret Service agents. More here...

Trump: Huntsman and Paul are 'joke candidates'

Donald Trump has once again said that if Republican primary voters can't pick a candidate he believes will beat President Obama, he'll run for president himself. More here..

U.S. Military Sources: Iran Has Missing U.S. Drone

Iran is in possession of a RQ-170 Sentinel drone that went missing over the Islamic Republic, U.S. military sources told Fox News on Monday. The Sentinel is the same kind of stealth high tech drone that was used to monitor the compound during the raid that killed Usama bin Laden in Pakistan, the sources said. More here...

Julian Assange extradition fight to continue in supreme court

Julian Assange has been handed a lifeline in his effort to avoid extradition, after two judges ruled he could approach the supreme court for permission to appeal against his removal to Sweden to face accusations of rape and sexual assault. More here...

France and Germany outline fiscal pact

Ahead of a key summit this week, the leaders of France and Germany agreed Monday on a new fiscal pact that they say will help prevent another debt crisis. French President Nicolas Sarkozy outlined the basic elements of the plan to increase budget discipline after meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Paris. More here...

Gingrich camp: No Cain endorsement on Monday

Former pizza magnate Herman Cain will not endorse former rival Newt Gingrich for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination on Monday, contrary to a media report, a spokesman for Gingrich's campaign said. More here..

Russia: Putin's Party Barely Hangs on to Majority

Prime Minister Vladimir Putin's party saw its majority in Russia's parliament weaken sharply, according to preliminary election results released Monday, a humiliating setback for the man who has steadily tightened his grip on the nation for nearly 12 years. Some opposition politicians and election monitors said even a result of around 50 percent for Putin's United Russia party was inflated because of vote fraud. Their claims were backed by international observers, who pointed to procedural violations and serious indications of ballot stuffing after a campaign slanted in favor of United Russia. More here...

Afghanistan anti-corruption pledge at Bonn summit

The promise came at the end of a one-day global conference in the German city of Bonn on Afghanistan's future. The closing communique said "substantial progress" had been made since the last conference 10 years ago, weeks after the Taliban was toppled. More here...

If News Corp was a liberal outfit, it would have been shredded by now

The scandal at Rupert Murdoch's News Corp crossed the Atlantic Ocean on Tuesday, not because any new evidence appeared linking the company to illegal acts in America but rather because several cable news channels broadcast the British parliament hearing live to US audiences. More here....

Koch Joins Exxon to Craft State Laws from D.C. In ALEC’s Industry Agenda

Koch Industries Inc. and Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM) are among companies that would benefit from almost identical energy legislation introduced in state capitals from Oregon to New Mexico to New Hampshire -- and that’s by design. The energy companies helped write the legislation at a meeting organized by a group they finance, the American Legislative Exchange Council, a Washington-based policy institute known as ALEC. More here....

The Rise of the TEA Party and Fall of the Republic

The outline that it has created has been apparent to anyone paying attention to congress since January of this year. Since the Republicans have taken over the House on a TEA party landslide they have introduced plenty of legislation aimed at dismantling the government, and vital services it provides. A slew off maniacal bills aimed at privatization, deregulation, the abolition of safety nets, and public safety programs. Not to mention a strategy to accomplish these goals. More here....

The GOP Must Explain How Fortune 500 Tax Cuts Help The Middle Class

Republicans keep saying it and their disciples continue to blindly follow them, that tax breaks are needed to spur the economy. With all due respect YOU ARE LYING! The purpose of tax breaks, according to Republicans is it would increase investment and spur hiring. More here....

Which Party’s Presidents Created The Debt? Anyalysis From 1938 – 2004

The chart below shows the United Stated national debt (per Microsoft’s Encarta Encyclopedia[1]) with the various Presidents’ terms marked by vertical lines. Under Clinton the growth in debt ceased, but note the radical change in direction debt has taken since George W. Bush entered office. There is no question that the steepest upward rises in debt take place when Conservative Republican Presidents are in office (see red below). More here....

Republican Governors Who Don’t Believe In Climate Change Call For Day Of Prayer To End The Heat

Republican Governors from Texas and Oklahoma have called for a day of prayer, to end the heat wave that is roasting most of our country right now. Governor Rick Perry of Texas and Governor Mary Fallin of Oklahoma don’t believe in climate change, yet they believe if enough people pray then the heat will end. More here....

The GOP’s fuzzy math

It’s one thing for a political party to lose its moral bearings – after all, community values evolve, and large swaths of people and their elected representatives can end up on the wrong side of history on such questions as slavery, suffrage, and civil rights. But when a party loses its mathematical bearings – well, that’s a little shocking. More here....

Stephen Colbert on why God wants Rick Perry for president

"Only God can make a tree," wrote poet Joyce Kilmer, but Comedy Central's Stephen Colbert is telling people that maybe He likes to dabble in politics too and that His latest Favorite Son could be Texas Governor Rick Perry. Now there's nothing new in that. Everybody knows God votes Republican (or at least there are a lot of Republicans who think so) and there are many who think God called them to run for the presidency; George W. Bush and Michelle Bachman immediately come to mind but I'm sure you can think of others. More here....

Boehner And McConnell Voted To Raise The Debt Ceiling 5 Times

Undocumented Immigrants Paid $11.2 Billion In Taxes While GE Paid Nothing

This past month, there was much outrage over the fact that General Electric, despite making $14.2 billion in profits, paid zero U.S. taxes in 2010. General Electric actually received tax credits of $3.2 billion from American taxpayers. At the same time that General Electric was not paying taxes, many undocumented immigrants, who are typically accused of taking advantage of the system while not contributing to it by many on the right, paid $11.2 billion in taxes. More here....

Limbaugh: The Killer 116° Heat Index Is ‘Manufactured By The Government’

They’re playing games with us on this heat wave, again. Even Drudge. Drudge getting sucked in here. Going to be 116 in Washington. No, it’s not. It’s gonna be like 100, maybe 99. A heat index, manufactured by the government to tell you what it feels like when you add the humidity in there. More here....

Las Vegas Resort Sues Tennessee Tea Party Group Over Hotel Bill

Some (certainly not I) might say that one Tennessee Tea Party group was brewing up trouble when it booked — then postponed, then ultimately canceled — a conference at the Palazzo resort in Las Vegas. The Las Vegas Review-Journal ventures to say they’re in hot water over the cancellation. The group, you see, had initially booked a conclave for July 14 -18, 2010 before postponing it for October of that year and then ultimately canceling the gathering altogether. More here....