Congress Approval Rating Matches Historical Low  —  Just 18% approve of job Congress is doing  —  PRINCETON, NJ — A new Gallup Poll finds Congress' approval rating the lowest it has been since Gallup first tracked public opinion of Congress with this measure in 1974.

Michelle gets stronger all the time  —  'I don't want my girls to live in a country based on fear'  —  Barack Obama often says that his wife, Michelle, is smarter than he is, stronger than he is, and gives better speeches than he does.  —  On a trip to Iowa last week, Michelle was a firebrand …

Senator Calls for Maliki's Ouster  —  Declaring the government of Iraq "non-functional," the influential chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee said yesterday that Iraq's parliament should oust Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and his cabinet if they are unable to forge a political compromise …

Average Incomes Fell for Most in 2000-5  —  Americans earned a smaller average income in 2005 than in 2000, the fifth consecutive year that they had to make ends meet with less money than at the peak of the last economic expansion, new government data shows.

Hurricane Dean: 1 Of 10 Most Intense Atlantic Hurricanes Ever Measured  —  Early this morning Hurricane Dean, after mercilessly intensifying over deep warm waters in the western Caribbean, slammed the Yucatan Peninsula around Chetumal as a Category 5 hurricane with winds upwards of 165 miles per hour …

9/11 TRUTHERS GUT PUNCHED BY HISTORY CHANNEL  —  In what will surely be seen as a defining moment for the 9/11 truther movement, the History Channel has delivered a blow for sanity and rationalism by airing a superior documentary entitled 9/11 Conspiracies: Fact or Fiction.

U.S. Foreclosures Rise Sharply in July  —  U.S. Foreclosures Rise Sharply in July With Nev., Ga. and Mich. Accounting for Highest Rates  —  LOS ANGELES (AP) — Foreclosure filings rose 9 percent from June to July and surged 93 percent over the same period last year, with Nevada …

Can the GOP Make a Comeback?  —  The recipe for Republicans is to stop acting like, well, Republicans—that is, Republicans of recent vintage.  —  It's not particularly visible at the moment, but there is a road to political recovery for Republicans.  Chances are they won't get far enough …

The Stampede To January Continues  —  Michigan has now caught the same Primary Fever as Florida, California, and several other states that want more influence on the presidential selection process.  Both Democrats and Republicans in Michigan want the state to change its primary date to January 15th …

NewsMax/Zogby Iowa Poll: Hillary Clinton Makes Big Move to Lead Democratic Pack  —  Hillary's move in Iowa mirrors her national gains as others fade; Bill helps her cause.  —  After months of nipping at the heels of former North Carolina Sen. John Edwards among likely Iowa Democratic caucus-goers …

Louisiana Governor: Backlash Anyone?  —  In one of the hardest hitting - Republicans will undoubtedly say "dirtiest" - television ads aired in history, the Louisiana Democratic Party is accusing Rep. Bobby Jindal of being anti-Protestant.  —  The bizarre charge is delivered by an unidentified woman …

Make Up Your Own Mine  —  An impoverished town strikes gold.  George Soros and foreign environmentalists say, leave it in the ground.  —  The recent tragedy in Utah has brightened the spotlight on mining, already under assault by environmental and anti-globalization activists world-wide.

Time right for Garofalo on "24"  —  LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - The political left and the political right will join forces on Fox's "24" this coming season.  Janeane Garofalo, an outspoken liberal, is set to co-star on the conservative-leaning real-time drama, whose co-creator/executive …

Our main goal: Freedom in Cuba  —  When my father was a young man living in Kenya, the freedom and opportunity of the United States exerted such a powerful draw that he moved halfway around the world to pursue his dreams here.  My father's story is not unique.

Efforts to crack down on lead paint thwarted by China, Bush Administration  —  WASHINGTON — The Bush administration and China have both undermined efforts to tighten rules designed to ensure that lead paint isn't used in toys, bibs, jewelry and other children's products.

[BOOK REVIEW] CHRISTIANITY GOOD, ISLAM BAD?  —  Is Robert Spencer's new book Religion of Peace?  —Why Christianity Is and Islam Isn't just another addition to the "burgeoning literature of Islamophobia"?  That's the opinion of John Derbyshire, who contends that Spencer's own Christianity …

Jihad and dhimmitude  —  Celebrating its 17th birthday in 1961, Seventeen magazine triumphantly announced that it had given "stature" and "a sense of identity, purpose, and belonging" to once "forgotten" teenagers whose "needs, wants... even whims are catered to by almost every major industry" worldwide.

For Wall Street's Math Brains, Miscalculations  —  Complex Formulas Used by 'Quant' Funds Didn't Add Up in Market Downturn  —  They are the powerful, cerebral and offstage actors of Wall Street, but the recent turmoil in the financial markets has yanked them into the light.

ANNALS OF LIBERTARIANISM.  Talking about the Giuliani health care plan, Megan McArdle argues that "As a class, the old and sick are already luckier than the young and healthy":  —  Moreover, as a class, the old and sick have some culpability in their ill health.