Sotomayor Surprises Sessions  —  Jess Bravin reports on Sonia Sotomayor's confirmation hearing.  —  Ouch!  —  Sen. Jeff Sessions (R., Ala.), seeking to discredit Judge Sonia Sotomayor's judicial philosophy, cited her 2001 “wise Latina” speech, and contrasted the view that ethnicity …

The ‘Cap And Tax’ Dead End  —  There is no shortage of threats to our economy.  America's unemployment rate recently hit its highest mark in more than 25 years and is expected to continue climbing.  Worries are widespread that even when the economy finally rebounds, the recovery won't bring jobs.

America's Affordable Health Choices Act  —  The Chairmen of the three Committees with jurisdiction over health policy in the U.S. House of Representatives introduced comprehensive health care reform legislation on July 14 that will reduce out-of-control costs, encourage competition among insurance plans …

Sanford's office couldn't locate missing governor  —  E-mails, phone calls outline efforts to contact, cover for AWOL leader  —  Gov. Mark Sanford's chief of staff, Scott English, called the governor's cell phones 15 times during the governor's secret trip to Argentina to visit his lover last month.

The Same-Sex Marriage Switch  —  Former President Bill Clinton has come out in support of same-sex marriage.  —  After speaking at the Campus Progress National Conference in Washington, DC, on July 8, the former president was asked if he supported same-sex marriage.

Steele: GOP woos blacks with “fried chicken and potato salad”  —  The Young Republicans convention was held in Indianapolis last weekend and their election of a racist, middle-aged woman as President isn't the only controversial item to come out of the GOP gathering.

Jonah Goldberg Embarrasses Himself  —  In his Los Angeles Times column today, the man who styles himself the Churchill of opposition to liberal fascism takes aim at a surprising target. … Goldberg was just getting warmed up in these paragraphs, later adding:

Another Phony Scandal  —  With Speaker Pelosi caught in the web of her own deceit over what the CIA told her about “torture,” and the Obama administration in the middle of its latest 180-degree reversal over CIA interrogators (Attorney General Holder is now considering prosecutions despite Obama's promise …

Ensign to stay in Senate, seek reelection  —  Fallout from affair, including ethics complaints, leaves him undeterred  —  WASHINGTON — Republican Sen. John Ensign said Monday that not only does he have no intention of resigning in light of his affair and his parents' payout to the woman's family …

Hamas says Israel dumping aphrodisiac gum on Gaza  —  GAZA CITY (AFP) — Hamas suspects that Israeli intelligence services are supplying its Gaza Strip stronghold with chewing gum that boosts the sex drive in order to “corrupt the young,” an official said on Tuesday.

White House: Dad not buried at Burr Oak  —  News coverage of the grave desecration scandal at Burr Oak Cemetery briefly touched the Obama Administration today as the White House initially confirmed that the first lady's father was buried in the cemetery and then hours later reversed itself.

Republicans plan rival healthcare plan  —  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Pushing back against Democratic plans to overhaul the U.S. healthcare system, Republicans on Tuesday readied a less costly alternative they say will make insurance more affordable.  —  Representative David Camp …

Upcoming Military Robot Could Feed on Dead Bodies  —  It could be a combination of 19th-century mechanics, 21st-century technology — and a 20th-century horror movie.  —  A Maryland company under contract to the Pentagon is working on a steam-powered robot that would fuel itself by gobbling …

The Little Scandal That Could  —  “We're not there yet,” one Democratic source on Capitol Hill said last week, when asked about the prospect for hearings on the Obama administration's firing of AmeriCorps inspector general Gerald Walpin.  Congressional investigators are still conducting interviews …

The Small Business Surtax  —  The Obama Democrats pick income redistribution over job creation and economic growth.  —  Printer  —  Friendly  —  Jason Furman owes an apology to Michael Boskin, the Stanford economist who wrote a year ago on these pages that Barack Obama would raise American income tax rates nearly to 60%.

Saradise Lost: How Alaska bloggers dethroned Sarah Palin  —  It turns out that blogger Phil Munger hears all his big, breaking Sarah Palin news in the kitchen of his house, which overlooks Neklason Lake and sits just 10 miles from the center of Wasilla, the Southcentral Alaska town where Palin once served as mayor.

Bride's bouquet brings down plane  —  The traditional throwing of a bride's bouquet for luck ended in disaster at an Italian wedding when the flowers caused a plane to crash.  —  The bride and groom had hired a small plane to fly past and throw the bouquet to a line of women guests, Corriere della Sera reported.

The Economy Is Even Worse Than You Think  —  The average length of unemployment is higher than it's been since government began tracking the data in 1948.  —  Printer  —  Friendly  —  The recent unemployment numbers have undermined confidence that we might be nearing the bottom of the recession.

Thinking Clearly about Economic Inequality  —  Will Wilkinson is a research fellow at the Cato Institute and editor of Cato Unbound. … Recent discussions of economic inequality, marked by a lack of clarity and care, have confused the public about the meaning and moral significance of rising income inequality.

Sundry Thoughts on Health Care  —  As I ponder an Obama Administration health care reform bill, whatever that turns out to look like, I am struck by how different the debate is on the left, where Ezra Klein and other wonks are deep in the weeds on health care policy, and the right …