Approval Ratings Drop for Obama on Health Care, Other Issues  —  Approval Rating on Health Care Falls Below 50 Percent  —  Obama's approval ratings on other front-burner issues, such as the economy and the federal budget deficit, have also slipped over the summer, as rising concern …

White House putting off release of budget update  —  WASHINGTON (AP) - The White House is being forced to acknowledge the wide gap between its once-upbeat predictions about the economy and today's bleak landscape.  —  The administration's annual midsummer budget update is sure to show higher deficits …

Frank McCourt, Whose Irish Childhood Illuminated His Prose, Is Dead at 78  —  Frank McCourt, a former New York City schoolteacher who turned his miserable childhood in Limerick, Ireland, into a phenomenally popular, Pulitzer Prize-winning memoir, “Angela's Ashes,” died in Manhattan on Sunday.

Financial Rescue I.G. Says Banks Funneled TARP Aid to Various Expenses  —  Many of the banks that got federal aid to support increased lending have instead used some of the money to make investments, repay debts or buy other banks, according to a new report from the special inspector general overseeing …

Corzine campaign showing signs of obvious desperation  —  Gov. Jon S. Corzine's campaign continues to make even Democrats think the governor is desperate, the latest installment being his adding a “reality show” winner to his list of lieutenant governor candidates.

Video: Pvt. Bowe Bergdahl Full Hostage Video  —  Here is the entire video showing Private Bowe Berdahl in Taliban captivity.  The Taliban have threatened to murder him if the U.S. does not leave Afghanistan.  —  Until Bowe Bergdahl's captors are dead I will not rest.

The Chris Matthews Show: On Health Care Reform, Won't Someone Think About Us Rich People???  —  You can view this video right here by getting the latest version of Flash Player!  —  DOWNLOADS: (829)  —  PLAYS: (2560)  —  (h/t Heather)  —  Clearly, the Beltway Bubble operates …

Palin Hairdresser: NYT Was Lying About “Hair Thinning” Claim  —  Chalk this up as Stupid Palin Meme of the Week:  —  In a July 12th hit piece published on the front page of the New York Times, reporters Jim Rutenberg and Serge Kovaleski (assisted by Kim Severson and William Yardley in Alaska) made the following claim:

Subprime Brokers Resurface as Dubious Loan Fixers  —  LOS ANGELES — From the ninth floor of a downtown office building on Wilshire Boulevard, Jack Soussana delivered staggering numbers of mortgages to homeowners during the real estate boom, amassing a fortune.  —  By Mr. Soussana's own account, his customers fared less happily.

After bashing K Street, Dodd mingles with lobbyists  —  After distancing himself from lobbyists in campaign ads, Sen. Christopher Dodd (D-Conn.) was on Martha's Vineyard this weekend meeting with some of the most well known names on K Street.  —  The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee …

Pelosi: Make millionaires pay  —  Trying to sell a historic health bill to a balky caucus, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi told POLITICO in an interview that she wants to soften a proposed surcharge on the wealthy so that it applies only to families that make $1 million or more.

God, Guns, Guts, and CNN's Idiot Reporters  —  Greetings, Instapundit readers!  —  “You don't have a problem with God, do ya?”  —  This is a question posed to CNN reporter Carol Costello during a recent interview with Mark Muller, a Missouri car dealer whose company is offering an unusual incentive …

Why Toxic Assets Are So Hard to Clean Up  —  Securitization was maddeningly complex.  Mandated transparency is the only solution.  —  Printer  —  Friendly  —  Despite trillions of dollars of new government programs, one of the original causes of the financial crisis …

Race in 2028  —  During last week's Supreme Court confirmation hearings, Republican senators kept bringing the conversation back to 2001 — the year when Sonia Sotomayor delivered the most famous version of her line about how a “wise Latina woman with the richness of her experiences” might outshine a white male judge.

“Rationing”  —  Thinking about the “rationing” question in health care it's worth trying to get clear.  Sometimes there are shortages of something relative to demand—think of a huge oil shock—and the government decides it wants to impose price controls.  That, in turn, leads to shortages.