‘An Accident of Time and Place’  —  Henry Louis Gates Jr. on his meeting with Sgt. Crowley at the White House.  —  “...I thank God that I live in a country in which police officers put their lives at risk to protect us every day, and, more than ever, I've come to understand and appreciate their daily sacrifices on our behalf.”

Industry Is Generous To Influential Bloc  —  On June 19, Rep. Mike Ross of Arkansas made clear that he and a group of other conservative Democrats known as the Blue Dogs were increasingly unhappy with the direction that health-care legislation was taking in the House.

AP sources: Govt to suspend ‘cash for clunkers’ … WASHINGTON (AP) - Congressional officials say the government plans to suspend the popular “cash for clunkers” program amid concerns it could quickly use up the $1 billion in rebates for new car purchases.  —  The Transportation Department …

Baucus: ‘No idea’ how he'll vote on Sotomayor  —  Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.) said Thursday he hasn't made up his mind on whether he will vote to confirm Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor.  —  Baucus this summer has infuriated liberals on and off Capitol Hill by working to strike a deal with Republicans on healthcare reform.

NATIONAL INCOME AND PRODUCT ACCOUNTS  —  GROSS DOMESTIC PRODUCT: SECOND QUARTER 2009 (ADVANCE ESTIMATE)  —  COMPREHENSIVE REVISION: 1929 THROUGH FIRST QUARTER 2009  —  Real gross domestic product — the output of goods and services produced by labor and property located in the United States …

Controversy Surrounding Lou Dobbs Has Failed to Increase His Ratings  —  On the night of Monday, July 27, Bill O'Reilly welcomed Richard Cohen, the head of the Southern Poverty Law Center, onto The O'Reilly Factor, to talk about Mr. Cohen's repeated public criticisms of CNN anchor Lou Dobbs.

Porn prosecution fuels debate  —  President Barack Obama's Justice Department has quietly agreed to move a pornography prosecution out of socially conservative Montana to more urbane New Jersey - fueling perceptions by some attorneys that the new administration is stepping back from the aggressive approach …

In Afghanistan, U.S. May Shift Strategy  —  Request for Big Boost in Afghan Troops Could Also Require More Americans  —  The top U.S. commander in Afghanistan is preparing a new strategy that calls for major changes in the way U.S. and other NATO troops there operate, a vast increase …

Tax Burden of Top 1% Now Exceeds That of Bottom 95%  —  Newly released data from the IRS clearly debunks the conventional Beltway rhetoric that the “rich” are not paying their fair share of taxes and disproportionately benefited from the Bush tax cuts.  —  Indeed, the IRS data shows that in 2007 …

DEVELOPING: What's Happening on Capitol Hill  —  There were some major developments in both houses of Congress on Thursday.  And while it's not clear (to me) exactly why these developments took place—let alone what they mean—reform advocates both on and off Capitol Hill seem more than a little bit concerned.

After Rescue, New Weakness Seen at A.I.G.  —  The dozens of insurance companies that make up the American International Group show signs of considerable weakness even after their corporate parent got the biggest bailout in history, a review of state regulatory filings shows.

Do quick tweets sink ships?  —  WASHINGTON (CNN) - Rep. Mark Kirk, a Republican who represents the northern suburbs of Chicago and is running for Senate, also happens to be a Navy Reservist.  While on service in the National Military Command Center at the Pentagon, he recently ‘tweeted,’ causing the Military to look into the situation.

The only thing weirder than the Birthers are the anti-Birthers, who blame the Birthers for being conspiracy theorists yet actively feed the conspiracy by refusing to call for President Obama to release his birth certificate.  —  The state official in Hawaii who manages such things has reiterated …

Venezuela: ‘Freedom of expression must be limited’  —  CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) - Venezuela's top prosecutor insisted Thursday that freedom of expression in Venezuela “must be limited” and proposed legislation that would slap additional restrictions on the country's news media.

ONE OF THESE THINGS IS NOT LIKE THE OTHER.... A new Research 2000 poll conducted for Daily Kos asked respondents a rather straightforward question: “Do you believe that Barack Obama was born in the United States of America or not?”  Since the president was born in the U.S., ideally, the results would be around 100%.