Obama White House Has Secret Plan To Harvest Personal Data From Social Networking Websites  —  NLPC has uncovered a plan by the White House New Media operation to hire a technology vendor to conduct a massive, secret effort to harvest personal information on millions of Americans from social networking websites.

WWF condemns 9/11 print ad by DDB Brazil  —  [NOTE: The WWF says it never approved this ad and is condemning it.  See the updates below.]  Just in time for the anniversary of 9/11 comes this tasteless, nightmarish print ad for the World Wildlife Fund, showing dozens of planes headed for lower Manhattan.

CNN Poll: Independents disapprove of Obama  —  WASHINGTON (CNN) — A majority of independent voters disapprove of how Barack Obama's handling his job as president, according to a new national poll.  —  Fifty-three percent of independents questioned in a CNN/Opinion Research Corporation …

Under fire, Obama shifts strategy  —  Aides to President Barack Obama are putting the final touches on a new strategy to help Democrats recover from a brutal August recess by specifying what Obama wants to see in a compromise health care deal and directly confronting other trouble spots, West Wing officials tell POLITICO.

Obama's Team Crosses the Rhetorical Line  —  (Update: The website cited below has been suspended by barackobama.com.  The screenshot to the right is the original page, but the embedded links will no longer work.  Click on the picture to the right for a full-screen view.)

51 Vote Rules May Force a Public Option Too Liberal for Some Dems  —  As Senate leaders begin work on a Democrat-only health care bill, they're finding themselves confronted with an unexpected irony: Though the caucus has reached an uneasy consensus around a public option that's modeled …

Hong Kong Broker Pulling A “Borat” On Sarah Palin  —  Hopefully Sarah Palin realizes she's been invited to Hong Kong as a practical joke.  —  CLSA, the Asia-focused broker who invited Mrs. Palin as keynote speaker for an Asian investment conference, is well known for their cheeky takes on investment research.

Obama's Sept. 8 speech to schoolchildren  —  President Obama told a student report last month that he would be making an address to schoolchildren on September 8:  —  The Daily Paul picked up the story last week and linked to teachers' manuals pegged to Obama's address, which have now been linked on Drudge.

Grassley: The ‘Only Way To Get A Bipartisan Agreement Is To Defeat A Democratic Proposal On The First Hand’  —  Over the August recess, Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA), one of the three Republicans engaged in the “Gang of Six” health care negotiations, has repeatedly made public statements …

“Death Threat” For Rep. John Salazar (CO) A “False Flag” Operation?  “Crying Wolf”?  -Police Rule Accusation “Unfounded”  —  For the second time in as many weeks, Democrats have accused health care opponents of politically-motivated crimes-vandalism at the Democratic Party's state HQ and even a death threat against Rep. John Salazar.

Maria Bartiromo Presses 44-Year-Old Congressman: If Medicare Is So Good, Why Aren't You On It?  (VIDEO)  —  Earlier today, MSNBC's Carlos Watson hosted Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-NY) and CNBC anchor Maria Bartiromo for a discussion on health care.  —  At one point, Bartiromo was critical …

U.S. to boost combat force in Afghanistan  —  Support units will be replaced by up to 14,000 ‘trigger-pullers,’ and noncombat posts will be contracted out, Defense officials say.  The swap will allow the U.S. to keep its troop level unchanged.  —  U.S. troops patrol in Kunar province.

Exclusive: Controversial Blackwater Security Firm Gets Iraq Contract Extended by State Dept  —  Company Banned From Operating by Iraqi Government Earlier This Year  —  The State Department has extended a contract with controversial private security firm Blackwater, ABC News has learned.

Beck guest warns of ‘black genocide’ from health care reform  —  It appears Fox News host Glenn Beck has found an unlikely ally — an African-American preacher who peddles conspiracy theories about a white plot to exterminate black people.  —  Beck gave airtime Monday to Dallas-area pastor Stephen Broden …

Republican Voters Say GOP Reps in Congress Still Out of Touch  —  Seventy-four percent (74%) of Republican voters say their party's representatives in Congress have lost touch with GOP voters nationwide over the past several years.  The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds …

Gonzales backs Holder's torture investigation.  —  In an interview with the Washington Times today, former attorney general Alberto Gonzales defended Eric Holder's decision to investigate CIA interrogation abuses, despite claims by Vice President Cheney that it is an “outrageous political act.”

POGO Letter to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton regarding U.S. Embassy in Kabul  —  Dear Secretary Clinton:  —  As you know, last month eight rockets were fired into Kabul, two landing near the U.S. Embassy.1 Not long after, at least seven people were killed and 91 wounded, including children …

Cheney In 2012?  Some Key GOPers Aren't Kidding  —  At first, it seemed like a joke.  Wall Street Journal columnist James Taranto opined on Monday that — if the 2012 election were to turn to national security — “it's hard to think of a better candidate... than Richard B. Cheney.”

Look Who's Coming To Dinner  —  Wait - Israel's Ambassador to the United States, Michael Oren, is coming to the Ramadan dinner hosted tonight by President Barack Obama?  —  After reading this in Talking Points Memo, I paused to make sure I read it right.  —  There's nothing surprising …

“Minor Revolution”  —  Let's get out ahead of this.  Republicans are saying that if Democrats go the ‘reconciliation’ — i.e., 51 votes rules — route there will be a “minor revolution.”  That's fine.  Hyperbole is a bipartisan indulgence.  —  But I'm seeing more and more reporters referring …

Schakowsky Town Hall: Booing Ted Kennedy?  Really?  —  We attended Rep. Jan Schakowsky's health care town hall meeting in Niles last night where over 2,000 people showed up, packing a high school auditorium and spilling onto the sidewalk outside.  There was a real variety of opinion expressed during …