White House Says Little About Embattled Jones  —  White House officials offered tepid support Friday for Van Jones, the administration's embattled energy efficiency guru, who has issued two public apologies this week, one for signing a petition that questioned whether Bush administration officials …

Obama looking for retirement plan reforms  —  Among the changes are expanded access to 401k plans and a pledge to let workers convert vacation days into retirement savings.  —  President Barack Obama announced a series of policy changes Saturday aimed at making it easier for Americans to save money for retirement.

The ESPN Zone of Empires  —  ESPN Zone New York (cc photo by bigweasel)  —  Afghanistan is often called the “Graveyard of Empires,” but I think the phrase is pretty misleading.  It seems to imply that empires that venture in Afghanistan get defeated and die.

Protester to Mark Warner: Which part of the Constitution says you get to take over health care?  —  Via CNS.  We've been down this road before but it's one thing to kick around arguments in the comments and another to watch a U.S. Senator be put on the spot.

Obama May Need Sense of Crisis to Revive Health-Care Overhaul  —  Sept. 4 (Bloomberg) — President Barack Obama returns to Washington next week in search of one thing that can revive his health-care overhaul: a sense of crisis.  —  Facing polls showing a drop in his approval …

The right way to debate healthcare reform  —  If you have 10 minutes on the eve of the three-day weekend, you really should take the time to watch the video below.  It shows Sen. Al Franken, D-Minn., talking with a group of his constituents who oppose the Democratic healthcare reform plans.

Teenage Jobless Rate Reaches Record High  —  Pity the unemployed, but pity especially the young and unemployed.  —  This August, the teenage unemployment rate — that is, the percentage of teenagers who wanted a job who could not find one — was 25.5 percent, its highest level since …

Key House Dem.  Clyburn: ‘half a loaf’ on health care better than nothing  —  WASHINGTON — House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn is pushing a compromise on the most contentious part of President Barack Obama's bid to provide medical benefits to uninsured Americans.

A Doctor's Plan for Legal Industry Reform  —  My modest proposal to rearrange how lawyers do business.  —  Printer  —  Friendly  —  Since we are moving toward socialism with ObamaCare, the time has come to do the same with other professions—especially lawyers.

Afghanistan Is Not 'Obama's War'  —  Republicans should never do to President Obama what many Democrats did to President Bush.  —  Printer  —  Friendly  —  In his column for the Washington Post on Tuesday, the influential conservative George Will provided intellectual fodder …

Panel Rules Against Ashcroft in Detention Case  —  Former attorney general John Ashcroft may face personal liability for the decisions that led to the detention of an American citizen as a material witness after the Sept. 11 attacks, a federal appeals court panel ruled on Friday.

Dems: “Republicans Want To End Medicare” (VIDEO)  —  Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele penned an op-ed in the Washington Post on Monday accusing Democrats of looking to gut Medicare.  —  Five days later — on the eve of a three-day weekend — Democrats are hitting back.