A Letter to Michael Steele  —  You are, I know, a patriot.  So I ask you to consider, over this July 4 weekend, doing an act of service for the country you love: Resign as chairman of the Republican party.  —  Your tenure has of course been marked by gaffes and embarrassments …

Hurricane GOP On The Way  —  MAKE NO MISTAKE ABOUT IT: THERE IS A WAVE OUT THERE, AND FOR DEMOCRATS, THE HOUSE IS, AT BEST, TEETERING ON THE EDGE.  —  Imagine sitting in Washington's Verizon Center, listening blissfully to Carole King and James Taylor, thanks to a fast-thinking friend who managed to score four floor seats.

U.S. Economy Shed 125,000 Jobs in June; Rate Is 9.5%  —  The United States added just 83,000 private-sector jobs in June, a dishearteningly low number that could add to the growing number of economists who warn that the economic recovery is stalling.  —  Multimedia

Are Democrats setting themselves up for failure in 2011 by not passing a budget?  —  The most important job news of the days was not the June jobs numbers.  It was a mostly ignored vote in the House of Representatives last night.  By a vote of 215 to 210, the House passed a …

Kagan Reminds Senators: Legislation Is Your Job  —  WASHINGTON — Supreme Court confirmation hearings are usually designed to probe a nominee's conception of the role of the justices.  But this week's questioning of Elena Kagan turned into a tutorial on Congressional responsibility.

BUY THAT SENATOR A NEWSPAPER SUBSCRIPTION.... I've noticed, from time to time, that Sen. Scott Brown (R-Mass.) seems to be a little slow on the uptake.  As the New York Times' Gail Collins noted this week, after the senator tried to talk about Wall Street reform, and demonstrated …

Congressional Report Claims Administration Misled About Efforts on Oil Spill  —  (CNSNews.com) - Billy Nungesser, president of New Orleans' Plaquemines Parish, sensed that a chart showing 140 oil skimmers at work — a chart given to him by BP and the Coast Guard — was “somewhat inaccurate.”

We were permanently banned from the Miami-Dade Metrorail for taking photos  —  Update: The National Press Photographers Association is protesting the way authorities handled the situation.  The Society of Professional Journalists is also looking into the situation.  —  By Carlos Miller

7/2: Don't Know Much About History?  —  There's good news for American education.  About three-quarters of residents — 74% — know the U.S. declared its independence from Great Britain in 1776.  The bad news for the academic system — 26% do not.  This 26% includes one-fifth who are unsure …

Sharron Angle: I am not a Birther  —  Earlier today, I spoke exclusively to Sharron Angle, the Republican nominee to challenge Harry Reid for the Senate seat in Nevada.  In the past few days, rumors have swirled that Angle is a crypto-Birther.  I asked her “flat out” whether she believed Barack Obama …

Worse Than 1982?  —  If you've already lost your job, your prospects for finding a new one are looking dismal.  Especially if you lost your job a long time ago.  —  Private-sector job growth has slowed.  The workweek also shrunk in June, and wages fell.  —  The labor market is recovering …

Clinton Defends Byrd's KKK Ties: “He Was Trying To Get Elected”  —  “He once had a fleeting association with the Ku Klux Klan, what does that mean?  I'll tell you what it means.  He was a country boy from the hills and hollows from West Virginia.  He was trying to get elected,” former President Bill Clinton said of Sen. Robert Byrd.

What is the Tea Party?  A growing state of mind  —  WASHINGTON — The “Tea Party” is less a classic political movement than a frustrated state of mind.  —  A year and a half after the idea of a Tea Party burst into view, three of 10 Americans describe themselves in the USA TODAY/Gallup Poll …

Byrd Tributes Go Overboard  —  It is a good rule of thumb not to speak ill of the dead.  But what to do when a man is celebrated beyond the limits of decorum or common sense?  Must we stay silent as others celebrate the beauty and splendor of the emperor's invisible clothes?

Exclusive: Washington Post fails to disclose blogger's ties to White House  —  UPDATE: Washington Post responds, promises it will require full disclosure from all “Leadership” contributors  —  Kris Coratti, Communications Director of The Washington Post, issued this statement in response to Raw Story's report.