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.

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 …

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.

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 …

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 …

Jefferson changed ‘subjects’ to ‘citizens’ in Declaration of Independence  —  “Subjects.”  —  That's what Thomas Jefferson first wrote in an early draft of the Declaration of Independence to describe the people of the 13 colonies.  —  But in a moment when history took a sharp turn …

Is BP rejecting skimmers to save money on Gulf oil cleanup?  —  BILOXI, Miss. — From Washington to the Gulf, politicians and residents wonder why so few skimming vessels have been put to work soaking up oil from the Deepwater Horizon catastrophe.  —  Investment banker Fred D. McCallister of Dallas believes he has the answer.

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?

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 …

CNN: The feds are trying to block media coverage of how bad the oil spill is  —  Via Cubachi, a good one from last night's AC 360.  I don't think this is an “Obama problem” as much as it is a “government problem,” but of course the bold, fresh Hopenchange climate of transparency was supposed …

Petraeus Assumes Command of Coalition Forces in Afghanistan  —  On Deadly Day in Afghanistan, Gen. David Petraeus Arrives in Kabul to Take Control of War  —  As Gen. David Petraeus arrived in Kabul today to take control of the long Afghanistan war, a pre-dawn attack on an American aid organization …

Relatives of Harry Potter actress charged in attack  —  London, England (CNN) — The father and brother of a Harry Potter actress will appear in court later this month in Manchester, England, on charges of threatening to kill the young star, prosecutors said Friday.