Iowa billboard compares Obama to Hitler; draws criticism  —  (AP) —A billboard created by an Iowa tea party group comparing President Barack Obama to Adolf Hitler and Vladimir Lenin is being condemned by other tea party activists.  —  The North Iowa Tea Party began displaying the sign in Mason City last week.

A Chart That Screams, ‘Extend Unemployment Benefits!’  —  At the end of May there were 3.2 million job openings, according to a new report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.  In the face of nearly 15 million unemployed, that's obviously not enough.  And if you add in those other Americans …

Pelosi rips Gibbs's House prediction  —  House Speaker Nancy Pelosi bashed White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs in absentia Tuesday night, even after the president's top spokesman backpedaled from an earlier assertion that Democrats could lose control of the chamber in the November election.

Crash Data Suggest Driver Error in Toyota Accidents  —  The U.S. Department of Transportation has analyzed dozens of data recorders from Toyota Motor Corp. vehicles involved in accidents blamed on sudden acceleration and found that at the time of the crashes, throttles were wide open …

Americans in 70% Majority See More Jobless as Deficit Widens  —  More than 7 out of 10 Americans say the economy is mired in recession, and the country is conflicted over how to balance concerns over joblessness and the federal budget deficit, according to a Bloomberg National Poll.

Believing Sarah Palin  —  Like I said in my first post, I guest-blogged for the Daily Dish back in 2006.  I don't remember anyone, at the time, challenging the decision.  So I was unprepared for the rat-a-tat of criticism I got for signing up this week.  To quote Baseball Crank …

The Bush Tax Cuts and the Deficit Myth  —  Runaway government spending, not declining tax revenues, is the reason the U.S. faces dramatic budget shortfalls for years to come.  —  President Obama and congressional Democrats are blaming their trillion-dollar budget deficits on the Bush tax cuts of 2001 and 2003.

Lesbian Prison Gangs Waiting to Get Hands on Lindsay Lohan, Report Says  —  Inmates of the jail where Lindsay Lohan is set to spend up to 90 days have warned of gangs out to attack the starlet, saying “everyone will want a piece of her”, The Sun reported Tuesday.

Megyn Kelly threatens to cut off Kirsten Powers “mic” over heated New Black Panther argument  —  FOX News has been ginning up a story about the hate group the “New Black Panthers” from the election on November 4th as some sort of ‘angry black man’ intimidation tactic that made Obama win the presidency.

McInnis' articles for foundation lift ideas, words directly from 20-year-old essay  —  Although GOP gubernatorial candidate Scott McInnis presented his “Musings on Water” for publication as original works, portions are identical and nearly identical to an essay on water written 20 years earlier …

Crist leads 3-way Senate race in Florida  —  (Reuters) - Florida Governor Charlie Crist holds a narrow edge over Republican Marco Rubio in a three-way Senate race dominated by economic worries, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll released on Tuesday.  —  Crist, who left the Republican Party …

The Coming Birth Control Battle  —  Health-care reform raised the possibility that birth control could soon be free for most women.  But not if conservative activists have their way.  Dana Goldstein reports.  —  Could prescription birth control—whether the pill, an IUD, or a diaphragm …

Rand Paul Faces Backlash After Suggesting That America's Poor Don't Have It That Bad (VIDEO)  —  WHAT'S YOUR REACTION?  —  AP/Huffington Post - Republican U.S. Senate candidate Rand Paul says the poor in America are “enormously better off than the rest of the world,” citing an old Cold War film …

Suffer These Crimes in Oakland?  Don't Call the Cops  —  Dozens of layoffs effective at midnight, barring last minute deal  —  Oakland's police chief is making some dire claims about what his force will and will not respond to if layoffs go as planned.  —  Chief Anthony Batts listed …

No. 1 Nation in Sexy Web Searches?  Call it Pornistan  —  Pakistan has banned content on more than a dozen websites because of offensive and blasphemous material.  The Muslim country, which has laws on dress codes, ranks as the top country to proportionally search for certain sex-related terms.

Fiscal Fibs and Follies  —  print recommend Send link clip secure rights  —  BERKELEY - Across the globe, the debate over fiscal consolidation has the distinct sound of two sides talking past one another.  —  On one side are those who insist that governments must move now, at all cost, to rein in budget deficits.

Reid Declines Vote on Illegal Worker Plan … LAS VEGAS — In this election season, Senator Harry Reid's campaign events often include claims of how many stimulus funded jobs he's created.  But how many of these construction jobs are going to workers in the country illegally?

EXCLUSIVE AUDIO: Another Mel Gibson Slur Caught On Tape In Crazed Rage - Listen To It Here  —  Warning: This audio may not be reproduced or republished.  —  Mel Gibson is caught using yet another ethnic slur while going on a crazed rampage on new audio exclusively obtained and released by RadarOnline.com.

The Necessary Death of the Bank of the United States  —  America's first central bank, the Bank of North America, was created in 1781 by Continental congressman Robert Morris, who modeled the bank after the Bank of England.  The bank was formed before the Constitution was drafted and was wrought …

Appeals Court Strikes Down Indecency Rule  —  A United States appeals court tossed out the indecency policy of the Federal Communications Commission on Tuesday, calling it a violation of the First Amendment.  —  An appeals panel said the F.C.C. policy was “unconstitutionally vague …

Greetings from Unalaska  —  UNALASKA, AK — When I agreed to blog here for a week I gave a quick word of warning: I was set to spend a week in Dutch Harbor, the remote fishing town made globally famous by 1) the series “Deadliest Catch” and 2) fish.  —  “Remote” is a word we like to misuse, like “awesome” or “ironic” or “electable.”