The Partisan Tools At Journo-List And Trig  —  Remember all those liberals and lefties huffily denouncing this blog's attempts to make sense of Sarah Palin's bizarre stories about the pregnancy and birth of her alleged fifth child?  I was nuts, crazy, vile, disgusting, etc etc to indulge in what Dave Weigel …

Getting Lost in the Fog of War  —  ANYONE who has spent the past two days reading through the 92,000 military field reports and other documents made public by the whistle-blower site WikiLeaks may be forgiven for wondering what all the fuss is about.  I'm a researcher who studies Afghanistan …

Rangel: ‘Trauma,’ ‘more alleged violations’  —  After sounding defiant in his first round with reporters just now, embattled Rep. Charles Rangel sounded sad and seemed downcast and somewhat gaslit as he talked about how “traumatic” he had found the experience.

Lawmakers Question Salaries at Nonprofits  —  State and federal officials are starting to take their knives to the pay of leaders of nonprofit groups they do business with to help share the pain of tighter budgets.  —  A provision in New Jersey's recently passed budget, for example …

Paul Ryan Schools Chris Matthews on Tax Hikes, Budgets and Economics 101  —  Chris Matthews on Monday got a much-needed lesson from Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wisc.) on how tax hikes impact the budget as well as the economy.  —  “Congressman Ryan, is there any tax role for reducing our $1.4 trillion …

Obama slams GOP on Disclose Act  —  President Obama called out Senate Republicans on Monday for holding up a vote on a contentious piece of campaign finance legislation.  —  Senate Democrats plan to vote on cloture for the Disclose Act on Tuesday, though it remains unclear whether they have the 60 votes necessary to end debate.

Among House Democrats in Rust Belt, a sense of abandonment over energy bill  —  When Democratic Rep. John Boccieri went home to Ohio early this year to talk with voters in his Canton-based district, he figured he would have to do battle with at least some constituents over his support for health-care reform.

Breitbart to headline RNC fundraiser  —  (CNN) - Conservative activist and blogger Andrew Breitbart will headline a fundraiser this August hosted by Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele in Beverly Hills.  —  A Republican National Committee spokesperson confirmed to CNN …

Kerry may need to pay $500k tax on yacht  —  (FOX 25 / MyFoxBoston.com) - There are new details in the controversy over Sen. John Kerry's brand new boat.  —  Kerry may still be on the hook for a half million dollars in excise taxes because he docked his yacht in Massachusetts less than six months after buying it.

Senator Barbara Boxer: serving in the military is like being a member of Congress  —  At a campaign event over the weekend in Inglewood, California, Democratic Sen. Barbara Boxer seemingly equated being a politician to serving in the military — and an Iraq War veteran supporting Boxer's November opponent is calling on her to apologize.

Two Cheers for the Administration on Megrahi  —  We noted yesterday the controversy over the Obama administration's reaction to Scotland's proposed release of Lockerbie bomber Abdelbaset Ali Mohment al-Megrahi on compassionate grounds, i.e., the claim that he was about to die.

Obama Won't Speak In-Person at Boy Scouts' 100th Anniversary Celebration But Will Appear on ABC TV's ‘The View’  —  (CNSNews.com) - President Barack Obama, the honorary chairman of the Boy Scouts of America, will not speak in-person before the group on Wednesday at Fort A.P. Hill in Virginia …

Tennessee Lt. Gov: Religious Freedom May Not Count For Muslims (VIDEO)  —  Tennessee Lt. Gov. Ron Ramsey, currently running third in the state's Republican gubernatorial primary race, says he's not sure if Constitutional guarantees of freedom of religion apply to the followers of the world's second-largest faith, Islam.

Colorado Republican Ken Buck Caught On Tape (Again!)  — This Time Calling Birthers ‘Dumbasses’  —  By the time his campaign's over, they're going to need the jaws of life to extract Ken Buck's foot from his mouth.  —  Buck is the Tea Party candidate running against establishment pick Jane Norton …

President Obama to defend education plan  —  President Barack Obama and Education Secretary Arne Duncan will deliver major speeches this week on their $4.35 billion Race to the Top school reform program, pushing back against complaints that it promotes unproven methods and ignores long-standing inequities in public education.

BP Day 98: Where Did All the Oil Go?  —  As Size of Slick Shrinks, Experts Say Oil is Breaking Up, Staying Below Surface  —  For 86 days, oil spewed into the Gulf of Mexico from BP's damaged well, dumping some 200 million gallons of crude into sensitive ecosystems.

New Hampshire Poll Preview  —  The New Hampshire Senate numbers we'll have coming out this week (general election Tuesday, primary Wednesday) are a great example of the double edged sword that is a Sarah Palin endorsement.  In the short term Kelly Ayotte has opened a wide lead in the Republican primary.

Rory Reid hampered by his last name in race for Nevada governor  —  With Sen. Harry Reid on the ballot, his son Rory is having a hard time in his race for governor persuading Nevada voters to elect two from the family.  —  Reporting from Washoe City, Nev. — Rory Reid would like to be Nevada's next governor, but there's a problem.

Momentum For Senate Filibuster Reform Builds  —  WHAT'S YOUR REACTION?  —  Momentum is building to reform Senate rules that allow silent filibusters and force a 60-vote requirement for virtually any action, interviews with Democratic candidates and sitting senators indicate.

Why Tax Estates Instead of Inheritances?  —  A friend on facebook asks a reasonable question: what is the justification for taxing estates, rather than inheritances?  After all, why should we care if Bill Gates wants to leave $300 apiece to millions of people?

Posting Record Loss, BP Confirms New Chief Executive  —  LONDON — BP named Robert Dudley as its next chief executive Tuesday and reported a record $17 billion loss in the second quarter as the company set aside billions of dollars to deal with the aftermath of the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

New Health Official Faces Hostility in Senate  —  WASHINGTON — Unlike many other health policy experts, Dr. Donald M. Berwick, the new chief of Medicare and Medicaid, has extensive real world experience.  —  As co-founder of the Institute for Healthcare Improvement in Cambridge, Mass. …