U.S. Economic Growth Slowed to 2.4% Rate in 2nd Quarter  —  The United States economy expanded at an annual rate of 2.4 percent in the second quarter, after expanding 3.7 percent in the previous three months, the Commerce Department reported on Friday.  —  Nonresidential fixed investment …

Dems Call On GOPers To Renounce Phyllis Schlafly Over Remarks About ‘Unmarried Women’ (AUDIO)  —  Conservative activist Phyllis Schlafly took aim at “unmarried women” at a recent fundraiser and in an interview with TPM, saying that they overwhelmingly support President Obama and are all on welfare.

Anthony Weiner's Spitting Mad Rant Against Republicans On The House Floor (VIDEO)  —  The House was debating a bill last night that would provide up to $7.4 billion in health care aid to rescue and recovery workers who have faced health problems since their work in the wake of the September 11 attacks.

Wikileaks Afghanistan: Taliban ‘hunting down informants’  —  The Taliban has issued a warning to Afghans whose names might appear on the leaked Afghanistan war logs as informers for the Nato-led coalition.  —  In an interview with Channel 4 News, Zabihullah Mujahid, a Taliban spokesman …

Crist On Top In 3-Way Florida Senate Race, Quinnipiac University Poll Finds; Dem Sink Tied With Either Republican In Govenor's Race  —  Florida Gov. Charlie Crist leads the three-way race for the U.S. Senate seat with 37 percent, followed by 32 percent for Republican Marco Rubio and 17 percent …

Curbing Your Enthusiasm  —  Why does the Obama administration keep looking for love in all the wrong places?  Why does it go out of its way to alienate its friends, while wooing people who will never waver in their hatred?  —  These questions were inspired by the ongoing suspense …

Did the government cause the Gulf spill?  —  The generally accepted view of the Deepwater Horizon disaster has focused on the blowout preventer and the non-standard procedures BP conducted just before the explosion and fire.  However, most of the damage and the main source of the spill came …

U.S. SENATE RACE: Poll: Reid, Angle neck and neck  —  Sixty percent of Nevadans see nation on wrong track  —  Sen. Harry Reid and Sharron Angle are locked in a dead heat, says a new poll for the Las Vegas Review-Journal and KLAS-TV, Channel 8 that shows the GOP challenger regaining ground …

McMahon Campaign Hits Grimm For Taking “Jewish Money”  —  Mike Grimm, a G.O.P challenger for Mike McMahon's Congressional seat, took in over $200,000 in his last filing.  —  But in an effort to show that Grimm lacks support among voters in the district, which covers Staten Island and parts of Brooklyn …

North Korean football team shamed in six-hour public inquiry over World Cup  —  North Korea's football team has been shamed in a six-hour public inquisition and the team's coach has been accused of “betraying” the reclusive leader's heir apparent following their failure at the World Cup, according to reports.

Americans Look to Wealthy to Help Save Social Security  —  Favor expanding Social Security taxes, limiting benefits for high-income Americans  —  PRINCETON, NJ — Of six possible ways to address concerns with the Social Security system in a recent USA Today/Gallup poll, a majority of Americans favor two …

Orszag leaves his mark  —  Peter Orszag may have had the shortest tenure of any member of the Obama Cabinet, but in an administration dominated by a powerful White House staff, he left as deep a mark as almost anyone in it.  —  The 41-year-old economist, whose last day is Friday …

Eating the seed corn  —  Spoiler alert: if this post doesn't spoil your week, or worse, you and I don't share the same reality.  —  What makes human life worth living?  Content, obviously: news, art, music, conversation - social intercourse in all media.  What makes it possible?

Senate Votes to Double Fines, Jail Time for Pot Brownies  —  Dianne Feinstein's Reefer Madness (graphic by twolf1)  —  Last night, the United States Senate voted to double the penalties for the nation's newest existential threat: brownies made with marijuana!

Banks won't take Fort Hood shooting suspect's paychecks  —  BELTON — As he sits in the Bell County Jail, accused of the Nov. 5 Fort Hood shooting that left 13 dead, Maj. Nidal Hasan continues to receive his monthly U.S. Army paycheck, which based on his rank and experience is probably more than $6,000.

GOP Lawmakers Want Explanation of Draft Memo on Amnesty for Thousands  —  A group of Republican senators has written to top immigration officials in the Obama administration asking them to reveal whether large-scale plans are under way to provide a so-called non-legislative version of amnesty.

Fred Barnes not on a team?  Why did GOP pay him?  —  The Weekly Standard editor claimed political purity in bashing Journolist, but he's on the Republican payroll  —  In the pages of the Wall Street Journal, Fred Barnes has lately lamented the betrayal of “traditional journalism” …