Four Deformations of the Apocalypse  —  IF there were such a thing as Chapter 11 for politicians, the Republican push to extend the unaffordable Bush tax cuts would amount to a bankruptcy filing.  The nation's public debt — if honestly reckoned to include municipal bonds and the $7 trillion …

Fox News to move to Thomas' front-row briefing room seat  —  The White House Correspondents Association voted unanimously Sunday afternoon to move Fox News to the front row of the White House briefing room.  —  The seating change was prompted by the resignation of veteran UPI reporter Helen Thomas.

It's getting to be embarrassing to be a conservative  —  These days it's getting increasingly embarrassing to publicly identify oneself as a conservative.  It was bad enough when George Bush 43, the K Street Gang, and the neo-cons were running up spending, fighting an unnecessary war of choice in Iraq …

QUOTE OF THE DAY.... One of the uglier strains of modern conservative thought is pervasive anti-intellectualism.  As Faiz Shakir noted today, House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) offered a rather classic example of “Fox News Sunday.”  —  Host Chris Wallace noted that “a number of top economists” …

Dan Rather Says GOP Takes Back House in November, Matthews Painfully Agrees  —  Dan Rather this weekend said the odds are that the Republicans will take back the House in the upcoming midterm elections.  —  Maybe more surprisingly, Chris Matthews, with a look on his face like someone had given …

RNC cancels Breitbart fundraiser  —  Washington (CNN) - The Republican National Committee has cancelled a fundraiser with conservative blogger Andrew Breitbart, who is under fire for promoting an edited video that falsely portrays former Agriculture Department employee Shirley Sherrod …

A SUDDEN CHANGE OF HEART ON THE AMERICAN AUTO INDUSTRY.... As we've been talking about over the last couple of days, President Obama's decision to rescue American auto manufacturers looks awfully good with the benefit of hindsight.  Republicans were apoplectic at the time, but more than a year later …

The Wife Was Really P.O.'ed This A.M. — Chelsea's Wedding Extravaganza  —  The wife was on a roll this morning, pointing out some interesting facts about the immense Clinton wedding that took place this weekend.  —  “This damn wedding cost between $2 million and $5 million.”

Survey USA: Paul leads by eight in KY  —  Democrats initially hoped to steal a Senate seat back from the GOP in Kentucky, where Rand Paul won the nomination to succeed retiring incumbent Jim Bunning.  Paul rode a post-nomination bounce to a 25-point lead, but soon came under fire …

Palin Says Brewer Has Something Obama Lacks: ‘Cojones’  —  Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin speaks to the crowd at a P.U.R.E. Ministries event June 29 in Duluth, Ga. (AP Photo)  —  Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin on Sunday praised Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer for defending her state's immigration law …

BRODER LOOKS AHEAD TO A POSSIBLE 2011.... As David Broder sees it, the White House is already preparing itself — mentally, emotionally, strategically, substantively — for expected Republican gains in the midterm elections.  The columnist quoted an insider who told him, “If you asked the president …

State-Owned Groups Fuel China's Real Estate Boom  —  WUHU, China — The Anhui Salt Industry Corporation is a state-owned company that has 11,000 employees, access to government salt mines and a Communist Party boss.  —  Now it has swaggered into a new line of business: real estate.