McConnell to Franken: This isn't ‘SNL’  —  When Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell laid out his opposition to Elena Kagan's Supreme Court nomination, someone in the chamber appeared to be moving around in his chair, gasping and rolling his eyes.  —  It was Sen. Al Franken.

Romer To Leave White House  —  Christina Romer, chairwoman of Pres. Obama's Council of Economic Advisers, has decided to resign, according to a source familiar with her plans.  —  Romer, an economics professor at the University of California (Berkeley) before taking the key admin post, did not respond to repeated calls to her office.

The Flimflam Man  —  One depressing aspect of American politics is the susceptibility of the political and media establishment to charlatans.  You might have thought, given past experience, that D.C. insiders would be on their guard against conservatives with grandiose plans.

Massive Censorship Of Digg Uncovered  —  A group of influential conservative members of the behemoth social media site Digg.com have just been caught red-handed in a widespread campaign of censorship, having multiple accounts, upvote padding, and deliberately trying to ban progressives.

U.S. Employers Shed Jobs  —  Unemployment Rate Held Steady at 9.5% in July  —  WASHINGTON — The U.S. economy shed more jobs than expected in July while the unemployment rate held steady at 9.5%, a further sign the economic recovery may be losing momentum.

Bending The Curve  —  The new Medicare Trustees Report is out.  Comparing Table IIIA-2 in this year's report and last year's report, we get this:  —  Medicare Trustees  —  In other words, the Medicare actuaries believe that the cost-saving provisions in the Obama health reform …

Exotic Deals Put Denver Schools Deeper in Debt  —  In the spring of 2008, the Denver public school system needed to plug a $400 million hole in its pension fund.  Bankers at JPMorgan Chase offered what seemed to be a perfect solution.  —  The bankers said that the school system …

Rep. Wamp loses gov. primary to Mayor Haslam  —  Knoxville Mayor Bill Haslam (R) defeated Rep. Zach Wamp (R-Tenn.) and Lt. Gov. Ron Ramsey (R) to claim the GOP gubernatorial nod Thursday.  —  Boosted by his support during early voting, Haslam was declared the winner by the Associated Press close …

Gay Marriage Ruling a Challenge for Both Parties  —  SAN FRANCISCO — A federal judge's decision on Wednesday overturning Proposition 8 — California's ban on same-sex marriage — has tossed a largely unwanted issue into the middle of the November midterm elections.

State aid bill a gamble for Dems  —  Vunerable lawmakers fear voting for more spending, but they don't want to cross the speaker.  John Shinkle  —  When the House returns next week to rubber-stamp the Senate's $26 billion state-aid package, Democrats will take a political crapshoot.

Old Washington hands break with GOP leaders on Bush-era tax cuts  —  A number of old Republican hands warning of a deficit crisis have split with the GOP leadership over extending the George W. Bush-era tax cuts.  —  Sen. George Voinovich (R-Ohio), President Reagan's budget chief David Stockman …

Ben Dimiero & Eric Hananoki: Meet Breitbart's Sherrod writer: Racist sexual “expert” and inventor (who cured cancer)  —  In two posts on Andrew Breitbart's BigGovernment website, Dr. Kevin Pezzi smears Shirley Sherrod as a racist, claiming that “if someone deserves to be put on a pedestal for overcoming racism, it isn't Sherrod.”

2 Top Economists Differ Sharply on Risk of Deflation  —  When the latest unemployment figures are announced on Friday, all of Wall Street will be watching.  But for Richard Berner of Morgan Stanley and Jan Hatzius of Goldman Sachs, the results will be more than just another marker in an avalanche of data.

Hiroshima and the Art of Outrage  —  THE Futenma Marine Corps Air Station on Okinawa, one of the largest United States military bases in East Asia, is in the center of a crowded city.  The American and Japanese governments acknowledge the dangers of this situation, and they agreed nearly 15 years ago …

Dems accused of tea party tampering  —  The charges of dirty tricks are being leveled in Pennsylvania, Michigan, New Jersey and Florida.  AP Photo  —  Nationally, Democrats say they intend to campaign against the tea party movement.  But locally, Democratic officials and activists …

Obama admin skewers GOP attack on stimulus cocaine monkeys  —  Are your stimulus dollars really being wasted on getting monkeys high on crack and cocaine?  —  In recent days, select Republicans and conservatives have taken to bashing the Obama administration over this claim.