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.

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.

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.

Private Growth Is Tepid as U.S. Economy Sheds Jobs Overall  —  With the American economic recovery hanging in the balance, private employers added 71,000 jobs in July, up from a downwardly revised 31,000 in June but below the consensus forecast of 90,000.  The unemployment rate stayed steady at 9.5 percent.

Scalia Was Right  —  Why the same-sex marriage ruling will stand.  —  For the first time, a federal judge has held that the Constitution mandates the legal redefinition of marriage.  The California Supreme Court had reached a similar conclusion in 2008, and voters responded by amending …

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 …

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.

Social Security Board of Trustees: Long-Range Financing Outlook Remains Unchanged  —  The Social Security Board of Trustees today released its annual report on the financial health of the Social Security Trust Funds and the long-range outlook remains unchanged.

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 …

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.

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 …

Norton wins inaugural AUL nod  —  The nation's oldest anti-abortion group is lending its first-ever political endorsement to Colorado Senate candidate Jane Norton less than a week before the Republican primary.  AP  —  The nation's oldest anti-abortion group is lending its first-ever political endorsement …

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.

Hearing set for soldier in Obama birth certificate case  —  (CNN) — A court hearing is scheduled for Friday in the case of an Army officer who has refused to deploy to Afghanistan because, in his view, President Barack Obama has not proven that he was born in the United States and is therefore ineligible to be president.

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.”

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 …

Nancy Pelosi's Fate Could Be Decided Here: The View From Oregon  —  WEST LINN, Oregon — Bullseye Coffee — a café, a yarn shop and a postal box rental center all in one homey room with local art (all for sale) on the walls — is a prime spot to chart how the economic doldrums are shaping this election year.

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.

Schumer Bill Sends Reinforcements, Drones to Border  —  The Senate passed a $600 million bill tonight to beef up border security by adding 1,500 new enforcement agents and sending airborne drones to search for illegal immigrants.  —  The bill, backed by Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) …