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.

Private Sector Adding Jobs, State Budget Crises Killing Economy  —  The new unemployment report highlights the fact that the economy remains lousy and John Boehner is going to be the next Speaker of the House of Representatives.  Ironically, it also demonstrates the bankruptcy of Boehner's way of thinking.

What Collapsing Empire looks like  —  As we enter our ninth year of the War in Afghanistan with an escalated force, and continue to occupy Iraq indefinitely, and feed an endlessly growing Surveillance State, reports are emerging of the Deficit Commission hard at work planning how to cut Social Security …

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 …

Christina Romer, chair of Obama's Council of Economic Advisers, to resign  —  Christina Romer, chair of the White House Council of Economic Advisers, has resigned her post to return to her old job as an economics professor at the University of California at Berkeley, the White House said Thursday.

IGNORING AN ALARM.... In light of the latest discouraging jobs report — the third consecutive month in which the job totals were disappointing — there's an obvious course ahead.  Heidi Shierholz, an economist from the Economic Policy Institute, said, “The economic case for more government action …

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 …

Palin's Fraternal Greetings  —  No sooner had President Obama concluded his dirge before the American Federation of Labor-Congress of Industrial Organizations than Sarah Palin was out with a posting on her Facebook page, commiserating with her husband's fellow union members on having to sit through another “Blame Bush” lecture.

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 …

2010 Arab Public Opinion Poll: Results of Arab Opinion Survey Conducted June 29-July 20, 2010  —  Shibley Telhami, Nonresident Senior Fellow, Foreign Policy, Saban Center for Middle East Policy  —  On Thursday, August 5, Shibley Telhami, Anwar Sadat Professor for Peace and Development …

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 …

Fox News chief packs heat  —  Fox News chief Roger Ailes has a license to carry a firearm in New York City on his person at all times, according to the NYPD's newly released list of handgun-permit holders.  And he's not alone among his Fox News colleagues: Prime-time shouter Sean Hannity also has a city license to carry a gun.

The RNC's least favorite reporter  —  One Times scribe has made the infighting within the Republican National Committee his beat.  Reuters  —  The Republican National Committee, embroiled in an internal squabble over the leadership of chairman Michael Steele, is leaking like a sieve.

Watch The Hilarious Way White House Labor Secretary Hilda Solis Tries To Spin The Jobs Report As Positive  —  U.S. Labor Secretary Hilda Solis spoke to CNBC after the jobs report release today and made an effort to spin the report as a positive for the amount of jobs the U.S. has gained in this recovery.

Bulletin: Porno Pete's ‘Truth Academy’ a Poorly Attended Dud  —  Earlier today, Peter LaBarbera opened his Truth Academy confernece, a three day gay bashing extravaganza in a Chicago exurb.  Despite weeks of flogging the event and several stories in right wing media, our spies tell us that the event was a major dud.

Is Health Care Special?  —  Uwe E. Reinhardt is an economics professor at Princeton.  He has some financial interests in the health care field.  —  On a recent episode of the television talk show “Raw Nerve,” the host William Shatner, of “Star Trek” fame, had this exchange with Rush Limbaugh:

NBC Takes Olbermann Off Sunday NFL Broadcasts  —  Multiple media and network television sources confirmed to me Thursday that Keith Olbermann will not appear on NBC's Football Night In America Sunday evening NFL broadcasts this season.  —  Some members of the FNIA cast and crew were made aware …