Judge keeps California gay marriage ruling on hold  —  The federal judge who last week overturned the state's gay marriage ban, Proposition 8, agreed to a continued hold on his ruling while foes appeal.  —  Reporting from San Francisco — A federal judge Thursday refused to permanently stay …

Dem group launches ‘F*ck Tea’ campaign  —  Last summer, Democrats argued that the Tea Party movement was the astroturf creation of corporate groups.  Now that the grassroots conservative resurgence has emerged as a clear force on the right, the left is making a different case: That tea parties are simply the enemy.

Are We At War With All Of Islam?  Right Wingers Think So  —  Nearly every oath of service in this nation includes the phrase “Defend and protect the Constitution of the United States of America” in some form or the other.  Not having a King we needed an object of loyalty, something bigger than the individual to focus our loyalty on.

CBS 5 Poll: Fiorina Widens Lead Over Boxer  —  Dead Heats In Governor, Lt. Governor Races; Marijuana Prop.  16 Passing  —  SAN FRANCISCO (CBS 5) ― California Republican U.S. Senate candidate Carly Fiorina has increased her lead over Democratic incumbent Barbara Boxer …

The Bush tax plan vs. the Obama tax plan in one chart  —  Source.  —  United States - Tax - Democratic Party - Accounting - President

Legislator resigns after ‘dead Palin’ comment  —  New Hampshire State Rep. Timothy Horrigan resigned Thursday after making comments about Sarah Palin on Facebook.  —  (CNN) - A New Hampshire state legislator resigned his office Thursday after becoming the second Democrat in as many days …

Portrait of a frustrated electorate  —  Want sure-footed polling analysis?  Ask Nate Silver.  Want a sort of bemused confusion?  Well, then you're in the right place.  —  I was on “Morning Joe” today talking about the new NBC/WSJ poll (pdf), and I don't think we had time to really dig into how weird the results are.

The difficulty of opposing gay marriage  —  When we talk about gay marriage, we should first be clear about what we're discussing: State-sanctioned marriage is a central element in American life.  It includes both legal and substantial, important cultural benefits.

Justice Alito refers Orly Taitz's request to reverse sanctions to U.S. Supreme Court  —  A request to U.S. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito by “birther” attorney Orly Taitz asking that $20,000 in sanctions against her be reversed was referred on Tuesday to the entire court.

Glenn Beck: Gay Marriage NOT Threat To America (VIDEO)  —  WHAT'S YOUR REACTION?  —  Why doesn't Glenn Beck cover gay marriage?  Because he doesn't believe it's a threat to the nation.  —  In a conversation with Bill O'Reilly on why he avoids culture war issues, Beck admitted …

How propagandists function: Exhibit A  —  Jeffrey Goldberg, in the new cover story in The Atlantic, on an Israeli attack on Iran: … Good news!  Israel can successfully end a country's nuclear program by bombing them, as proven by its 1981 attack on Iraq, which, says Goldberg, halted …

With Off-the-Record Lunch, Obama Extends a Hand  —  It may seem odd, but the journalists assigned to cover President Obama on a daily basis often have less access to him than the columnists, television personalities and feature writers who cover the president less frequently.

GOP candidate calls for internment camps for ‘people that snuck into the country.’  —  Speaking at a rally sponsored by Glenn Beck's 9/12 Project, GOP state house candidate in Florida, Marg Baker, endorsed building concentration camps for undocumented immigrants: … Watch it:

The vulgarity of liberal female “comedians”  —  Left-wing female comedians are proving that they can be as crude and stupid as their male counterparts.  Who knew that striving for gender equality meant pursuing the dream that one day, someday, liberal women would be able to mock …

Updated Senate and Governor rankings!  —  With the 2010 primary season (nearly) over, the Fix and Post senior political reporter — and co-author of “The Battle for America” — Dan Balz sat down to revisit our rankings of the most competitive Senate and governor's races in the country.

Adios, Gray Lady  —  Joseph Epstein cancels his ‘New York Times’ subscription.  —  The New York Times used to be called the Gray Lady of American newspapers.  The sobriquet implied a certain stateliness, a sense of responsibility, the possession of high virtue.  But the Gray Lady is far from the grande dame she once was.

The Strategic Angle  —  This week, the campaign for Nevada GOP Senate candidate Sharron Angle will run 1,000 to 1,600 points' — about $575,000 — worth of television advertising.  Normally, an advertising onslaught such as this one would be well-suited to the final weeks of a campaign — and a bit much for the dog days of August.

Obamas Plan Fifth Vacation Since July  —  There they go again.  For the fifth time since July, the first family has set plans to board Air Force One for a frilly vacation, a 10-day return trip to exclusive Martha's Vineyard where they are expected to stay at the 28-acre oceanfront Blue Heron Farm that rents for up to $50,000 a week.

Race Card Is Maxed Out … - Recommended

The First Wave of Weary Aides Heads for the Exits  —  WASHINGTON — Linda Douglass slept nearly 12 hours the day after she left her job as a communications aide at the White House.  And the day after that and the day after that.  It took two weeks until she finally felt rested.

Passenger: Attendant Started Fray  —  A passenger on the JetBlue fight from which attendant Steven Slater disembarked Monday by activating the emergency chute and sliding down with beers in hand said Mr. Slater, apparently after being hit in the head by a passenger, was the one who instigated …

Who can we blame for job losses?  —  “Obama's America,” tweets Republican political consultant Patrick Ruffini, linking to this map of economic devastation.  —  Fairly or not, Ruffini raises an interesting question: How much unemployment can we blame on the Obama administration?

Iran TV airs ‘confession’ from woman facing stoning  —  The BBC's Jon Leyne explains what the footage showed  —  Iranian state TV has aired what it says is a confession by a woman under threat of being stoned to death for adultery.  —  In the interview shown on Wednesday …

Dinkins Offers the Finger, and Everybody's Talking  —  It was not so much the gesture — the raised middle finger is a familiar salute on the streets of New York — but the person who made it and the setting that has set off all the buzz.  —  The finger belonged to former Mayor David N. Dinkins …