The Beginning of the End of the Ground Zero Mosque  —  A column (h/t, MEMRI) in the August 16, 2010 London daily Al-Sharq Al-Awsat by Abdul Rahman Al-Rashid, director of Al-Arabiya TV and the paper's former editor, “A House of Worship or a Symbol of Destruction?” should mean the end of plans for a mosque near Ground Zero.

Obama, the one-term president  —  Q: Will Barack Obama be a one-term president?  —  A: Yes, he might last that long.  —  Honest to goodness, the man just does not get it.  He might be forced to pull a Palin and resign before his first term is over.  He could go off and write his memoirs and build his presidential library.

Obama Bombing Iran?  Don't Be Surprised  —  This post is part of our forum on Jeffrey Goldberg's September cover story detailing the prospects and implications of an Israeli strike against Iran.  Follow the debate here.  —  Jeffrey Goldberg's main subject is an Israeli strike on Iran's nuclear program …

BARBRA STREISAND SKIPS DEMOCRATIC FUNDRAISER  —  Barbra Streisand and Jeffrey Katzenberg were no-shows at a Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee fundraiser the two were to co-host Monday night at the Los Angeles home of television producer John Wells.

Rand Paul's Answer To Kentucky's Drug Epidemic: Help ‘Rich People’  —  Last week, Kentucky Senate candidate and Tea Party darling Rand Paul (R) told the AP of his desire to cut federal funding for undercover drug investigations and drug treatment programs that are “badly needed” in his state.

America Has Disgraced Itself  —  Conservative fury over the “ground zero” mosque shows that when it comes to the battle for freedom and religious liberty, the U.S. has thrown in the towel.  —  The president is furiously backtracking; Republicans are clawing over each other to demonize Muslims; Democrats are dead silent.

Liberal group to launch attack on Palin  —  The leaders of Emily's List unveiled a new resource center Tuesday to promote their new campaign targeting former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin (R).  —  Emily's List President Stephanie Schriock will detail the group's new “Sarah Doesn't Speak for Me” …

The Web Is Dead.  Long Live the Internet  —  Sources: Cisco estimates based on CAIDA publications, Andrew Odlyzko  —  Two decades after its birth, the World Wide Web is in decline, as simpler, sleeker services — think apps — are less about the searching and more about the getting.

‘Mosque’ debate is a red herring  —  By 2012, our national debt will be larger than the entire U.S. economy, according to the International Monetary Fund.  So what's on the front burner in Washington these days?  Zoning issues in lower Manhattan!  —  Is it OK to put a Muslim community center close to Ground Zero?

A Tea Party Manifesto  —  The movement is not seeking a junior partnership with the Republican Party.  It is aiming for a hostile takeover.  —  On Feb. 9, 2009, Mary Rakovich, a recently laid-off automotive engineer, set out for a convention center in Fort Myers, Fla. with protest signs …

Justice Dept. threatens to sue Ariz. sheriff Arpaio in civil rights inquiry  —  A federal investigation of a controversial Arizona sheriff known for tough immigration enforcement has intensified in recent days, escalating the conflict between the Obama administration and officials in the border state.

Toomey moves ahead in PA-Sen race  —  With Joe Sestak's victory in the Democratic primary and the poll bump that came with it now three months in the rear view mirror, Pat Toomey has taken a 45-36 lead in the Pennsylvania Senate race.  That's a big change from the tie PPP saw in a June survey …

GOP WI Sen. candidate Ron Johnson claims ‘sunspot activity’ is the cause of extreme weather trends.  —  Yesterday, Wisconsin businessman and U.S. Senate candidate for the Republican Party Ron Johnson gave a wide-ranging interview to the Milwaukee-Wisconsin Journal Sentinel.

Auto Workers Chase Out UAW Executives  —  From the irony proof Communists at the World Socialist Website: … The national UAW are ‘the bosses’ now that they effectively own General Motors. … Isn't irony ironic? … The workers would rather not have work than have their wages cut.

I Am An Unlicensed Barber  —  At Karl Smith's suggestion can we talk for a moment about the regulation of barber shops?  The way I've been getting my hair cut for the past six months or so is that I bought a pair of hair clippers and I do it myself.  I normally trim about twice a week …

Voters Back Tough Steps to Reduce Budget Deficit  —  RICHMOND, Va.—Frustrated voters, fixing on the $1.5 trillion federal deficit as a symbol of Washington's paralysis, appear increasingly willing to take drastic steps to address the red ink.  —  Leonard Anderson, 56 years old, a Richmond …

Blago guilty on one count: Lying to the FBI  —  Rod Blagojevich and his wife Patti leave their Chicago home this afternoon on their way to the federal courthouse.  (Chris Walker/Tribune)  —  A federal jury today convicted former Gov. Rod Blagojevich of only one count against him: lying to the FBI.

Dean Baker: 'We've lost about $6 trillion in housing wealth, and I expect we will lose more.'  —  When I looked over the invitees to the Treasury Department's forum on housing policy today, I noticed one of the names that wasn't there: The Center for Economic and Policy Research's director, Dean Baker.