They won't build it!  Hardhats vow not to work on controversial mosque near Ground Zero  —  The site of the proposed mosque near Ground Zero.  Many construction workers are vowing not to work on the controversial project.  —  A growing number of New York construction workers are vowing …

True Face of Imam Rauf to be Revealed by Newly Discovered Audio Tapes...  This fraud's mask must be torn off.  The American people must be made aware of the truth about the “moderate” Ground Zero Mosque organizers that Leftists are so vociferously supporting ...  Via the great champion of freedom, Pamela Geller @Atlas Shrugs...

Treasury Admits HAMP Expectations Not Met, Thinks “Extend and Pretend” Is a Virtue  —  The Latin inscription reads: “We shall attain the excellence of virtue with the grace of God and the effort of our will.”  Federal government seems to be relying on similar methods to avert mortgage crisis.

U.S. officials: Abbas announcement imminent, details not yet finalized  —  U.S. officials told Jewish community leaders on a private conference call this afternoon that they believe Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas is on the verge of joining Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu …

Why Political Sage Sees GOP Romp in November  —  In the panoply of political prognosticators populating Washington, few have painted a bleaker picture of Democrats' 2010 election prospects than Charlie Cook.  —  And he doesn't see that picture getting any brighter.

This just in... Quinn's media firm fired, fires shots  —  * 10:30 am - More really bad campaign news for Gov. Pat Quinn.  His media firm, AKPD, has just exited the campaign [it was fired].  And check out this harsh goodbye statement...  Oh, man, what a shot that was.

In First 2010 TV Ad, DNC Raises Specter Of Bush Once Again  —  WHAT'S YOUR REACTION?  —  The Democratic National Committee is once again using the imagery and words of former President George W. Bush to present a stark “choice” to voters heading into November in what an aide said is the DNC's …

Will bacteria count beach Barack Obama?  —  WEST TISBURY - Welcome to Martha's Vineyard, Mr. President - but don't go in the water!  —  President Obama, who took a plunge in the Gulf last week to show Americans it was safe to swim the oil spill-plagued area, arrived on this supposedly …

Obama has himself to blame for Muslim problem  —  In 1985, Barack Obama had just arrived in Chicago for his new job as a community organizer when he headed to Smitty's Barbershop, a tiny storefront on the South Side.  As Smitty cut his hair, Obama listened to the men in the shop talk politics and racial grievance.

There Are Too Many Political Appointees.  —  Yesterday, President Obama made four recess appointments to vacancies in the Department of Agriculture, the Small Business Administration, the Department of Health and Human Services, and the State Department.  There isn't anything “special” …

BioShock Takes On American Exceptionalism.  —  I've written before about the horror/shooter BioShock series of video games being about the closest thing I've ever seen to narrative art in the genre, in part because the games tend to wrestle with political high concepts.

The new battle: What it means to be American  —  It's a classic case of be careful what you wish for.  President Barack Obama wanted to end the baby boomer-era culture wars — and he's done it.  —  But along the way, Obama has sparked an even more visceral values debate about whether he's moving …

Jeffrey Goldberg's fabrication on NPR  —  (updated below Update II - Update III - Update IV)  —  This is really quite strange.  Yesterday, my inbox began filling up with email telling me that Jeffrey Goldberg had gone on NPR and, when asked about my critiques of his Atlantic article on bombing Iran …

Dems see fundraising dip in July  —  Democrats saw a drop in fundraising last month.  —  The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee announced Friday it raised $6.22 million in July — a decrease of almost $3 million from June.  —  The committee spent $4.19 million and banked slightly less …

Franklin Graham: President Obama Was Born a Muslim  —  We've got an economy that's a mess, people who have been unemployed forever that need jobs, massive flooding in Pakistan, millions of gallons of oil and dispersants still floating in the water in the Gulf of Mexico and what is the media spending hours upon hours covering?

The Palin Twitter Backlash  —  Black Republicans tell John Avlon that Sarah Palin's tweet in defense of Dr. Laura was ridiculous and indefensible—and that she may be “no longer fit to lead.”  —  Sarah Palin's post-VP nominee career has so far benefitted from bomb-throwing.

Why won't the Pentagon help WikiLeaks redact documents?  —  (updated below - Update II - Update III)  —  When the controversy first arose over the lack of redactions in the war documents released by WikiLeaks, the website insisted that, using the New York Times as an intermediary …

EXCLUSIVE: ‘Be More Aggressive’: Tom DeLay Says GOP Needs to Go After ‘Obama Agenda’ Even Harder  —  Former GOP Leader Says He Still Speaks to Abramoff; Won't Rule Out Return to Politics  —  Despite the corruption and lobbying scandals that ensnared Republicans in Congress and triggered …

Sen. Kerry: ‘Very active’ efforts under way to reach settlement with Taliban  —  Sen. John Kerry, the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said Friday that there is a “very active” effort under way to reach a negotiated political settlement with the Taliban in Afghanistan.

CON AIR.... It was hard to imagine the Brent Furer story getting worse for Sen. David Vitter (R-La.) — but it has.  —  To briefly recap, Furer is the aide Vitter kept on his taxpayer-financed payroll, despite Furer having held his ex-girlfriend hostage, threatening to kill her, and attacking her with a knife.

Luxuries and necessities in one graph  —  I'd say people are underestimating the importance of computers given the evolving nature of the economy, overestimating the importance of appliances, and the centrality of cars doesn't bode well for pricing carbon.  —  Source.  Hat tip.