Armed Man With Bomb Takes at Least One Hostage in Discovery Channel Building  —  DEVELOPING: Police in Maryland are responding to a hostage situation after reports that a man with a handgun entered the Discovery Channel headquarters building in Silver Spring and fired at least one shot.

Sarah Palin the Sound and the Fury  —  Even as Sarah Palin's public voice grows louder, she has become increasingly secretive, walling herself off from old friends and associates, and attempting to enforce silence from those around her.  Following the former Alaska governor's road show …

A Note to My Fellow Hawks  —  President Obama opposed the war in Iraq.  He still thinks it was a mistake.  It's therefore unrealistic for supporters of the war to expect the president to give the speech John McCain would have given, or to expect President Obama to put the war in the context we would put it in.

No Help On The Horizon For Dems  —  The Midterm Outlook Remains Grisly  —  Labor Day is almost here and Democrats are still waiting for the cavalry to arrive.  An exhaustive scan of the horizon reveals no rescuers and none of the things Democrats badly need to save them from tough midterm election losses on Nov. 2.

Tax Cuts Weighed to Spur Economy  —  The Obama administration is considering a range of new measures to boost economic growth, including tax cuts and a new nationwide infrastructure program, according to people familiar with the discussions.  —  The president's economic team has met frequently …

George Bush did not recognise Belgian prime minister  —  George W Bush did not recognise the prime minister of Belgium or understand why he was at a G8 meeting, Tony Blair has disclosed.  —  In his new book, A Journey, Mr Blair writes that the former US president was confused by the presence …

My name is Glenn Beck, and I need help  —  Despite all the words spilled in evaluating Glenn Beck's tent-less revival last weekend, the real meaning may have been hiding in plain sight.  —  Beck's “Restoring Honor” gathering on the Mall was right out of the Alcoholics Anonymous playbook.

Joe Miller: America comes into the country  —  As one more interested in beginnings than endings, this morning I Googled “Joe Miller” before I went to Obama's Iraq speech and was delighted to see this headline from the Los Angeles Times: “In Alaska, Sen. Murkowski concedes to ‘tea party’ candidate Miller.”

The Economic Narrative  —  Why do people like me feel the need to revisit the fateful decision to go for an underpowered stimulus right at the beginning of the Obama administration?  It's not about “I told you so”, or at least not mainly.  It's about the economic narrative …

Labor and liberal groups to hold Oct. 2 rally on Mall to counter Beck, Tea Party  —  Labor leaders, liberal religious leaders and the NAACP will hold a rally on the National Mall on October 2, one month before the fall midterm elections, in an attempt to show they too have political clout …

Senate candidate indicted for unlawful sexual conduct with a minor  —  DAYTON — Eric W. Deaton, a Constitution Party candidate for U.S. Senate, was indicted Tuesday, Aug. 31, for unlawful sexual conduct with a minor, according to Greg Flannagan, spokesman for Montgomery County Prosecutor Mathias H. Heck Jr.

Homegrown Mujahideen  —  It's tempting to demonize conservatives with hyperbolic comparisons, but liberals have an obligation to the truth.  —  Observant readers (or bookshelf scanners) will notice that American Taliban, the new book by Daily Kos founder Markos Moulitsas …

Tancredo: First Lady Wanted To Ban Christmas Artifacts At The White House  —  Tom Tancredo isn't going away.  The former congressman and one-time presidential candidate may have upended the Colorado gubernatorial race with his third-party run, but he's still not shy to air his controversial views on national issues.

Palin 2012 in Alaska  —  If Sarah Palin runs for President in 2012 she can't count on a whole lot of support back home.  62% of Alaska Republicans are opposed to her making a White House bid and she gets only 17% in a hypothetical 2012 primary in the state tying for her second with Mike Huckabee behind Mitt Romney.

Why the President's Partisans Talk Down Islam  —  What's Your Reaction:  —  Among the more pernicious rumors swirling about Obama are those dealing with his Muslim connections.  Or so we're told: the persons who denounce — and not coincidentally promulgate — these rumors are generally …

Miracle!  Man plunges from W. Side building, crashes atop of Dodge Charger and lives to tell tale  —  A young man plunged 39 stories Tuesday from a West Side high-rise, crashed through the windshield of a sports car - and lived to tell about it.  —  “My leg!  My leg!”

Wyden Pushing For Oregon Waiver From Health Care Law, Individual Mandate  —  WHAT'S YOUR REACTION?  —  One of the most innovative voices in the health care debate, Senator Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), is accelerating the process of exempting his state from some of the national reforms passed under President Barack Obama.

Dear Patients: Vote to Repeal ObamaCare  —  Don't believe Democrats who promise to fix the bill once they're re-elected.  —  Facing a nationwide backlash, Democratic congressional candidates have a new message for voters: We know you don't like ObamaCare, so we'll fix it.

Aspiring Politician to Sue 2 Florida Papers  —  Jeff Greene, a Florida real estate developer who lost one of the year's most bitter and closely watched primary elections, is preparing to sue The St. Petersburg Times and The Miami Herald for libel, claiming that articles they published cost him his bid for the United States Senate.

Republicans Need To Ask For A Mandate  —  Assuming (as I do) that the GOP will take at least the House, and possibly the Senate, the party must run on specific proposals in order to garner the leverage necessary to roll back the last few years of Democratic excesses.

Feingold decries ‘systematic’ effort to ‘destroy’ Obama  —  Sen. Russ Feingold (D-Wis.) decried what he said was a “systematic, conscious” effort by groups to “destroy” President Obama.  —  Feingold, who's facing a tough reelection effort this fall, blamed coordinated opposition to Obama …