Economist Christina Romer serves up dismal news at her farewell luncheon  —  Lunch at the National Press Club on Wednesday caused some serious indigestion.  —  It wasn't the food; it was the entertainment.  Christina Romer, chairman of President Obama's Council of Economic Advisers …

Sixty Days to Go  —  The Crystal Ball's Labor Day Predictions  —  Larry J. Sabato, Director, U.Va. Center for Politics  —  For decades I've advised students to let the facts speak for themselves, while avoiding the indulgence of shouting at the facts.  In other words, we should take in …

Deval Patrick on Beck rally: “It's a free country.  I wish it weren't.”  —  And you thought that a libtalker declaring a public space too sacred for God would be the dumbest quote from the Left on the Restoring Honor rally hosted by Glenn Beck.  Michael Graham from Boston's WTKK posts a clip …

Gunman's Environmental Grudges Well Known Before Discovery Channel Hostage Standoff  —  James Jay Lee wasn't a stranger to the Discovery Channel employees he terrorized Wednesday with a gun and with what appeared to be makeshift bombs strapped to his chest and back.

Warren fuels speculation by dropping class  —  When fall classes began Wednesday at Harvard Law School, Elizabeth Warren was scheduled to be teaching contract law to first-year students.  But something happened on the way to the chalkboard.  —  “I'm writing to let you know that Professor Jerry Frug …

Dodge Charger owner upset vehicle crushed by suicidal fall  —  Tweet  —  Her car was crushed — and so is she.  —  A New Jersey woman is devastated that her precious sports car — just repaired and fully gassed up — was wrecked by a suicidal man's 40-story attempted death leap on the Upper West Side.

Rupert Murdoch's War On The New York Times  —  “I read the Journal a little less now.  I find that I can skim it in a way I couldn't before.  If the Journal is gaining market share I'd guess it is more at the expense of USA Today than the Times,” New York Times executive editor Bill Keller tells Vanity Fair writer Sarah Ellison.

Lazio Up 12 Pts.  In New York GOP Primary For Governor, Quinnipiac University Poll Finds; Dems Still Don't Know Who's Running For Attorney General  —  Former Congressman Rick Lazio leads businessman Carl Paladino 47 - 35 percent among New York State Republican likely primary voters in the race for Governor …

Democrats unlikely to repeal tax cuts for the rich  —  WASHINGTON — Democrats in Congress are poised to play a leading role this month in thwarting their party's effort to raise income tax rates on the wealthy.  —  Tax cuts enacted in 2001 and 2003 expire at the end of this year.

A Dream House After All  —  IF you read the coverage of the latest figures on the sales of existing homes from the National Association of Realtors, you may well have come to the conclusion that the American dream is dead.  It is indeed worrisome that sales in July were down 25 percent from a year ago.

Obama is Not a Muslim  —  The nonsense about President Obama being a Muslim has got to stop.  I rise to defend him from this absurd accusation by pointing out that he is obviously an atheist.  —  Leave aside Obama's fanatical opposition to allowing Illinois hospitals to save the lives …

Sarah's Amazing Race  —  Sarah Palin is going to Iowa to be the headliner at a Republican fund-raiser.  In the state that will be the first to hold a contest in the 2012 presidential campaign, even if it has to do it in 2011.  —  Her staff says this means nothing whatsoever, but let us acknowledge that Palin is on a roll.

Scientist's Firing After 36 Years Fuels ‘PC’ Debate at UCLA  —  A longtime professor at UCLA, told that he would not be rehired because his “research is not aligned with the academic mission” of his department, says he's being fired after 36 years at the prestigious school because his scientific beliefs are “politically incorrect.”

Signs in Arizona warn of smuggler dangers  —  Drivers advised to travel north  —  ASSOCIATED PRESS Federal police stand guard by Texas-born kingpin Edgar “La Barbie” Valdez during his presentation to the press in Mexico City on Tuesday.  Valdez, who was captured on Monday by federal police …

Obama Should Feel ‘Uncomfortable’ That Conservatives Are Co-opting Gay Rights Issues: Top Dem  —  WHAT'S YOUR REACTION?  —  The notion that the gay rights community would abandon the Obama White House over its unwillingness to fully embrace their legislative priorities may seem absurd to the casual political observer.

Yes, BBC was biased: Director General Mark Thompson admits a ‘massive’ lean to Left  —  BBC Director General Mark Thompson has admitted the corporation was guilty of a ‘massive’ Left-wing bias in the past.  —  The TV chief also admitted there had been a ‘struggle’ to achieve impartiality …

Illegal Immigration to U.S. Slows Sharply  —  Illegal immigration to the U.S. has slowed sharply since 2007, with the bleak U.S. job market apparently discouraging people from heading north.  —  The influx of illegal immigrants plunged to an estimated 300,000 annually between March 2007 and 2009 …

The Inflation Cure  —  Ken Rogoff is proposing — not for the first time — that the United States use a burst of inflation to get out of its slump.  My reaction is a mix of agreement and exasperation.  I agree that higher inflation would help; my exasperation comes from Rogoff's offhandedness about the whole thing.

This is so the worst thing you're going to read all day.  —  Michael Joseph Gross for Vanity Fair: “Sarah Palin the Sound and the Fury.”  —  It's terrible for a couple of reasons.  One, because Sarah Palin is the worst.  Except, and two, she's the worst for reasons that aren't even in this article.

Israelis, Palestinians resume direct talks  —  WASHINGTON - Seeking to broker a Mideast peace agreement that has eluded U.S. presidents for decades, the Obama administration is overseeing the first direct negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians in nearly two years.