Brewer: No more debates - period  —  PHOENIX - Arizona voters won't be seeing any more debates between the top gubernatorial contenders.  —  Incumbent Republican Jan Brewer said Thursday she has no intention of participating in any more events with Democrat Terry Goddard.

The Small Business The 97% Fallacy  —  The president's plan to raise top marginal rates is holding back the very people who should be leading the economic recovery.  —  When Congress returns from its summer recess, members will face a pivotal decision about the expiring Bush tax cuts.

Private Sector in U.S. Added More Jobs Over the Summer  —  American businesses added more jobs in the last three months than originally estimated, but the wheels of the economic recovery are still spinning in place.  —  Multimedia  —  Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics

The Real Story  —  Next week, President Obama is scheduled to propose new measures to boost the economy.  I hope they're bold and substantive, since the Republicans will oppose him regardless — if he came out for motherhood, the G.O.P. would declare motherhood un-American.

PRIVATE-SECTOR JOB GROWTH.... In the last post, we talked about the new monthly jobs report, with the chart we've all come to know and love.  But many of you have emailed to suggest it's time for a slightly different chart — one showing just the private sector job market.  —  It's a fair request.

Repeal the 17th amendment?  —  During our discussion of the filibuster today — which you can stream over at C-SPAN's Web site — Heritage's Brian Darling talked a bit about the Senate's important role as a voice for the states.  Responding to a questioner, he went so far as to say he'd consider repeal …

The irony of Jesse Jackson's stripped SUV  —  Add Jesse Jackson's ride to prominent vehicles being stripped in Detroit.  —  Following the embarrassing news that Mayor Dave Bing's GMC Yukon was hijacked by criminals this week, Detroit's Channel 7 reports that the Reverend's Caddy Escalade SUV …

AP: ‘Combat in Iraq is not over, and we should not uncritically repeat suggestions that it is’  —  Sent: Thursday, September 02, 2010 5:30 PM  —  Subject: Standards Center guidance: The situation in Iraq  —  Many AP staffers are producing content that refers to the situation in Iraq.

The Senate's In Play  —  For much of this year, it seemed a near mathematical impossibility that Republicans could score the 10-seat net gain needed to flip the Senate, which is split between 59 Democrats (including two independents who caucus with Democrats and largely vote with the party) and 41 Republicans.

Mosque Investor Was Terror Contributor  —  MYFOXNY.COM - Fox 5 News reported Thursday that one of the financial backers of the Islamic mosque and cultural center project in Lower Manhattan once contributed to a terror group, although the investor says the contribution was made because he thought …

Big Labor's Legacy of Violence  —  To mark Labor Day 2010, President Obama will join hands with AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka in Milwaukee and pose as champions of the working class.  Bad move.  Trumka's organizing record is a shameful reminder of the union movement's violent and corrupt foundations.

Perspective, boys, perspective  —  As I recall, National Review endorsed John McCain over J.D. Hayworth.  I don't recall any concerns mentioned about his Keating Five role or his widely reported temper tantrums.  No, J.D., we were told, had all kinds of flaws.

Colo. GOP tries to push Maes out  —  Top Colorado Republicans are attempting to convince gubernatorial nominee Dan Maes to drop his bid for governor by the end of Friday, a well-placed Republican in the state tells POLITICO.  —  In a meeting Friday morning, party chairman Dick Wadhams …

Peter Orszag to Write New York Times Op-Ed Column  —  Peter Orszag, economist and former director of the Office of Management and Budget, will become a contributing columnist for The New York Times Op-Ed page.  Beginning Tuesday, Sept. 7, his columns will appear one to two times a month …

Wyden Defects on ObamaCare  —  The Oregon Democrat breaks ranks with the White House.  —  Most Democrats have come to understand that they can't run on ObamaCare, but few have the temerity of Ron Wyden.  The Oregon Senator is the first to break with the policy underpinnings of the bill he voted for.

Palin's ‘impotent’ comments make rounds  —  Sarah Palin has set the blogosphere ablaze again.  —  (CNN) - Sarah Palin has managed to set the blogosphere ablaze again, this time after appearing to use sexual metaphors to slam mainstream media reporters who rely on anonymous sources.

The Alternate History  —  The Democrats could be heading toward a defeat of historic proportions in November, but it is possible to imagine a scenario in which things might have turned out differently:  —  On Dec. 16, 2008, President-elect Barack Obama and his senior aides gathered for a briefing on the state of the U.S. economy.

Pentagon declined to investigate hundreds of purchases of child pornography  —  A 2006 Immigration and Customs Enforcement investigation into the purchase of child pornography online turned up more than 250 civilian and military employees of the Defense Department—including …

How to End the Great Recession  —  THIS promises to be the worst Labor Day in the memory of most Americans.  Organized labor is down to about 7 percent of the private work force.  Members of non-organized labor — most of the rest of us — are unemployed, underemployed or underwater.

Sestak backs off Israel letter  —  Bill Kristol and Gary Bauer's hawkish Emergency Committee for Israel has been attacking a series of members of Congress who were among the 54 signatories to a letter, circulated by the liberal group J Street, which pressed Israel to ease conditions in Gaza …

Survey USA poll shows Whitman, Fiorina leading in CA  —  Welcome to California ... the Red State.  At least that's what Survey USA finds in its latest poll of likely voters in the gubernatorial and Senate races, where Meg Whitman and Carly Fiorina still lead.

The Revolt of the Bourgeois  —  Tea partiers are mad as heck, and they’re letting the world know — politely.  —  The much-analyzed speeches at the Glenn Beck Lincoln Memorial rally weren't as notable as what the estimated 300,000 attendees did: follow instructions, listen quietly to hours of speeches, and throw out their trash.

“This pompous twerp, Bloomberg, who I think has come to embody the particular stupidity of the American ruling class.”  —  Mark Steyn returns from his summer walk-about: