Democrats Plan Political Triage to Retain House  —  WASHINGTON — As Democrats brace for a November wave that threatens their control of the House, party leaders are preparing a brutal triage of their own members in hopes of saving enough seats to keep a slim grip on the majority.

Analysts: White House Panicking Over Elections  —  Say Dems Are Distancing Themselves From Obama, Angry Over Economy, Health Care Fallout  —  (CBS) With many polls indicating the Republicans may win back control of the House of Representatives (and possibly the Senate as well) …

Report: Iran pays $1,000 for each U.S. soldier killed by the Taliban  —  Afghan group's treasurer admits receiving money from Iran, newspaper says  —  msnbc.com staff and news service reports  —  Iran is paying Taliban fighters $1,000 for each U.S. soldier they kill in Afghanistan, according to a report in a British newspaper.

TRENDING: Tony Blair on Bill Clinton's ‘potentially sexual element’  —  (CNN) - Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair was hesitant in an interview broadcast on Sunday to explain a passage from his new book that referenced a “potentially sexual element” to former President Bill Clinton's “curiosity about people.”

What America Has Lost  —  It's clear we overreacted to 9/11.  —  Nine years after 9/11, can anyone doubt that Al Qaeda is simply not that deadly a threat?  Since that gruesome day in 2001, once governments everywhere began serious countermeasures, Osama bin Laden's terror network has been unable …

America's History of Fear  —  A radio interviewer asked me the other day if I thought bigotry was the only reason why someone might oppose the Islamic center in Lower Manhattan.  No, I don't.  Most of the opponents aren't bigots but well-meaning worriers — and during earlier waves …

Anti-war groups battle for survival  —  As President Barack Obama formally declared an end to combat operations in Iraq this week, the anti-war movement that helped sweep him into office — and that worked for seven years to bring U.S. troops home — finds itself struggling for survival.

Kaine to fellow Dems: ‘Foolish’ to run from party  —  Democratic National Committee Chairman Tim Kaine has a message for Democrats trying to run from President Barack Obama, Nancy Pelosi or Harry Reid: Don't be foolish.  —  “If you run away from who you are and you're a Democrat, it's foolish,” Kaine said on “Fox News Sunday.”

Who is responsible for Warmabomber's violent agenda?  —  Filthy.  Parasites.  Disgusting, overbreeding candidates for sterilization and extermination.  Possessed of false morals and a “breeding culture.”  —  Hitler talking about the Jews?  Nope.  This is Discovery Channel hostage-taker James Lee talking about ... human beings.

GOP resurgent  —  More Ohioans plan to vote for Republicans in the election, and they are excited to do so.  But a lot can happen before Nov. 2.  —  THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH  —  Republican candidates have grabbed double-digit leads in the races for governor and the U.S. Senate …

GOP gov hopefuls run against Obama  —  They're all Rick Perrys now.  —  A year and a half after the governor of Texas energized his reelection campaign by casting himself as an antagonist to President Barack Obama, Republican gubernatorial candidates across the country are following his example.

Paul up by 15 in new poll that Conway campaign disputes  —  With just under two months until Kentucky's U.S. Senate election, a new WHAS11/Courier-Journal Bluegrass Poll shows Republican Rand Paul nearly doubling his lead in the last month, now up 15 points over Democrat Jack Conway, 55% to 40%.

Political Implications of Over-Bashfulness in The Non-Economics Social Sciences  —  Scott Eric Kaufmann says that yes indeed academics are generally discouraged from communicating about their work to popular audiences.  Neil Sinhababu notes the political implications:

Jerry Brown says he'd be a frugal governor  —  (09-03) 19:33 PDT SAN FRANCISCO — Jerry Brown said Friday that if elected governor he would have to “do things that labor doesn't like,” including cutting pension benefits for public employees and asking labor leaders to “put everything on the table” …

Freedom's Just Another Word  —  AMONG the few scraps of news to emerge from Barack Obama's vacation was the anecdote of a Martha's Vineyard bookseller handing him an advance copy of Jonathan Franzen's new novel, “Freedom.”  The book has since rocketed up the Amazon best-seller list …