Former Republican Sen. Warns GOP May ‘Have Gone So Far Overboard That We Are Beyond Redemption’  —  In an age when far-right tea party activists have taken over the Republican Party and demanded lockstep allegiance, Sen. Richard Lugar (R-IN) has been one of the few GOP lawmakers to step out of line.

Simon Says  —  That Fat Lip Might Give Obama Some Street Cred … Gauze in hand, President Barack Obama walks to his car after the game of basketball Friday at Fort McNair in Washington, D.C.  —  Just three weeks after getting a shellacking in the midterm elections, President Obama got a fat lip.

Charles Krauthammer Rips Liberal Media for Being Obsessed with Sarah Palin  —  Charles Krauthammer on Friday tore into the liberal media for being obsessed with former Alaska governor Sarah Palin.  —  After Krauthammer scolded the “editorial judgment” of the producers of PBS's “Inside Washington” …

Despite Alaska Senate race results, Joe Miller presses on in principle  —  Much of America may have moved on, but Joe Miller has not.  More than a week after the last vote was counted in Alaska's closely watched U.S. Senate race, the Republican nominee continues to press his case in court …

Helena Christensen calls for action on climate change  —  Climate change is like ‘groundhog day’ for poor people suffering floods and droughts year after year as the temperature rises, Helena Christensen has said after visiting communities hit by extreme weather.

Still the Best Congress Money Can Buy  —  SO America's latest crisis — until it wasn't — was airport screeners touching our junk.  As this long year lurches toward its end, we all agree that something has gone wrong in America, and we're desperately casting about for a coherent explanation for our discontent, if not a scapegoat.

A G.O.P. Chairman Seeks New Power for U.S. Watchdogs  —  WASHINGTON — The Republican who will lead the chief investigative committee in the House is planning to vastly expand scrutiny of the Obama administration by seeking new subpoena powers for dozens of federal agency watchdogs in hopes …

A Bully Finds a Pulpit on the Web  —  SHOPPING online in late July, Clarabelle Rodriguez typed the name of her favorite eyeglass brand into Google's search bar.  —  In moments, she found the perfect frames — made by a French company called Lafont — on a Web site that looked snazzy and stood at the top of the search results.

Asking China to Act Like the U.S.  —  WASHINGTON — A fundamental tenet of foreign policy says that nations will seldom voluntarily act against what they have determined, for whatever reason, to be their own national interest.  —  Somebody needs to tell that to the United States when it comes to China, many foreign policy experts say.

United Nations climate talks in limbo  —  Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.), co-author of several unsuccessful cap-and-trade bills over the past decade, suggested an under-the-radar approach could yield results.  —  “Perhaps what Copenhagen has contributed to this moment, pre-Cancun, is low expectations,” Lieberman said.

First Greece, then Ireland - Europe's debt problem has gone from bad to worse  —  After German Chancellor Angela Merkel's comments on bondholders, the single currency finds itself skidding ever closer to collapse.  —  Another week, another crisis for the euro.  In April, the single currency wobbled as Greece was rescued.

Christopher Hitchens vs. Tony Blair: the full transcript  —  “Be it resolved, religion is a force for good in the world”  —  You may need to set aside the rest of your Saturday to get through this, but here in full is the transcript of the long-anticipated Munk debate between Christopher Hitchens and former prime minister Tony Blair.

Number of the Week: 492 Days From Default to Foreclosure  —  492: The number of days since the average borrower in foreclosure last made a mortgage payment.  —  Banks can't foreclose fast enough to keep up with all the people defaulting on their mortgage loans.