Budget deal leaves liberals disheartened  —  The $38.5 billion deal brokered between Republicans and President Barack Obama on Friday night may have resolved the immediate threat of a government shutdown.  But it didn't take long for many liberal Democrats to begin to realize that there might …

Obama Advisor David Plouffe: Budget Cuts Both ‘Draconian’ and ‘Historic’  —  Plouffe Lauds Bipartisanship and Slams Trump  —  Senior Advisor to the President David Plouffe conceded this morning that some of the cuts the White House agreed to in order to avoid a government shutdown were draconian.

Banks Are Off the Hook Again  —  Americans know that banks have mistreated borrowers in many ways in foreclosure cases.  Among other things, they habitually filed false court documents.  There were investigations.  We've been waiting for federal and state regulators to crack down.

Sarah Palin On Trump's Birth Certificate Investigation: ‘More Power To Him!’  —  Sarah Palin was interviewed live today on Fox News' Justice with Judge Jeanine, and was asked to weigh in on the rather sudden addition of Donald Trump's voice to the “Birther movement”, as well as the money …

Republican Rep.: Congress deserves to be ‘tarred and feathered’  —  Washington (CNN) - Fresh off the debate to avoid a government shutdown, Republican Rep. Jeb Hensarling and Democratic Sen. Dick Durbin expressed cautious optimism following the resolution, while gearing up politically for the debt ceiling drama.

Third day of ‘sleep-in’ at Washington state capitol  —  OLYMPIA, Wash. - Thousands of union members from all over Washington poured into the state Capitol Friday, calling on lawmakers to “put people first” by ending corporate tax breaks and painful cuts to public programs.

Blowin' in the Idiot Wind  —  Bob Dylan may have done the impossible: broken creative new ground in selling out.  —  The idea that the raspy troubadour of '60s freedom anthems would go to a dictatorship and not sing those anthems is a whole new kind of sellout — even worse than Beyoncé …

Copious Quantities of Casuistry  —  Wisconsin Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen on Thursday filed a filed a Petition for Supervisory Writ [PDF] directly to the state Supreme Court over a circuit court judge's temporary blocking of the Budget Repair Bill.  The petition is absolutely devastating …

Newly Born, and Withdrawing From Painkillers  —  BANGOR, Me.  — The mother got the call in the middle of the night: her 3-day-old baby was going through opiate withdrawal in a hospital here and had to start taking methadone, a drug best known for treating heroin addiction, to ease his suffering.

NI bomb ‘threatened mass murder’  —  Police say bomb found in van on main Belfast to Dublin road could have resulted in huge devastation and loss of life  —  Dissident republicans who prepared a 500lb (227kg) van bomb risked causing an Omagh-style massacre, politicians in Northern Ireland have said.

Always room in the budget for white guilt  —  Teachers are headed for a conference that brims with fashionable grievances.  —  These are tough times for Minnesota schools.  In Lakeville, for example, the school board recently announced wrenching cuts of almost $7 million.