‘The Shining’ — national debt edition  —  Remember that great scene in the 1980 film classic, “The Shining,” when the wife comes upon the typewriter of the Jack Nicholson character, who's supposed to have been working night and day for months on his novel?  To her horror, she finds thousands …

Wonkette Editor Comments on Reprehensible Birthday Greeting to Trig Palin  —  Update: Wonkette's editor responds later in the post, but also, a reader hilariously bought the domain name JackStuef.com, which now redirects to the National Down Syndrome Society donation page.  Lemons into lemonade.

Poll Finds Lack of Passion for Republican Candidates  —  With less than a year to go before the Iowa caucuses, Republican voters have yet to form strong opinions about most of their potential candidates for president in 2012, according to the latest New York Times/CBS News poll.

Remarks by the President at a Facebook Town Hall  —  Facebook Headquarters  —  THE PRESIDENT: Well, thank you so much, Facebook, for hosting this, first of all.  (Applause.)  My name is Barack Obama, and I'm the guy who got Mark to wear a jacket and tie.  (Applause.)  Thank you.  (Laughter.)

The Death of Right to Work  —  After 17 months and $2 billion, the NLRB sandbags Boeing.  —  We knew that Big Labor had political pull at the Obama-era National Labor Relations Board, but yesterday's complaint against Boeing is one for the (dark) ages.  By challenging Boeing's right …

Obama jabs ‘climate change deniers’  —  President Obama called out Capitol Hill's “climate change deniers” Wednesday night at a Democratic fundraiser in California.  —  Obama, speaking at a San Francisco event for donors, called rising gasoline prices an economic drain on drivers …

RNC bests DNC in March fundraising  —  The Republican National Committee (RNC) outraised the Democratic National Committee (DNC) in March, but the DNC won the quarter by almost $3 million.  —  The DNC, in its monthly filing Wednesday with the Federal Election Commission (FEC), reported $6.7 million in donations for the month of March.

Trump blasts Seinfeld pullout  —  Donald Trump wasn't laughing when funnyman Jerry Seinfeld canceled an upcoming appearance at a benefit for his son's Eric Trump Foundation.  —  Seinfeld pulled out of the Sept. 13 event benefiting the St. Jude Children's Research Hospital because he disagrees …

TRENDING: Trump says he'll reveal ‘interesting things’ on Obama  —  (CNN) - Possibly-serious Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump is giving few details about the investigation he claims to have launched in Hawaii to get to the bottom of where President Obama was born …

MSNBC Host Gets Hostile with Breitbart; Uses Media Matters Talking Points  —  The attack begins during the INTRODUCTION!  The irony, of course, is that Mr. Bashir has had to suffer his own, very public accusations of selective editing.

E.J. Dionne Jr.  —  What history will apply to the 2012 election?  —  Handicapping an election 19 months away seems relevant only to political junkies except for this: Expectations, as shrewd investors know, affect actions.  —  The Republican presidential field might be more formidable if President Obama were less strongly favored.

The easily debunked lies of Matt K Lewis  —  Matt Lewis is a right-wing “reporter” for the daily caller.  He used to work for AOL but left at least partly because the Huffington Post was bought out by AOL.  He's previously written for Townhall.com and Human Events.

The Map  —  The Crystal Ball's First 2011 Take on 2012's Electoral College  —  Larry J. Sabato, Director, U.Va. Center for Politics  —  With 18 months to go until November 2012, there is exactly one use for a current projection of the 2012 Electoral College results.

Coburn: Gang of Six won't call for any ‘significant’ tax hikes to cut debt  —  The bipartisan group of senators working on a long-term fiscal plan won't call for any significant tax hikes, one of its Republican members said Thursday.  —  Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.), a member of the Gang …

Former NM Gov. Gary Johnson launches presidential bid  —  Calling for a “reassessment of American government,” former New Mexico Gov. Gary Johnson (R) launched his 2012 bid for president Thursday on the steps of the New Hampshire state capitol.  —  In an email to supporters sent …