Mitt Romney's Rusty Debut  —  Tonight's Republican gathering in Manchester, New Hampshire was touted as a “summit” on jobs and the economy by its sponsor, the local chapter of Americans for Prosperity, and it included five Republican presidential hopefuls.  Unofficially, it was Mitt Romney's debut as a 2012 candidate.

Geithner Pries Away $30 Trillion Forex Derivative Market from Regulation  —  Zach Carter reports on a blow to efforts to regulate the runaway derivatives market.  Just as most derivatives are set to be put onto clearinghouses, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner exempted a large group of derivatives …

Breitbart Punches Back on Maher's ‘Real Time’  —  Andrew Breitbart was confronted on HBO's Real Time with Bill Maher by liberal political analyst Laura Flanders.  Ignoring Maher's questions and moving on her own agenda for the show she challenged Breitbart to apologize to Shirley Sherrod.

Rick Perry, Texas governor, rips Obama's trip to tornado-devastated Alabama: What about our fires?  —  As President Obama meets with Alabama families affected by deadly tornados that swept through the South earlier this week, Texas Gov. Rick Perry is asking: What about us?

You Know Jack!  —  What have we learned?  —  Jack Layton was found naked in a whorehouse.  Jack Layton was found with, though not in, a 3rd World Sex Trade Worker.  —  Jack Layton alleges he frequented this whorehouse for “therapeutic massage”.  —  Jack's 3rd World Sex Trade Worker/Therapeutic Masseuse came from China.

What I learned in econ grad school  —  I always find it interesting that criticisms of economics education focus more on the graduate side than the undergrad.  Consider this broadside by Brad DeLong and Larry Summers: … This is interesting because, as someone who never studied econ as an undergrad …

Wis. Supreme Court recount at a glance  —  Justice David Prosser held a 7,316-vote lead over challenger JoAnne Kloppenburg before a statewide recount began on Wednesday.  The state Government Accountability Board is providing daily updates on the recount's progress by precinct.

'Here's to al-Qaeda'  —  Nearly 20 years ago, I asked the late William Kunstler about his philosophy of lawyering.  A flamboyant leftist who proudly represented jihadists just as he proudly represented many other anti-American radicals, Bill succinctly replied, “Everybody's entitled to a lawyer, but nobody's entitled to me!”

GOP Freshman Ends First Town Hall After Tough Questions On Tax Cuts For The Wealthy: 'We're Done'  —  Freshman Rep. Rick Crawford (R-AR) became the latest Republican to face the ire of his own constituents for voting for the Medicare-ending GOP budget when he was repeatedly challenged …

23rd Richest Member Of Congress: I'm ‘Struggling Like Everyone Else’  —  Rep. Denny Rehberg (R-MT), the 23rd richest member of Congress who owns millions of dollars in farm and ranch land, told an audience member at a town hall in Missoula yesterday that he and his wife “are struggling like everyone else” …

Clinton: Supreme Court could rule against healthcare law  —  There's a chance that the Supreme Court could rule the so-called “individual mandate” in the healthcare reform law unconstitutional, but on the whole the bill will stay in tact, former President Bill Clinton said.

Silliness and Sleight of Hand  —  President Obama buckled.  —  On Wednesday, he released his long-form birth certificate, but not without chiding the media and his detractors for their “silliness” in forcing the issue.  —  No sooner had he released it than Donald Quixote was off to his next windmill: the president's college grades.

Neither Party Has Big Edge on Most Major U.S. Issues  —  Americans see Republicans as better able to handle the budget  —  PRINCETON, NJ — Of six key issues facing the United States, the federal budget is the only one for which Americans express a clear preference as to which party can better handle it.