McConnell: I Won't Agree To Raise The Debt Limit Without Medicare Cuts  —  Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) says substantial Medicare cuts must be part of a spending and deficit cut package to get his support to raise the debt limit.  —  In a Capitol briefing with reporters Friday …

Bachmann's Debacle  —  “This is a disaster,” said one prominent Polk County Republican.  An elected official called it “an embarrassment”.  The embarrassing disaster was the result of Congresswoman Michelle Bachmann's last minute cancellation of her appearance at the Polk County GOP's Robb Kelley Dinner.

What Obama did to Israel  —  Every Arab-Israeli negotiation contains a fundamental asymmetry: Israel gives up land, which is tangible; the Arabs make promises, which are ephemeral.  The long-standing American solution has been to nonetheless urge Israel to take risks for peace …

Judge strikes down corporate donations ban  —  A federal court in Alexandria, Va. on Thursday struck down a federal ban on corporate campaign contributions, in a case with potentially dramatic ramifications for a campaign finance regulatory system under siege by legal and regulatory attacks.

This Time Lapse Video of the Very Large Telescope At Work is the Coolest Thing You'll See Today  —  Your Universe (As Seen From the Home Planet) ESO/Stephane Guisard and Jose Francisco Salgado  —  There's very little we can write to preface the imagery below, so we'll just set the scene and get out of the way.

CNN Poll: GOP 2012 field still up in the air  —  Washington (CNN) - Call it a sign of how unsettled the GOP presidential field remains: Two of the three people at the top of new national poll in the battle for the Republican nomination may not even run for the White House.

Soquel High School Students Suspended for Wearing White T Shirts (They're Signs of “White Supremacy")  —  Soquel, California — on the Central Coast:  —  Several high school seniors wore white t shirts to their class's group picture last Wednesday and were suspended for doing so.

Perry says he will consider White House run  —  Gov. Rick Perry today gave his strongest indication yet that he may run for president.  —  “I'm going to think about it” after the legislative session ends Monday, Perry said.  —  For years, Perry has said that he would not run for president and that he had no interest.

Amazon.com Reveals the Most Well-Read Cities in America  —  Cambridge, Mass., tops the list with the most books, magazines and newspapers purchased per capita of any city in the United States  —  (NASDAQ: AMZN)—Just in time for the summer reading season, Amazon.com announced its list of the Top 20 Most Well-Read Cities in America.

ROBAMA: Is It OK for a President to Autopen a Bill Into Law?  —  With the Patriot Act set to expire last night, President Obama signed legislation extending it — from France — as first reported by ABC News.  —  How did he do that?  Using an autopen, of course.  —  Is that allowed?

No Ideas  —  Ezra Klein points us to the House GOP's rather pitiful jobs manifesto.  Ezra describes it as “now more than ever”: the GOP's response to the employment crisis is to demand exactly the same things it demands when the economy is doing well.  —  Actually, the same is true of the Ryan plan …

Spotlight takes toll on first lady's staff  —  Less than three years into the job, first lady Michelle Obama is on her third chief of staff and third social secretary.  She is on her second communications director, the White House chief usher recently departed, and her press secretary's last day is Friday.

Saudi Arabia Scrambles to Limit Region's Upheaval  —  RIYADH, Saudi Arabia — Saudi Arabia is flexing its financial and diplomatic might across the Middle East in a wide-ranging bid to contain the tide of change, shield fellow monarchs from popular discontent and avert the overthrow …

Marshfield man charged in circuit court with attempt to kill abortion doctor  —  IMAGE (7)  —  The Marshfield man who drove to Madison to kill an abortion doctor told police that he was next going to go to an abortion clinic in Milwaukee, according to a criminal complaint filed Friday.

Rolling Thunder Riders Praise Sarah Palin's Participation in Rally  —  ABC News' Sheila Marikar [@sheilaym] reports: For the riders of Rolling Thunder, the news that Sarah Palin will participate in their national rally on Sunday came as a surprise.  A welcome surprise.

Inside Meghan McCain's Bachelorette Pad  —  The famous daughter of the famous senator shows off her 1,100-square-foot bachelorette home in West Hollywood.  —  LEAST-REPUBLICAN PIECE OF CLOTHING: My black studded Christian Louboutin heels.  They are hard-core.  My friend nicknamed them my dominatrix heels.

Mitt Romney Supports Ethanol Subsidies, Opposes Tim Pawlenty's ‘Hard Truth’  —  ABC News' Emily Friedman (@emilyabc) & Matthew Jaffe (@jaffematt) report:  —  Mitt Romney and Tim Pawlenty are at odds on one of the biggest issues to voters in Iowa, home of the nation's first presidential caucuses.

America's Forgotten Liberal  —  JANUARY was the 100th anniversary of Ronald Reagan's birth, and the planet nearly stopped turning on its axis to recognize the occasion.  Today is the 100th anniversary of Hubert H. Humphrey's birth, and no one besides me seems to have noticed.

Larry Flynt Calls Trig Palin “Brain Dead Virtual Vegetable”  —  Sarah Palin's son Trig is in the news again following the liberal blog Wonkette bashing her and saying her son, who has Down Syndrome, is “retarded” and “somewhat alive.”  Now Hustler published Larry Flynt has gotten in on the attacks.

Karl Rove: Sarah Palin Doesn't Seem To Think ‘Rules Apply To Her’ (VIDEO) … During an appearance on Fox News' “On the Record” on Thursday night, Karl Rove weighed in on the political ambitions of Sarah Palin as signs emerge that the former Alaska governor may be laying the groundwork …

Breaking: Several Jewish Dems in Congress back Obama on Israel, characterize his stance accurately  —  Since it's being widely reported that many leading Democrats in Congress are criticizing Obama's stance on the pre-1967 lines, it's perhaps also worth mentioning that a few Jewish Congressional Dems have stepped forward to defend him.

Tyler Cowen, America's Hottest Economist  —  The George Mason University professor has written a bestseller, The Great Stagnation, keeps an influential blog, and reads way too many books  —  Tyler Cowen sits with a cranberry juice and a pile of books he no longer intends to read.

Gingrich recalls ‘global cooling’  —  Newt Gingrich doesn't buy the established science of global warming, especially when there were warnings in the 1970s of a new Ice Age.  —  “Now many of those scientists are still alive, and they were absolutely convinced,” the GOP presidential contender …