Fear & Loathing In Minneapolis: Progressives Vent Frustration With Obama At Netroots Nation  —  ABC News' Matthew Jaffe reports:  —  The frustrations and the fears that progressives feel about President Obama were on full display Thursday as thousands of them flocked to Minneapolis for the sixth annual Netroots Nation conference.

Suspect in Custody for ‘Suspicious’ Backpack Is Marine Corps Reservist  —  DEVELOPING: The man in custody for carrying a backpack with “suspicious items and products” inside Arlington National Cemetery overnight is a U.S. Marine Corps reservist, military and law enforcement sources tell Fox News.

Poll: Bachmann breaks through, Huntsman hurting, Romney rolling  —  Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney enjoys a comfortable lead in New Hampshire's first-in-the-nation race for the Republican presidential nomination while Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann shows signs of breaking through …

Who Is James Johnson?  —  Most political scandals involve people who are not really enmeshed in the Washington establishment — people like Representative Anthony Weiner or Representative William Jefferson.  Most scandals involve spectacularly bad behavior — like posting pictures …

Key Seniors Association Pivots on Benefit Cut  —  WASHINGTON—AARP, the powerful lobbying group for older Americans, is dropping its longstanding opposition to cutting Social Security benefits, a move that could rock Washington's debate over how to revamp the nation's entitlement programs.

Hey Reuters, Anthony Weiner is a Democrat  —  Try again.  Biased idiots.  —  The word “Republican” is even in the article's URL.  I repeat: Idiots.  —  (h/t Jonah Goldberg)

Palin Decision Expected Next Week  —  Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin is expected within a week to make a decision on whether to enter the 2012 presidential campaign, according to one Republican source.  —  Vendors of campaign services who hope to work for Team Palin have been told that Palin …

Weiner eligible for sizable pension  —  Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-N.Y.) remains eligible for a sizable federal pension despite his resignation from Congress, according to a tax watchdog group.  —  Weiner could receive almost $1.3 million in taxpayer funds over his lifetime …

Republicans Urge Cuomo to Alter Same-Sex Marriage Bill  —  ALBANY — Several Republican senators in New York are urging Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo to consider changing his proposed same-sex marriage bill to better protect religious institutions, addressing a concern that has emerged …

Operation Fast and Furious should end Holder tenure  — TAGS: - 2012 Election - ATF - Attorney General Eric Holder - House Oversight and Government Reform Committee - Operation Fast and Furious - Politics - President Obama - Rep. Darrell Issa - U.S. Department of Justice

Call Off the Global Drug War  —  IN an extraordinary new initiative announced earlier this month, the Global Commission on Drug Policy has made some courageous and profoundly important recommendations in a report on how to bring more effective control over the illicit drug trade.

IMF cuts U.S. growth forecast, warns of crisis  —  (Reuters) - The International Monetary Fund cut its forecast for U.S. economic growth on Friday and warned Washington and debt-ridden European countries that they are “playing with fire” unless they take immediate steps to reduce their budget deficits.

WOMEN ACTIVISTS PREPARE TO DEFY SAUDI ARABIAN DRIVING BAN  —  Saudi Arabian authorities must stop treating women as second-class citizens and open the Kingdom's roads to women drivers, Amnesty International said today, as a group of Saudi Arabian women prepared to defy a decades-old ban on women driving.

The union-owned Democrats  —  “Shovel-ready was not as shovel-ready as we expected,” observed President Obama this week, enjoying a nice chuckle about the unhappy fate of his near-$1 trillion stimulus.  To be sure, Obama has also been promoting a less amusing remedy for anemic growth and high unemployment: exports.

Bill O'Reilly: 'I Don't Think Vitter Should Be There.  Absolutely Not'  —  Yesterday, Anthony Weiner resigned a few days after admitting he sent lewd messages to women he made over the internet.  Weiner's announcement came after pressure from Leader Nancy Pelosi, DNC Chair Debbie Wasserman-Schultz, and President Obama.

Daley can't defend Obama's ‘indefensible’ economic policies  —  White House Chief of Staff Bill Daley took heat from business executives Thursday for the Obama administration's regulatory expansions.  Daley also said he didn't have any good answers for some of what President Obama is doing …