Former First Lady Betty Ford Dead at 93  —  Betty Ford, wife of former President Gerald Ford and the founder of the Betty Ford Center for substance abuse and addiction, has died at age 93.  —  In public, she was one of the most visible and outspoken first ladies in history.

Following Controversy Over Pledge, Family Leader Clarifies Anti-Porn Statement  —  GOP presidential candidates Michele Bachmann and Rick Santorum both signed a candidate pledge by the influential social conservative group THE FAMiLY LEADER which ThinkProgress, ABC, the Washington Post …

What did David Plouffe really say about unemployment?  —  Senior Obama adviser David Plouffe is getting widely pilloried on the right today for claiming that people won't vote in 2012 “based on the unemployment rate.”  —  Plouffe made the comments to reporters at a Bloomberg breakfast earlier this week.

Rep. Ryan Tastes The Grapes Of Wrath  —  Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI), a leading advocate of shrinking entitlement spending and the architect of the plan to privatize Medicare, spent Wednesday evening sipping $350 wine with two like-minded conservative economists at the swanky Capitol Hill eatery Bistro Bis.

House liberals launch organizing drive against entitlements cuts  —  House liberals are launching an organizing drive inside the Democatic caucus, in an effort to line up Democrats and get them to commit to opposing any final deficit deal that contains any cuts to entitlements benefits, according to a letter I've obtained.

FACT CHECK: Treasury General Counsel George Madison Responds to New York Times Op-Ed on 14th Amendment  —  Treasury's General Counsel George Madison submitted to the New York Times today the following letter to the editor:  —  620 Eighth Avenue  —  New York, NY 10018  —  To the Editor:

The Cost of Austerity  —  The main problem with the job market is the lack of hiring by private employers.  Above all, they aren't sure what the future will bring.  —  Financial crises have long hangovers, and this one is no exception.  Home sales and car sales remain depressed …

President Obama Receiving Sycophantic Laughter  —  While President Obama certainly has an above-average sense of humor for a politician — easy-going, self-effacing, maybe a little corny at times — he's not known as one of the planet's foremost comedians.  Yet photographic evidence compiled …

I Received ‘Ex-Gay’ Therapy at Marcus Bachmann's Clinic  —  TWO Exclusive Investigative Report by John M. Becker  —  The date was Thursday, June 30, 2011.  I turned on the television and listened half-heartedly to the commercials as I busied about doing other things.

No, Seriously: No Excuses  —  In the early days of the education-reform movement, a decade or so ago, you'd often hear from reformers a powerful rallying cry: “No excuses.”  For too long, they said, poverty had been used as an excuse by complacent educators and bureaucrats who refused …

DSCC fires back at Koch brothers  —  The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, after soliciting funds from the Koch Brothers, have decided that they're a much better foil.  DSCC executive director Guy Cecil writes a letter in response, blaming the DSCC campaign solicitation on a staff error:

Job Growth Falters Badly, Clouding Hope for Recovery  —  The United States economy added a meager 18,000 jobs in June, up from a gain of a revised 25,000 jobs in May, the Department of Labor said on Friday.  The unemployment rate rose to 9.2 percent from 9.1 percent in May, the department said.

What Really Matters  —  I don't want to take it too seriously, but I think this Gallup data on who is and isn't expressing satisfaction with their lives helps us understand which dimensions of economic inequality in America do and don't matter:  —  What you're seeing here is that being unemployed or being seriously poor is terrible.

Perry calling Iowa activists as potential donors convene  —  Rick Perry has started calling Iowa Republicans and a former RNC finance chairman is helping to convene a meeting of national donors later this month in Austin to discuss financing a potential 2012 campaign — signs that the Texas governor …

Worst President Ever, Revisited  —  No, I'm not ready to crown Barack Obama the Worst President Ever just yet, but consider this:  —  Yes, George W. Bush wrecked our economy, destroyed New Orleans, turned a budget surplus into massive deficits, ignored warnings of a major terrorist attack …

Chicago Power Broker Gets Heat Over Security Detail  —  CHICAGO—For 28 years, city Alderman Edward Burke has been protected by a squad of four bodyguards, a perquisite almost unheard of among municipal legislators.  —  Now pressure is building for Mr. Burke's security detail to be eliminated …