Marcus Bachmann says his clinics not anti-gay  —  Therapists will oblige if patients ask for counseling to become heterosexual, but they don't force treatment, he said.  —  The husband of Republican presidential contender Michele Bachmann has come forward to defend his family-owned Christian …

Obama: Public is ‘sold’ on tax increases in a debt-ceiling deal  —  President Obama on Friday kept up the pressure on Republicans to agree to revenue increases in a deal to raise the debt ceiling, claiming 80 percent of the public supports Democrats' demand for tax increases.

McConnell proposal would force major review of entitlements  —  Larry Kudlow, who's plugged in with Congressional Republicans, scoops a key new detail about the emerging Mitch McConnell proposal to transfer control of the debt ceiling to the president:

Sarah Palin Movie Debuts to Empty Theater in Orange County  —  “Why aren't you seeing Harry Potter?” an usher said to the reporter sitting alone in the audience  —  When the clock struck 12:01 am today, AMC theaters in select cities were permitted to start showing “The Undefeated,” a feature length documentary about Sarah Palin.

Fox And Friends Defends News Corp's Hacking Scandal: ‘We Should Move On’  —  Fox News finally addressed their parent company's hacking scandal head on this morning, with Fox and Friends launching a comically sycophantic and pathetically inaccurate defense of News Corp. Host Steve Doocy …

Phone Hacking: Rupert Murdoch's daughter in ‘furious’ attack on Rebekah Brooks  —  Rupert Murdoch's daughter Elisabeth has made a “furious” attack on Rebekah Brooks's handling of the phone hacking scandal at News International, The Daily Telegraph has learnt.  —  Elisabeth Murdoch, daughter of Rupert

Getting to Crazy  —  There aren't many positive aspects to the looming possibility of a U.S. debt default.  But there has been, I have to admit, an element of comic relief — of the black-humor variety — in the spectacle of so many people who have been in denial suddenly waking up and smelling the crazy.

Obama makes his case to the left  —  President Obama recently took a beating from some on the left for suggesting that immediate deficit reduction is necessary to take the issue off the table and make it possible to spend more on liberal priorities later.  And Obama of course has regularly …

Dear House Republicans, This is Your “Time For Choosing”  —  “From here on out, if you lose this fight, every time you balk at expanding government, social security checks will be withheld, medicare payments will be withheld, and in just a few short years, surgeries will be cancelled, vaccinations withheld, and hospitals shuttered.”

Jackson Lee: Congress complicating debt ceiling because Obama is black  —  Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Texas) on Friday strongly suggested that members of Congress are making it difficult for President Obama to raise the debt ceiling because of his race.  —  “I do not understand …

Liberal group drops off petition warning Obama on cuts  —  The Progressive Change Campaign Committee, a liberal group that has long been critical of President Obama's policy moves, delivered a petition to his campaign with 200,000 signatures warning Obama against any cuts to Medicare …

‘Obama lies’  —  Sarah Palin tweets a post-press conference slam on President Obama after he provides an update on the debt-ceiling stalemate: … It's worth noting, as Molly Ball reported last night, that Michele Bachmann, who appeals to much of the same swath of the GOP electorate that Palin does …

Court OKs Airport Body Scanners, Rejects Constitutional Challenge  —  A federal appeals court on Friday unanimously declined to block the government from using intrusive body scanners across airports nationwide, saying it is “not persuaded by any of the statutory or constitutional arguments” against them.

House turns off light bulb standards by voice vote  —  The House on Friday morning moved to block federal light bulb efficiency standards without even a roll call vote.  —  An amendment from Rep. Michael Burgess (R-Texas) defunding the Energy Department's standards for traditional incandescent light bulbs …

Osama Hit List: President Obama, Petraeus, Major U.S. Sporting Event  —  President Barack Obama boards Air Force One after arriving at Andrews Air Force Base Md., June 28, 2011.  Officials say that Osama bin Laden, still obsessed with attacking airplanes, was trying to hatch a plan to kill Obama …

Press Conference by the President  —  THE PRESIDENT: Hello, everybody.  As you know, yesterday we had another meeting with the congressional leaders.  We're not having one today, so I thought it would be useful to give you guys an update on where we are.  —  All the congressional leaders …

Cantor Loves Gov't Spending ... on the Drug Industry  —  Republicans would like you to believe that our deficit problem is primarily a spending problem and that responsibility for that problematic spending is primarily a Democratic responsibility.  But the second claim is as misleading as the first.

Recapturing The Romance Of Monetary Policy  —  I had a frustrating back and forth (here and here) with Corey Robin about monetary policy.  He's a writer whose work I really enjoy.  This 2004 Boston Review piece on neoconservatives is seminal, and his book Fear: The History of a Political Idea is great.