Conservatives denounce Boehner plan  —  The chairman of the conservative Republican Study Committee wasted little time announcing his opposition to the House GOP leadership's two-step plan to raise the debt ceiling.  —  Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), who stood — visibly uncomfortable …

Address by the President to the Nation  —  THE PRESIDENT: Good evening.  Tonight, I want to talk about the debate we've been having in Washington over the national debt — a debate that directly affects the lives of all Americans.  —  For the last decade, we've spent more money than we take in.

Killings in Norway Spotlight Anti-Muslim Thought in U.S.  —  The suspect behind the attacks in Norway said he believed multiculturalism to be a threat.  Here, mourners at Oslo Cathedral.  More Photos »  —  The man accused of the killing spree in Norway was deeply influenced …

SMASH THE CEILING  —  In the past few years, the U.S. economy has been beset by the subprime meltdown, skyrocketing oil prices, the Eurozone debt crisis, and even the Tohoku earthquake.  Now it's staring at a new problem—a failure to raise the debt ceiling, which would almost certainly throw the economy back into recession.

Glenn Beck compares Norway's dead teenagers to Hitler youth  —  Glenn Beck, the leading Right-wing American broadcaster, has prompted outrage after comparing the teenage victims of the Utoya Island massacre to the Hitler Youth.  —  Beck said that the Labour party youth camp on the island …

Black Student Can't Be Valedictorian  —  PINE BLUFF, Ark. (AR) - A high school southeast of Little Rock would not let a black student be valedictorian though she had the highest grade-point average, and wouldn't let her mom speak to the school board about it until graduation had passed, the graduate claims in Federal Court.

Mike Lee: I Want America's ‘House To Come Down’ Unless Congress Votes To Rewrite Constitution  —  In an interview on MSNBC's Hardball this evening, tenther Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) admitted that he is using the threat of a catastrophic default to extort the nation into rewriting the Constitution …

Krauthammer on Obama's Address: “I Thought I Was Cynical Until I Heard That Speech” (Video)  —  Charles Krauthammer unloaded on Obama tonight after his stale poll-driven speech to the nation.  Obama still has no plan.  —  “I thought I was cynical until I heard that speech.  It was purely partisan.

Steve King on default: Obama could be impeached  —  Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa) said Monday that President Barack Obama “would be impeached” if the nation falls into default.  —  “STOP talking about default,” he wrote on Twitter.  “The 1st dime of each $1 of revenue services debt.

The Absolution I Cannot Give  —  In the past 48 hours I have had call after call after call from members of the United States Congress.  They've read what I've written.  They agree.  But they feel the hour is short and the end is nigh.  —  So some are calling looking for alternatives.

Captain America's Fictitious, Integrated 1940s America  —  In the vein of what Ta-Nehisi Coates referred to as a “convenient suspension of disbelief” in X-Men First Class, Captain America: First Avenger dutifully ignores the civil-rights struggles of the 1940s.

Why Nick Ayers is the most hated campaign operative in America  —  As Tim Pawlenty's campaign desperately tries to gain steam, the long knives appear to be out for his wunderkind campaign manager Nick Ayers.  This past Friday, The HuffPost's Jon Ward reported,

On Debt Talks, a Lose-Lose-Lose-Lose Situation  —  Updated with a fifth (less likely) scenario.  —  Almost whatever happens this week with Washington's debt talks, the economy will likely be worse off.  —  As Dean Maki, the chief United States economist at Barclays Capital, put it …