Cat To Emerge from Bag?  —  There's an interesting possibility, even a likelihood, we may see unfold over the coming days.  And if it happens, we might find out quickly whether there's a limit past which consensus opinion, the Wall Street/business interests who hold such a sway over national politics …

Credit hit worries Obama, Congress more than default  —  It's not the default that strikes the most fear in the White House and Congress these days.  It's the downgrade.  —  Even Republican leaders say the country can't go into default, and they'll do everything possible to raise the debt limit by Aug. 2.

Romney Leads Field of Announced GOP Candidates  —  Perry would be more competitive with Romney than Palin, Giuliani  —  PRINCETON, NJ — Mitt Romney is the leader for the GOP nomination among the current field of official candidates, supported by 27% of Republicans, compared with 18% for Michele Bachmann.

The Cult That Is Destroying America  —  Watching our system deal with the debt ceiling crisis — a wholly self-inflicted crisis, which may nonetheless have disastrous consequences — it's increasingly obvious that what we're looking at is the destructive influence of a cult that has really poisoned our political system.

U.S. officials believe al-Qaeda on brink of collapse  —  U.S. counterterrorism officials are increasingly convinced that the killing of Osama bin Laden and the toll of seven years of CIA drone strikes have pushed al-Qaeda to the brink of collapse.  —  The assessment reflects a widespread view …

Not Leveling with Viewers  —  It's been said many times.  But it's never enough: the conventions of journalistic ‘objectivity’, as currently defined, frequently make journalists violate their biggest duty, which is honesty with readers.  The top headline running now on CNN reads …

SwiftVets revenge  —  The Navy Times (no link) reported last week that Navy Secretary Ray Mabus stripped the Silver Star from a Vietnam swift boat veteran, Capt. Wade Sanders:  —  “Had the subsequently determined facts and evidence surrounding both the incident for which the award …

Suicide blast kills mayor of Afghanistan's Kandahar  —  (Reuters) - A suicide bomber killed the mayor of Afghanistan's Kandahar city on Wednesday, two weeks after the assassination of Afghan President Hamid Karzai's brother in the same city created a power vacuum in the country's turbulent south.

On Islamophobia and Right Wing Extremism  —  Since I am constantly accused of being an ‘Islamaphobe’ let me, once again and for the record, explain my position on Islam, Islamophobia, and right-wing extremism.  I'll start at the latter and work my way to the former.  —  1) Right-wing extremism is real.

Bachmann: other House GOPers “will have to come to their own conclusion” (audio)  —  GOP presidential candidate Michele Bachmann held a news conference in Ankeny early this afternoon.  “I wanted to be able to have just a word with you in response to President Obama's statement last night regarding raising the debt ceiling,” she began.

US eco-activist jailed for two years  —  Campaigners denounce sentence of ‘hero’ Tim DeChristopher for disrupting oil and gas industry auction as excessive  —  An activist who became a hero to campaigners for disrupting a Bush administration auction for the oil and gas industry with $1.8m …

Female U.S. Senators Call on Saudi Arabia to Let Women Drive  —  Fourteen female U.S. senators called on Saudi Arabia today to end its ban on women driving cars, adding new public support to a once-quiet campaign to change Saudi policy.  —  In a letter to King Abdullah …