Wonkbook: Boehner failed.  Now what?  —  Speaker of the House John Boehner (R-Ohio) speaks during a news conference on Capitol Hill July 28.  (JOSHUA ROBERTS - REUTERS) The lengths John Boehner went to ensure his bill failed in the Senate rather than the House were impressive, but ultimately, insufficient.

Payback may be coming for congressman's ‘disloyalty’  —  U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan's open defiance of Speaker John Boehner's efforts to solve the debt-ceiling crisis could cost the Urbana Republican his safe seat in next year's election.  —  Two Republican sources deeply involved in configuring …

The Centrist Cop-Out  —  The facts of the crisis over the debt ceiling aren't complicated.  Republicans have, in effect, taken America hostage, threatening to undermine the economy and disrupt the essential business of government unless they get policy concessions they would never have been able to enact through legislation.

Congressional Freshmen - For Such A Time As This  —  Out here in proverbial politico flyover country, we little folk are watching the debt ceiling debate with great interest and concern.  Today I re-read the open letter I wrote to Republican Freshman Members of Congress in November 2010 …

Weak growth raises concerns on economy  —  (Reuters) - The U.S. economy came perilously close to flat-lining in the first quarter and grew at a meager 1.3 percent annual rate in the April-June period as consumer spending barely rose.  —  The Commerce Department data on Friday also showed …

Why Do Half of Americans Pay No Federal Income Tax?  —  You may have heard the claim that about half of Americans pay no federal income tax.  That's a true fact.  My Tax Policy Center colleagues estimate, for example, that 46% of households either will pay no federal income tax in 2011 …

Atheists Sue to Block Display of Cross-Shaped Beam in 9/11 Museum  —  In the days after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, some workers and mourners at the World Trade Center site seized upon a cross-shaped steel beam found amid the rubble as a symbol of faith and hope.

National Income and Product Accounts  —  Gross Domestic Product: Second Quarter 2011 (Advance Estimate)  —  Revised Estimates: 2003 through First Quarter 2011  —  Real gross domestic product — the output of goods and services produced by labor and property located in the United States …

Oh, by the way, the U.S. just accused Iran of working with Al Qaeda  —  A little something light to tide you over while we wait for the next chapter in the debt-ceiling saga.  I've been around blogs long enough to remember when claiming that Shiite nuts might collaborate with Sunni nuts …

U.N. Busy Deciding How to Slam Israel  —  Member states of the U.N. General Assembly are busy hammering out how to slam Israel and restrict human rights like free speech at “Durban III” - the racist “anti-racism” event to be held in New York on Sept. 22.  —  With the recent pull-outs …

Culture Clash  —  Sen. Jim DeMint wants to change the way Washington does business and then “go home and rock on my front porch.”  —  Two-termer: Jim DeMint  —  In his new book, The Great American Awakening, Sen. Jim DeMint, R-S.C., recalls how he was ostracized for two years by fellow Republicans for his unbending conservatism.

New NASA Data Blow Gaping Hole In Global Warming Alarmism  —  NASA satellite data from the years 2000 through 2011 show the Earth's atmosphere is allowing far more heat to be released into space than alarmist computer models have predicted, reports a new study in the peer-reviewed science journal Remote Sensing.

LGBT Leaders Slam Sen. Brown For Refusing To Participate In ‘It Gets Better’ Video  —  On a conference call today, prominent LGBT leaders from Massachusetts roundly condemned Sen. Scott Brown's (R-MA) decision not to participate in a video for the It Gets Better project.