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.

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.

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 …

Will the Norway Massacre Deflate Europe's Right Wing?  —  A Blogosphere of Bigots  —  IT is tempting to view Anders Behring Breivik, the self-described Christian crusader behind the July 22 massacre in Norway, as an isolated case of pure evil.  Yet history has taught us that such acts …

The Platinum Coin Option  —  I keep hesitating to write about this because it sounds insane, but Jack Balkin's a professor at Yale Law School so I'll let him say it: … It's right here in 31 USC  § 5112 “Denominations, specifications, and design of coins.”

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.

Obama Loses Ground in 2012 Reelection Bid  —  In GOP, Romney Leads, Attentive Like Perry, Bachmann Most Visible  —  OVERVIEW  —  The sizeable lead Barack Obama held over a generic Republican opponent in polls conducted earlier this year has vanished as his support among independent voters has fallen off.

Texas Gov. Rick Perry: “Obviously gay marriage is not fine with me...”  —  Last week in Aspen, Colorado, Gov. Rick Perry of Texas addressed New York's new same-sex marriage law by saying “That's New York, and that's their business, and that's fine with me...”

Bachmann Defends Using Federal Loans She Denounced: 'It's Almost Impossible To Buy A Home' Without Them  —  GOP presidential contender Michele Bachmann (R) has been in hot water in recent weeks for personally taking advantage of hundreds of thousands of dollars in government aid while denouncing the very programs she benefited from.

New Hacking Case Outrages Britain  —  LONDON — Britain was awash in a new surge of outrage over the phone hacking scandal on Thursday, as news emerged that Scotland Yard had added to the list of probable victims a woman whose 8-year-old daughter was murdered by a repeat sex offender in 2000.

U.S. Contingency Plan Gives Bondholders Priority  —  The U.S. Treasury will give priority to making interest payments to holders of government bonds when due if lawmakers fail to reach an agreement to raise the debt ceiling, according to an administration official.