The President Surrenders  —  A deal to raise the federal debt ceiling is in the works.  If it goes through, many commentators will declare that disaster was avoided.  But they will be wrong.  —  For the deal itself, given the available information, is a disaster, and not just for President Obama and his party.

Biden: Tea partiers like ‘terrorists’  —  Vice President Joe Biden joined House Democrats in lashing tea party Republicans Monday, accusing them of having “acted like terrorists” in the fight over raising the nation's debt limit.  —  Biden was agreeing with a line of argument made by Rep. Mike Doyle …

House approves debt-ceiling bill as Giffords makes dramatic return  —  The House on Monday approved bipartisan legislation to raise the $14.3 trillion debt ceiling and reduce long-term budget deficits, endorsing the agreement President Obama struck with Republican leaders.

CBO ANALYSIS OF AUGUST 1 BUDGET CONTROL ACT  —  Letter to the Honorable John Boehner and the Honorable Harry Reid  —  The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) has estimated the impact on the deficit of the Budget Control Act of 2011, as posted on the Web site of the House Committee on Rules on August 1, 2011.

Health industry fears double whammy in Medicare cuts  —  The deal reached by congressional leaders to raise the debt ceiling sets up a one-two punch in which healthcare industries will likely face two rounds of major Medicare cuts later this year.  —  The agreement spares Medicare for the time being …

Mitt Romney opposes compromise deal on the debt ceiling  —  Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney (R) broke his silence on the congressional debt-ceiling fight on Monday, emerging to say he couldn't back the final deal announced Sunday.  —  Romney, who had refused to weigh in during recent weeks …

WHIP COUNT: Debt-limit bill appears to have the votes to clear Congress  —  The debt-limit deal announced on Sunday night is expected to attract more than 60 votes in the Senate, but its outlook in the House is much more cloudy.  —  Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) will need Democratic votes to clear the bill through the lower chamber.

Most of Newt Gingrich's Twitter Followers Are Fake  —  Yesterday Newt Gingrich laid out a new argument for why he should be the GOP presidential nominee: He's got the most Twitter followers.  But according to a former Gingrich staffer, he bought them.  —  Gingrich complained yesterday …

Pamela Geller Deletes Racist Caption, Hides Comments  —  Today we find that anti-Muslim lunatic Pamela Geller is editing her posts again, to remove evidence of blatant racism.  —  In her despicable post from yesterday, in which she attacked the victims of Oslo terrorist Anders Behring Breivik …

The Winner of the Power Line Prize Is...  “The Spending Is Nuts,” by Justin Folk:  —  “Squirrels,” as we call it informally, is a beautiful piece of work.  (View it on YouTube in HD here.)  We asked Justin to share his thoughts on the contest and his video:

U.S. Political Ideology Stable With Conservatives Leading  —  Most Republicans are conservative, but one in five is “very conservative”  —  PRINCETON, NJ — Americans' political ideology at the midyear point of 2011 looks similar to 2009 and 2010, with 41% self-identifying as conservative, 36% as moderate, and 21% as liberal.

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AFP Wisconsin ballots have late return date  —  Americans for Prosperity is sending absentee ballots to Democrats in at least two Wisconsin state Senate recall districts with instructions to return the paperwork after the election date.  —  The fliers, obtained by POLITICO …

Budget talks in a word: ‘Ridiculous,’ ‘disgusting’ and ‘stupid’ top poll  —  Americans give overwhelmingly negative reviews to the fierce budget debate that has transfixed Washington over the past few weeks, and large numbers now think less favorably about the country's political leaders …

The red and the black  —  Where federal taxes are raised and spent  —  SOME American states receive more in federal spending than they pay in federal taxes; others receive less.  Over twenty years these fiscal transfers can add up to a sizeable sum.  From 1990 to 2009 …

Gaga on Clinton: Leave her alone  —  (CNN) - When it comes to fashion, Lady Gaga has Hillary Clinton's back.  —  Gaga defended the secretary of state Monday in response to recent criticism by “Project Runway” star Tim Gunn, who stirred controversy when he made fun of Clinton's pantsuit-heavy wardrobe last week.

GOP Rep. Lamborn: Associating With Obama Is Like ‘Touching A Tar Baby’  —  Appearing on the Caplis and Silverman radio show last Friday, Rep. Doug Lamborn (R-CO) said, “Now I don't even want to have to be associated with [Obama], it's like touching a tar baby and you're stuck, you're part of the problem now.