'Maybe He Hasn't Noticed or Doesn't Care, But the Country is Giving Up On Him'  —  I'm not of the mind that Barack Obama doesn't care about his fortunes in the wake of the debt deal hammered out this week.  He obviously cares since he's now jetting off for his biggest fundraisers of his re-election campaign.

Where's Your Budget, Mr. President?  —  Ever since they fudged the numbers to pass ObamaCare, Democrats have abandoned credible spending plans.  —  During the negotiations over raising the debt ceiling, President Obama reportedly warned Republican leaders not to call his bluff by sending him a bill without tax increases.

President Obama signs debt-limit bill into law  —  The Senate on Tuesday overwhelmingly approved a plan to raise the federal debt limit and cut government spending, ending a bitter partisan stalemate that had threatened to plunge the nation into default and destabilize the world economy.

Palin: If we were terrorists Obama would be wanting to pal around with us  —  Sarah Palin says that she isn't just going to roll over and say to the left “hit me baby one more time, call me a terrorist again, call me a racist”, but rather she's going to call them out on their hypocrisy.

Tea party groups to join forces in Wisconsin  —  (CNN) - Two of the nation's prominent tea party groups will merge for a Wisconsin bus tour in support of six Republican state senators facing recall elections.  —  Kicking off their four-day “Restoring Common Sense” tour Friday …

Pelosi: My Deficit Committee Members Will Oppose All Entitlement Benefit Cuts  —  The debt limit fight is over, but the fight over entitlement programs will continue for months.  In the weeks ahead, the leaders of both parties in both the House and Senate will name three members each …

Debt Fight Over, Obama Promises Action on Jobs  —  WASHINGTON — Having ceded considerable ground to Republicans in the debt ceiling fight, President Obama set out Tuesday to reclaim the initiative on the economy, promising a new effort to spur job creation while seeking to position himself …

Matt Damon Gives Libertarian Reporter a Satisfying Smackdown  —  A reporter from libertarian rag Reason interviewed notorious Massachusetts liberal actor Matt Damon at this year's Save Our Schools March and she tried to throw some business at him about teacher tenure and Ayn Randy incentive stuff and he wasn't having it.

Private sector added 114,000 jobs in July  —  (Reuters) - Private employers added more jobs than expected in July, though less than in June, but planned layoffs rose to a 16-month high, according to separate surveys on Wednesday.  —  The data comes ahead of the U.S. government's key jobs report on Friday …

Russia's Post issues stamps to mark Obama's 50th birthday  —  Russia's Post Office has issued a collection of stamps and envelopes to mark the 50th jubilee of the US President Barack Obama.  —  The US leader is celebrating his birthday on the 4th of August.

Lawmakers say Palin donations came without any notice  —  The 13 lawmakers who received campaign donations from former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin (R) have one thing in common — none of them got advance notice the checks were coming.  —  Palin distributed $65,000 to candidates during the first half …

How Clinton Foiled Debt Ceiling Extortion  —  If you haven't already read Kara Brandeisky's story about how the Clinton administration handled the debt ceiling in 1995, you should definitely do it.  As she notes, the circumstances were different in 1995.  Republicans were somewhat less fixated …

K Street eyes super committee  —  K Street wasted little time putting clients on notice about the next phase of the debt ceiling debate with a simple message: Nobody is safe from the super committee.  —  Lobby shops say a much-broader-than-expected range of budget cuts and tax provisions could be in play …

Report on ‘Operation Shady RAT’ identifies widespread cyber-spying  —  A leading computer security firm has used logs produced by a single server to trace the hacking of more than 70 corporations and government organizations over many months, and experts familiar with the analysis say the snooping probably originated in China.

Senate blocking recess appointments  —  Following the House, the Senate will hold a series of “pro forma” sessions over the next month, effectively blocking President Barack Obama from making any appointments during Congress' August recess.  —  That means Obama won't be able to seat his pick …

U.S. Education Dep't Pushes Man-Made Global Warming, Saving the Earth at Children's Reading Event  —  (CNSNews.com) - During a July event at the U.S. Department of Education, children from D.C. schools and day care centers were treated to free books, including two featuring Nickelodeon characters …

Beware of dangerous politicians  —  Are some political parties more dangerous than others?  —  James Gilligan makes it clear where he comes down on the issue.  Gilligan, a psychiatrist and professor at New York University, presents his new book, “Why Some Politicians Are More Dangerous Than Others …

Most Muslim Americans See No Justification for Violence  —  Muslims Americans more likely than other faith groups to reject attacks on civilians  —  ABU DHABI — Muslim Americans are the staunchest opponents of military attacks on civilians, compared with members of other major religious groups Gallup has studied in the United States.

McConnell: ‘The debt ceiling will not be clean anymore’  —  (GETTY IMAGES) The most honest man in Washington did some more truth-telling on CNBC last night.  Speaking to Larry Kudlow, Mitch McConnell made perfectly clear that the hostage situation we just went through wasn't a one-shot deal.

Mormons Duck Political Duel  —  SALT LAKE CITY—The Mormon Church is preparing for the 2012 elections with a campaign message of its own: It has nothing to do with orchestrating or promoting the presidential candidacies of Mitt Romney and Jon Huntsman Jr., both Mormons.

Moody's, Fitch Affirm U.S. Ratings While Warning of Downgrades  —  Moody's Investors Service and Fitch Ratings affirmed their AAA credit ratings for the U.S. while warning that the ratings could be downgraded if lawmakers fail to enact debt reduction measures and the economy weakens.

One shot on taxes: Don't blow it, Democrats  —  There are now two sides in the American tax debate: the Republican Party, which refuses to have a serious conversation about taxes, and the Democratic Party, which . . . refuses to have a serious conversation about taxes.

White House Calls Use of the Word ‘Terrorists’ to Describe Tea Partyers ‘Inappropriate’ and ‘the Product of An Emotional Discussion’  —  Given the presence of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, D-Ariz., at Congress last night - and President Obama's January 12 speech to the nation about the need for …