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 …

Sen. McCain: Sen. Portman would be good for Super Committee  —  Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) said Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio) would be a good candidate for the so-called Super Committee charged with making $1.5 trillion worth of cuts to the federal deficit.  —  “I'm not making the decisions …

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.

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.

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 …

To Hell with You People  —  Look, I am past exhausted talking about liberal media bias.  It's real, we all know it, and people who deny it aren't even fooling themselves.  But some things just have to be pointed out.  This morning I watched the first 15 minutes of the Today Show.

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 …

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.

Lawmakers say Palin donations came without any notice or fanfare  —  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 …

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.

Dow Plunges 265 Points  —  Stocks plunged amid worries over the state of the economy, pushing the market to its longest losing streak in nearly three years and sending the Standard & Poor's 500-stock index to a 2011 closing low.  —  The Dow Jones Industrial Average tumbled 265.87 points, or 2.2%, to 11866.62.

Moderate Senate Dems prepare a balanced budget amendment  —  One of the big victories by tea-party Republicans in the debt-ceiling measure signed into law Tuesday was securing a requirement that Congress vote later this year on a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution.

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.

‘That Evil Hour ...’ … Don't know about anyone else, but I can totally relate to that, and not merely because of Thompson's gonzo sarcasm about O'Brien promising him a gig in American Samoa.  (The actual 1964 correspondence between Thompson and O'Brien is included, pp.

The Hidden History of the Debt Limit Hijack: Democrats Started It  —  I have a piece in the American Prospect today on five turning points in the debt limit fight.  I think they're actually in descending order of importance, and the biggest one is right at the top - this deal is the function …

Putting Americans Back to Work: President Obama Speaks on the Debt Compromise  —  Click here to see the video.  —  This afternoon, Congress approved a compromise to reduce the deficit and avert a default that would have devastated the economy.  Speaking from the Rose Garden …

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 …

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 …

Muslim Boys gang are ‘planning massive attack’ at Belmarsh prison in revenge for Osama bin Laden killing  —  GOVERNORS at Britain's top terror jail believe al-Qaeda extremists are planning a major attack as payback for Osama bin Laden's death.  —  Security has been stepped up to “unprecedented” …

Bush lawyers advising Romney  —  Mitt Romney is mining the George W. Bush White House for legal talent to advise his presidential campaign — including a key person behind the controversial Justice Department memos authorizing waterboarding and other “enhanced interrogation techniques.”

Rachel Maddow Extends MSNBC Contract (Exclusive) … MSNBC has extended Rachel Maddow's contract in a new multi-year deal that will keep the primetime host at the cable news network well beyond the 2012 presidential election.  —  The announcement is expected to come Tuesday at the network's portion …

Who killed economic growth?  - Animated Video  —  Economists insist that recovery is at hand, yet unemployment remains high, real estate values continue to sink, and governments stagger under record deficits.  Richard Heinberg propose a startling diagnosis: humanity has reached a fundamental turning point in its economic history.

President Obama Nominates Judge Adalberto José Jordán to the United States Court of Appeals  —  WASHINGTON, DC - Today, President Obama nominated Judge Adalberto José Jordánto the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit.

Senate Panel Keeps ‘Secret Patriot Act’ Under Wraps  —  The secret Patriot Act is staying secret.  —  Two Senators have been warning for months that the government has a secret legal interpretation of the Patriot Act so broad that it amounts to an entirely different law …

GOP winning the larger argument over government  —  In recent days, the debt ceiling deal — which just passed the Senate and is about to be signed by the President — has sparked a fair amount of handwringing among liberals who worry that the fight shows the left has lost the larger argument …

Spain and Italy rush to quell fresh crisis  —  By Richard Milne in London and Victor Mallet in Madrid  —  Spanish and Italian politicians rushed to formulate a fresh response to the debt crisis engulfing their two countries as their borrowing costs hit new euro-era highs on Tuesday.

For lesson in shared sacrifice, send Congress to boot camp  —  Editor's note: Lt. Gen. Russel Honoré commanded the military response to Hurricane Katrina.  He retired from the U.S. Army in 2008 after 37 years, sits on the board of the Stevenson Disaster Management Institute …