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 …

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.

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 …

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 …

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 …

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 …

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 …

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 …

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.

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 …

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 …

A managed Syrian transition has failed  —  The massacre of over 100 protesters in the Syrian city of Hama on Sunday not only shocked the conscience of the world, it has created something of a crisis for American policy toward Syria.  —  In recent weeks, the Obama administration's approach …

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.

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.

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” …

‘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.

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 …

LaHood's effort fails to end FAA furloughs  —  A last-ditch effort to avert a monthlong, partial shutdown of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) was grounded before it could take off Tuesday, despite efforts from Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood.  —  LaHood, in a marked shift …