Mike Huckabee: Rick Perry timing ‘bad form,’ ‘tactical blunder’  —  Mike Huckabee is giving a big thumbs-down to Rick Perry's campaign rollout, telling Fox News that the Texas governor's decision to announce on the day of the Iowa straw poll is a big “tactical blunder.”

The Hijacked Crisis  —  Has market turmoil left you feeling afraid?  Well, it should.  Clearly, the economic crisis that began in 2008 is by no means over.  —  But there's another emotion you should feel: anger.  For what we're seeing now is what happens when influential people exploit a crisis rather than try to solve it.

All The Anti-Gay Rhetoric From The GOP Presidential Debate...In Under 2 Minutes  —  The GOP presidential candidates reiterated their opposition to same-sex marriage during Thursday's debate in Ames, Iowa, even as the majority of Americans now support marriage equality and 11.4 percent …

Obama: ‘Last thing we need’ is for Congress to return to DC  —  President Obama blasted Congress from the road on Thursday, saying things would be worse if lawmakers returned to Washington.  —  “There is nothing wrong with our country,” Obama said in a speech at a Holland, Mich. plant.

NY turns negative on Bam  —  WASHINGTON — President Obama might need to start taking a few more campaign trips to New York — and not just to raise cash.  —  A stunning new survey gives the president a negative approval rating in the Empire State for the first time, with just 45 percent approval …

Postal Service proposes cutting 120,000 jobs, pulling out of health-care plan  —  SEATTLE — The financially strapped U.S. Postal Service is proposing to cut its workforce by 20 percent and to withdraw from the federal health and retirement plans because it believes it could provide benefits at a lower cost.

O'Donnell: ‘Witch’ was the worst  —  Christine O'Donnell reveals in her new book that the “lowest moment” of her failed 2010 Senate campaign came when the Delaware Republican made the now-infamous assurance to voters: “I am not a witch.”  —  Writing in her memoir, “Troublemaker …

Woman sues for sexual harassment at People's Choice Realty; Their response?  She's too ugly to touch  —  A 23-year-old lesbian says the Brooklyn real estate office she once worked in is a den of deviants where raunchy sexcapades were the norm.  —  But the bosses she's suing say she's too ugly to harass.

The moral decay of our society is as bad at the top as the bottom  —  David Cameron, Ed Miliband and the entire British political class came together yesterday to denounce the rioters.  They were of course right to say that the actions of these looters, arsonists and muggers were abhorrent and criminal …

Ledyard clerk won't sign gay marriage licenses  —  A town clerk in Cayuga County has informed her town board that because of her religious beliefs, she does not believe she can sign marriage licenses for same-sex couples, according to a member of the board.  —  Ledyard Town Clerk Rose Marie …

SEC makes S&P downgrade inquiries  —  The Securities and Exchange Commission has asked credit rating agency Standard & Poor's to disclose who within its ranks knew of its decision to downgrade US debt before it was announced last week, as part of a preliminary look into potential insider trading, people familiar with the matter say.

Coming Home  —  Well, I guess she is interested!  Professor Warren, thanks so much for coming here and engaging with the BMG community.  You read it here first, folks. - promoted by david  —  Growing up, every decision for my family involved a careful calculation about how we could pay for it …

Dem super PAC targets 3 GOP frosh  —  The new Democratic political action committee created to help recapture control of the House is unveiling its first slate of TV ads since it played heavily in a May special election win in New York, POLITICO has learned.

Obama sets fuel efficiency standards for big rigs  —  Obama sets new regs for trucks ((Daily Press file photo))  —  WASHINGTON—President Obama announced the first-ever fuel efficiency and greenhouse gas standards for long-haul rigs, work trucks, and other heavy duty vehicles Tuesday …

Democrats Enjoy Slight Edge on 2012 Congressional Ballot  —  Twice as many voters say Tea Party endorsements are a negative rather than a positive  —  PRINCETON, NJ — Gallup's first measure of the 2012 congressional elections shows Democrats leading Republicans, 51% to 44% …

‘Drunk’ man pees on 11 year old on JetBlue flight  —  It was plane madness.  —  Chaos erupted on JetBlue's red-eye flight from Portland, Ore., to JFK yesterday when a drunk allegedly urinated on a sleeping 11-year-old girl.  —  The youngster was traveling with her sister and dad …

Obama vows new ideas to boost jobs, slams Congress  —  (Reuters) - President Barack Obama sought to reassert economic leadership on Thursday by pledging to deliver new ideas every week to create jobs, and he slammed Congress for “bickering” that hurts economic recovery.

S&P: Skeptics fueled downgrade  —  A Standard & Poor's director said for the first time Thursday that one reason the United States lost its triple-A credit rating was that several lawmakers expressed skepticism about the serious consequences of a credit default — a position put forth by some Republicans.

Completing the Theft from the Social Security Trust Fund  —  The Catfood Commission rump report made it crystal clear that the political and financial elites have no intention of ever paying off the bonds held by the Social Security Trust Fund.  You thought you were paying excess FICA taxes …

Mitt Romney: ‘Corporations are people’  —  As you may have heard, Mitt Romney said in Iowa today that “corporations are people.”  Dems immediately pounced on Romney's gaffe.  In fairness, the full context shows that's not what he meant, but it's still an in­cred­ibly tone deaf thing to say.