Perry Zooms to Front of Pack for 2012 GOP Nomination  —  Leads Romney by 29% to 17%  —  PRINCETON, NJ — Shortly after announcing his official candidacy, Texas Gov. Rick Perry has emerged as rank-and-file Republicans' current favorite for their party's 2012 presidential nomination.

Norman Rockwell painting sends rare White House message on race  —  President Barack Obama has taken a decidedly low-key approach to racial issues since he became America's first black president two years ago.  But in a hallway outside the Oval Office he has placed a head-turning painting depicting …

Steve Jobs Resigns as Apple CEO … Here is the just released letter from Steve Jobs:  —  PRESS RELEASE: Letter from Steve Jobs  —  August 24, 2011-To the Apple Board of Directors and the Apple Community:  —  I have always said if there ever came a day when I could no longer meet my duties …

Perry Compared Homosexuality to Alcoholism in 2008 Book  —  The origin of homosexuality has become something of a political litmus test for presidential candidates, almost akin to their stance on abortion.  Candidates are now expected to explain whether or not they believe homosexuality is a hard-wired predisposition.

Tea Partier Tells Rep. Lujan, Life-Long American, To ‘Get Out Of Politics And Make Room For An American’  —  The Tea Party continues to claim that racism, ethnocentrism, and xenophobia are not driving forces in its movement, but the actions of its members continues to belie those claims.

Identity Theft  —  Well, this is interesting.  I hear that the not-so-good people at National Review are attacking me over something I said on my Google+ page.  Except, I don't have a Google+ page.  —  This is the third incident I'm aware of — there may well be more — in which people are claiming to be me.

Cheney kept secret resignation letter  —  Dick Cheney kept a secret resignation letter locked away in a safe in case he were ever to be incapacitated, the former vice president reveals in his new book.  —  The letter, which Cheney signed in March of 2001, was written because of the vice president's health.

BUDGET AND ECONOMIC OUTLOOK: AN UPDATE  —  Text-only.  —  The United States is facing profound budgetary and economic challenges.  At 8.5 percent of gross domestic product (GDP), the $1.3 trillion budget deficit that the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) projects for 2011 …

Fears for Nancy Reagan, 90, as she slips and falls on way in to watch speech by Tea Party favourite Marco Rubio  —  Nancy Reagan last night lost her balance and fell as she arrived to watch a speech by Republican freshman senator and Tea Party darling Marco Rubio

Flashback: Obama in 2008: Adding $4 Trillion to National Debt ‘Unpatriotic’  —  (CNSNews.com) - Although the national debt under President Barack Obama has increased $4 trillion since he took office in 2009, as a presidential candidate in 2008 Obama criticized then-President George W. Bush …

With CIA help, NYPD moves covertly in Muslim areas  —  NEW YORK (AP) — In New Brunswick, N.J., a building superintendent opened the door to apartment No. 1076 one balmy Tuesday and discovered an alarming scene: terrorist literature strewn about the table and computer and surveillance equipment set up in the next room.

9/11 Exclusion Spurs Outrage  —  Religious leaders are calling on Mayor Michael Bloomberg to reverse course and offer clergy a role in the ceremony commemorating the 10th anniversary of the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center.  —  Rudy Washington, a deputy mayor in former Mayor Rudolph …

Keynesian Economics vs. Regular Economics  —  Food stamps and other transfers aren't necessarily bad ideas, but there's no evidence they spur growth.  —  Keynesian economics—the go-to theory for those who like government at the controls of the economy—is in the forefront of the ongoing debate on fiscal-stimulus packages.

Obama, Tiger, Golf and Politics  —  Despite the carping by critics, I'm glad the president went on vacation because one of the most useful things he could do right now is play golf — a lot of golf — but not that friendly foursome thing with his aides that he usually does.

National Zoo Animals React to the Earthquake … Great Apes  — The earthquake hit the Great Ape House and Think Tank Exhibit during afternoon feeding time.  — About five to ten seconds before the quake, many of the apes, including Kyle (an orangutan) and Kojo (a Western lowland gorilla) …

If you're a famous guy with a head full of deep thoughts and nobody to tell you when it might be in your own best interest not to express them, Twitter is the best thing ever.  As long as you've got your iPhone in hand, you can give the whole world instant, unfiltered access to your keenest insights …

Leaked Cable: McCain Promised Qaddafi To Help Secure Military Equipment From U.S.  —  For all the braying by the Senate's top three hawks about how the U.S. wasn't doing enough to oust Libyan dictator Col. Muammar Qaddafi from power, one might be surprised to learn that exactly two years ago …

NOM's featured press conference speaker: ‘There is a direct connection between earthquakes and homosexuality’  —  At a recent press conference on the steps of the State Capitol in Albany, the National Organization For Marriage opened up their coalition to include one Rabbi Yehuda Levin.

It's the household debt, stupid  —  Ken Rogoff wants to call our economic malaise “the Great Contraction.”  Richard Posner wants us to at least call it “a depression.”  I tend to dismiss arguments over semantics, but in this case, I agree.  If it were up to me, we would call what we're in a …