In the ruins of Gadhafi's lair, rebels find album filled with photos of his ‘darling’ Condoleezza Rice  —  The ransacking of Moammar Gadhafi's compound is turning up some bizarre loot.  Following on from the Libyan leader's eccentric fashion accessories and his daughter's golden mermaid couch …

Kinky for Perry  —  Kinky Friedman once ran against Rick Perry for the Texas governorship.  So would the singer and writer vote for him for president?  Hell, yes!  The world's most famous Jewish cowboy on why he wants to live in Rick Perry's America.

Cheney Says He Urged Bush to Bomb Syria in '07  —  WASHINGTON — Former Vice President Dick Cheney says in a new memoir that he urged President George W. Bush to bomb a suspected Syrian nuclear reactor site in June 2007.  But, he wrote, Mr. Bush opted for a diplomatic approach after other advisers …

Steve Jobs: America's Greatest Failure  —  Steve Jobs's announcement that he is stepping down as CEO of Apple is not surprising.  He's a very sick man; and running the world's largest market-cap technology firm can't be easy for someone with pancreatic cancer and who-knows-what other ailments.

Cantor Says No Earthquake Disaster Relief For His Home State Unless Spending Is Cut Elsewhere  —  This week, Virginia experienced a magnitude 5.8 earthquake, one of the most powerful tremors on the east coast since 1897.  As Virginians scramble to assess the damage, House Majority Leader Eric Cantor …

U.S. May Back Refinance Plan for Mortgages  —  The Obama administration is considering further actions to strengthen the housing market, but the bar is high: plans must help a broad swath of homeowners, stimulate the economy and cost next to nothing.  —  One proposal would allow millions …

Kate Marshall expresses support for Israel, says “useful” to do so because “timely topic”  —  You don't see this too often: A campaign puts out a statement by a candidate on an issue she has never talked about and then helpfully explains the political strategy at play at the end.

Libya: SAS leads hunt for Gaddafi  —  British special forces are on the ground in Libya helping to spearhead the hunt for Col Muammar Gaddafi, The Daily Telegraph can disclose.  —  Jomana Karadsheh and Matthew Chance from CNN are evacuated by the International Red Cross from the Rixos hotel in Tripoli

AP-GfK poll: Views on economy, Obama role sour  —  WASHINGTON - Americans' views on the economy have dimmed this summer.  But so far, the growing pessimism doesn't seem to be taking a toll on President Barack Obama's re-election prospects.  —  More people now believe the country is headed …

Expect a Third-Party Candidate in 2012  —  Ross Perot in 1992 and John Anderson in 1980 garnered exceptionally high levels of support.  —  The United States is in the midst of what we would both call a prerevolutionary moment, and there is widespread support for fundamental change in the system.

Majority of NJ voters say Obama doesn't deserve reelection  —  The majority of voters in New Jersey say President Obama does not deserve a second term, according to a new Rutgers poll.  —  Only 43 percent of New Jersey voters in the poll said Obama deserves to be reelected, while 47 percent said he deserves to be voted out of office.

Market crash ‘could hit within weeks’, warn bankers  —  A more severe crash than the one triggered by the collapse of Lehman Brothers could be on the way, according to alarm signals in the credit markets.  —  The cost of insuring RBS bonds is now higher than before the taxpayer was forced to step in and rescue the bank in October 2008

Asking Candidates Tougher Questions About Faith  —  If a candidate for president said he believed that space aliens dwell among us, would that affect your willingness to vote for him?  Personally, I might not disqualify him out of hand; one out of three Americans believe we have had Visitors and, hey, who knows?

Special prosecutor: No charges for Prosser, Bradley in fracas  —  By The Associated Press and Jason Stein of the Journal Sentinel  —  Madison - Neither Supreme Court Justice David Prosser nor fellow Justice Anne Walsh Bradley will face criminal charges for an altercation this summer involving the two …

Obama and the ‘Competency Crisis’  —  Like many Americans who supported him, I long for a triple-A president to run a triple-A country.  —  The rising impatience with the leadership of President Obama was epitomized on Aug. 8 in the middle of one of the now-habitual Wall Street roller coasters.

Ex-Senate leader: Law is here to stay  —  Repeal unlikely, Frist tells Avera crowd  —  The health care reform law will survive even if the Supreme Court declares the individual mandate unconstitutional, former Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist said Wednesday in Sioux Falls.  —  “It's going to survive.

New Numbers, and Geography, for Gay Couples  —  REHOBOTH BEACH, Del. — So much for San Francisco.  —  The list of top cities for same-sex couples as a portion of the population does not include that traditional gay mecca, according to new census data.  In fact, the city …

AFL-CIO head: Labor to ditch Democrats  —  The growing rift between labor and their Democratic allies was on full display Thursday, as AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka told reporters that labor groups are planning to scale back their involvement with the Democratic Party in advance of the 2012 elections.

US Sought “Talking Points” to Combat Impact of French Documentary on Monsanto  —  French book The World According to Monsanto (photo: David_Reverchon)  —  There are multiple indications in the large cache of US State Embassy cables WikiLeaks has been releasing (extended summary here) …