Rikers Island Prisoners Left Behind to Face Irene  —  “We are not evacuating Rikers Island,” Mayor Michael Bloomberg said in a news conference Friday.  Bloomberg annouced a host of extreme measures being taken by New York City in preparation for the arrival of Hurricane Irene …

Obama's Enablers  —  Meet the mainstream media.  —  As a rule, the press is the scourge of presidents.  They're expected to endure unending scrutiny, mistrust, and badgering—plus hostility if they're Republicans—by a hectoring herd of reporters and commentators in the mainstream media.

Cheney book: Bush authorized leak on Iraq  —  Dick Cheney writes in his forthcoming book, “In My Time: A Personal and Political Memoir,” that he was surprised to learn that President George W. Bush had personally authorized a leak about Iraq strategy to a Washington Post columnist …

Why won't America embrace the left?  —  In two centuries, the movement's history in America is plagued by failure.  An expert explains why  —  What has the left really accomplished over the past two centuries?  FDR's New Deal remains one of the great American success stories.

Gaddafi 'seen in Zimbabwe on Mugabe's private jet' as Libya rebels march on dictator's home town  —  Colonel Muammar Gaddafi has fled Libya to Zimbabwe on a jet provided by Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe, it was claimed today, as rebels began the march on his home town.

US official: Al-Qaida's No. 2 killed in Pakistan  —  WASHINGTON (AP) — Al-Qaida's second-in-command, Atiyah Abd al-Rahman, has been killed in Pakistan, delivering another big blow to a terrorist group that the U.S. believes to be on the verge of defeat, U.S. officials said Saturday.

Old Letter Sheds New Light on Joe Hill Murder Case  —  At Woodstock, Joan Baez sang a famous folk ballad celebrating Joe Hill, the itinerant miner, songwriter and union activist who was executed by a Utah firing squad in 1915.  “I never died, said he” is the song's refrain.

Man Accused of Stalking via Twitter Claims Free Speech  —  Even the Buddha of compassion might have been distressed to be on the receiving end of the diatribes that William Lawrence Cassidy is accused of posting on Twitter.  —  They certainly rattled Alyce Zeoli, a Buddhist leader based in Maryland.

State Department: Don't Invade Privacy of Cleric on CIA Kill List  —  While the New Mexico-born cleric, Anwar al-Awlaki, is the first American on the CIA's kill or capture list, the U.S. State Department refuses to release documents about al-Awlaki citing his right to privacy.

Al Gore to Rick Perry: Climate scientists aren't motivated by money  —  Al Gore on Friday bashed the notion that climate scientists are manipulating data for financial gain, a charge levied by global warming skeptics, including GOP White House hopeful Rick Perry.

HRC's Solmonese to Step Down, Sources Say No Replacement Has Been Selected  —  [FOLLOW-UP ARTICLE: HRC Announces Solmonese's Departure in 2012, Start of “Search Process” for Successor]  —  On Friday night, Aug. 26, Pam Spaulding at Pam's House Blend reported that Human Rights Campaign president Joe Solmonese …