Five NASCAR Drivers Decline President Obama's White House Invitation  —  President Barack Obama will honor NASCAR champion Jimmie Johnson and the 11 other Chase drivers from last year in a White House ceremony on Wednesday - but nearly half of the 2010 playoff contenders won't be there.

Nevada 2012 Republican Presidential Caucus Survey (9/2/11)  —  Magellan Strategies today released the results of an autodial survey of 631 likely 2012 Nevada Republican Presidential caucus attendees.  The survey finds Rick Perry leading Mitt Romney by 5 points.

U.S. Showed No Job Growth in August; Rate Stays at 9.1%  —  The economy showed no job growth in August, the first time there has been no increase in net jobs in the United States in 11 months.  —  The flat performance in the job market was down sharply from a revised 85,000 gain of jobs in July …

Obama pulls back proposed smog standards in victory for business  —  President Obama abruptly pulled back proposed new national smog standards Friday morning, overruling the Environmental Protection Agency's efforts to compel states and communities nationwide to reduce local air pollution in the coming years or face federal penalties.

U.S. Is Set to Sue a Dozen Big Banks Over Mortgages  —  The federal agency that oversees the mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac is set to file suits against more than a dozen big banks, accusing them of misrepresenting the quality of mortgage securities they assembled and sold …

Debunking Austerity Madness: ZERO Job Growth in US, Gloomy Europe - Yet an Argentinean ‘Tango’  —  The Village was rocked this Friday before Labor Day with yet more depressing economic news.  According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics the U.S. labor market added 0 (that's right ZERO) …

The Conservative Recovery Teeters Into Recession  —  Looks like we had 17,000 thousand new private sector jobs in August, which were 100 percent offset by 17,000 lost jobs in the public sector.  —  The striking zero result should galvanize minds, but it's worth noting that this has been the trend all year.

Regulations, taxes aren't killing small business, owners say  —  WASHINGTON — Politicians and business groups often blame excessive regulation and fear of higher taxes for tepid hiring in the economy.  However, little evidence of that emerged when McClatchy canvassed a random sample of small business owners across the nation.

ARIANNA HUFFINGTON: Mike Arrington Is Out At TechCrunch  —  TechCrunch founder and editor Michael Arrington no longer works for TechCrunch, says Arianna Huffington, the president and editor-in-chief of AOL Huffington Post Media Group.  —  This contradicts some initial reports of Mr. Arrington's new role …

Eric and Irene  —  “Have you left no sense of decency?”  That's the question Joseph Welch famously asked Joseph McCarthy, as the red-baiting demagogue tried to ruin yet another innocent citizen.  And these days, it's the question I find myself wanting to ask Eric Cantor, the House majority leader …

Take the chain-emails away from Perry  —  Most folks probably have some conservative friend or relative who sends right-wing chain emails their way.  Hopefully, people know the vast majority of these political myths and urban legends are nonsense.  —  But Republican presidential hopeful Rick Perry seems …

The Great Recession and Government Failure  —  When comparing the performance of markets to government, markets look pretty darn good.  —  The origins of the financial crisis and the Great Recession are widely attributed to “market failure.”  This refers primarily to the bad loans …

Dem ‘plans to ask a Republican to sit with him’ at joint session  —  There will likely be at least some bipartisan seating in the House chamber for President Obama's speech next week.  —  Sen. Mark Udall (D-Colo.) does not plan to renew his previous call for lawmakers to sit together in a symbolic gesture of unity.

The Senate refuses to consider Obama nominees  —  Once upon a time, we could have expected the following sequence: After considerable debate, Congress would have passed a bill creating an agency.  The president would then nominate someone to head that agency.  That nomination would be considered on its merits by the Senate.

Republican Party leader in N.H. quits  —  Rift within GOP; some attribute low fund-raising  —  Jack Kimball and his allies portray the conflict as one between Tea Party activists and long-term Republicans.  —  CONCORD, N.H. - Embattled New Hampshire Republican Party Chairman Jack Kimball resigned …