Confronting Disappointment  —  On Friday afternoon, as brave and committed activists continued their non-violent civil disobedience outside the White House in protest of the tar sands pipeline that would lead to a massive increase in global warming pollution, President Obama ordered the EPA …

A Campaign Challenge: Defining Obama  —  LOS ANGELES — President Obama may have escaped the burden of a Democratic primary challenger.  Yet the battle to define him is rapidly escalating — not only by Republicans competing to run against him, but also within his own team inside the White House.

Pelosi Peeved Republicans Opt Out of Rebuttal to Obama Speech  —  Republicans have decided they're not going to give a rebuttal to President Obama's jobs speech later this week, a decision House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi took as a high affront to the White House.

Hill moving fast on spending bills  —  Keeping faith with the August debt accord, House Republicans and Senate Democrats moved dramatically closer on 2012 domestic spending Wednesday even as the GOP leadership signaled greater latitude regarding disaster funding without immediate offsets.

The secret to the right wing noise machine's success  —  It's simple: Keep making noise, regardless of the facts, and hopefully with a big assist from the major news orgs, until the other side caves from sheer exhaustion, in order to make the noise go away.  —  Conservatives and Tea Partyers …

Perry begins to show his hand on Social Security  —  As I reported earlier today, Karl Rove's remarks are the first explicit challenge to Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R) on Social Security.  The issue is an important one, and not just for the general election; South Carolina and Florida have loads …

Feds to assume control of Bastrop Co. fire; volunteer firemen turned away  —  BASTROP — Firefighting-trained volunteers from around the state converged on Bastrop and Smithville Tuesday to lend a hand to the beleaguered local firefighters battling the Bastrop County Complex Fire …

Enough  —  “[A]t some point, Sarah Palin has to take some responsibility for her supporters as Ron Paul must for his.  Palin's dragging out the tease on her decision has compounded the problem and we've reached a breaking point.”  —  On Fox News, Ann Coulter and Laura Ingraham had the best discussion on Sarah Palin I have seen.

Actress Mila Kunis: ‘I Love Barack Obama,’ Adds Young Republicans Are ‘Ill-Informed’  —  Actress Mila Kunis granted an interview (and cover photo) to Stylist magazine and proclaimed “I love Barack Obama” and that young Republicans are “ill-informed” in Middle America and can't tell you why they oppose Obama.

Dickensian  —  I have to laugh at the Mistermix that the media might notice the Republicans are crazy and a pile-on might begin.  It just cracks me up.  Look where we are now- Paul Ryan, the GOP poster boy who offered up the blueprint for the biggest piece of class warfare ever offered …

Obama Approval Sinks to New Lows Among Whites, Hispanics  —  Blacks' support remains high, but at 84% ties record for monthly low  —  PRINCETON, NJ — President Barack Obama earned the lowest monthly job approval rating of his presidency to date in August, with 41% of U.S. adults approving …

Republican Debate: Five Things to Watch  —  The Republican presidential debates of 2011 have served as high-stakes introductions for several of the party's Oval Office hopefuls as the Republican field slowly expanded this summer.  —  Now it's Rick Perry's turn.

Liberals Finally See the Obama We've Seen All Along  —  Hey, remember when it was an unhinged, unfair, right-wing smear to charge that Obama was obliviously and aloofly golfing his way through a four-year national recession?  —  Yeah, check out the cartoon of Tom Toles …

The Greater Recession: The Real Reason Americans Feel So Squeezed  —  The collapse of the middle class is greater than the Great Recession.  But what's really behind our 30-year crash?  One statistic, often ignored, begins to provide a clearer picture.  It's the productivity, stupid.  —  REUTERS

Dick Cheney Tells Republican Presidential Candidates To Watch Their Mouths  —  LOS ANGELES — Former Vice President Dick Cheney isn't picking sides in the battle for the 2012 Republican Presidential nomination, but in a remarkably candid interview with ABC News in Los Angeles …

Top DOT official tells staff not to mention free voter ID cards to the public — unless they ask  —  An internal memo from a top Department of Transportation official instructs workers at Division of Motor Vehicles service centers not to tell members of the public that they can obtain voter …

Protesters arrested after disrupting luncheon featuring Cong. Paul Ryan  —  Equal number of protesters, supporters were at event  —  More than 40 police officers came to control the crowds at Whitnall Park Rotary Club Tuesday afternoon where Congressman Paul Ryan was invited to speak.

The Other Climate Theory  —  Al Gore won't hear it, but heavenly bodies might be driving long-term weather trends.  —  In April 1990, Al Gore published an open letter in the New York Times “To Skeptics on Global Warming” in which he compared them to medieval flat-Earthers.

Many in U.S. slip from middle class, study finds  —  Nearly one in three Americans who grew up middle-class has slipped down the income ladder as an adult, according to a new report by the Pew Charitable Trusts.  —  Downward mobility is most common among middle-class people who are divorced …