Trouble on Daley's watch  —  Bill Daley is off to a very rocky start.  —  The 63-year-old scion of Chicago political royalty was brought in as President Barack Obama's chief of staff to provide fresh blood, corporate-world experience and adult supervision to a young, free-wheeling White House staff.

Perry Is Failing The First Test(s)  —  Had Texas Governor Rick Perry performed better in the two most recent GOP presidential candidates' debates, he'd be well on his way to the 2012 nomination.  —  Yesterday, tellingly, he was in Virginia at the late Jerry Falwell's Liberty College shoring …

Former President Carter has kind words for Romney, Bachmann  —  Former President Jimmy Carter had some kind words for two Republicans vying to become president —Mitt Romney and Michele Bachmann— but he said nobody is likely to beat President Obama in 2012.

Barry Manilow on Ron Paul: ‘I agree with just about everything he says’  —  Grammy award-winning musician Barry Manilow told The Daily Caller that he agrees with “just about everything” 2012 Republican presidential candidate Rep. Ron Paul says, calling him a “solid” contender for the highest office in the land.

Pete Sessions: Pa. Electoral College Change Would Put House Races at Risk  —  Rep. Pete Sessions, chairman of the House Republicans campaign arm, said Thursday he is no fan of a proposal to overhaul the way Pennsylvania awards its votes in the Electoral College.

Matthew's News Stream  —  Subscribe to Forbes Get a Free Trial Issue … University of Pennsylvania bioethicist Art Caplan is so confident that Michele Bachmann's claim that a young girl was made mentally retarded by injections of the Gardasil vaccine against human papilloma virus is false …

Does the Euro Have a Future?  —  German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Portuguese Prime Minister Pedro Passos Coelho, Berlin, September 1, 2011  —  The euro crisis is a direct consequence of the crash of 2008.  When Lehman Brothers failed, the entire financial system started to collapse and had to be put on artificial life support.

LA Porn Studio Begins Construction On ‘Post-Apocalyptic’ Underground Bunker … San Fernando Valley-based porn studio Pink Visual said the bunker is envisioned as “far more than a mere bomb shelter or subterranean survivalist enclave”, complete with a digital studio, gun racks and a rotating hydraulic stage.

Dakota Meyer, Marine Medal of Honor Recipient, Says He's No Hero  —  At a White House ceremony later today, Dakota Meyer will become the first living Marine to receive the Medal of Honor for heroism in the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.  Meyer becomes the tenth recipient of the nation's highest award …

N.J. state Senator asks Gov. Christie to veto $420K ‘Jersey Shore’ production tax credit  —  TRENTON —A Democratic state Senator and a national coalition of Italian Americans are calling upon Gov. Chris Christie to block a tax credit awarded Wednesday to the production company of the hit MTV television show “Jersey Shore.”

Nobel Prize-Winning Physicist Resigns Over Global Warming  —  The global warming theory left him out in the cold.  —  Dr. Ivar Giaever, a former professor with Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and the 1973 winner of the Nobel Prize in physics, abruptly announced his resignation Tuesday …

Parole board swamped with Troy Davis petitions  —  The Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles on Thursday was given petitions with more than 663,000 names of people asking that Troy Anthony Davis be spared from being executed next Wednesday, saying there is too much doubt he killed a Savannah police officer in 1989.

Bam's terrible risk  —  Do President Obama's advisers realize they've got him frittering away the last political asset he has left?  —  As unpopular as the president's policies — and especially his results — have proved, a majority of Americans still like and, somehow, even trust him personally.

Why Solyndra's loan guarantees were in the stimulus bill  —  MEGAN MCARDLE writes that the Department of Energy's Solyndra loan guarantee fiasco probably isn't evidence of corruption due to the involvement of Democratic fundraisers.  Rather, it's evidence that the way the government evaluated projects …

House Clears Bill Restricting N.L.R.B.  —  WASHINGTON — The House of Representatives voted on Thursday to approve a G.O.P.-backed bill that would prohibit the National Labor Relations Board from continuing to pursue its effort to block Boeing from operating a new $750 million aircraft assembly line in South Carolina.

Meet The Eight Amish Guys Jailed For Refusing To Attach Orange Safety Triangles To Their Buggies  —  Buster  —  Here are the booking photos (click to enlarge) of the eight members of an Amish sect who were ordered jailed by a Kentucky judge after they refused to pay fines for failing …

Bill Daley Leaves Some Democrats Longing For Rahm Emanuel … 112th Congress , Barack Obama , Rahm Emanuel , Bill Daley , Chief Of Staff , Daley Chief Of Staff , White House Chief Of Staff , William Daley , William Daley Chief Of Staff , Bill Daley Chief Of Staff , Emanuel Cleaver …

But Black People Govern Like This ...  Via Angry Black Lady, I know Michael Moore and Bill Maher think this is a great line: … But it really isn't.  In fact, it's racist, and Michael Moore would do well to stop repeating it.  It really is no better than the Kenyan anti-colonial bit, and in fact is good deal worse.

New congressman jumps the gun on first floor speech  —  The newly elected Rep. Bob Turner (R-N.Y.) jumped the gun slightly on his first floor speech after being introduced in the House on Thursday.  —  Turner started to thank his colleagues without first being recognized to speak by House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio).

Senate Resoundingly Defeats Rand Paul Plan, Passes Disaster Relief Package  —  In a surprising show of bipartisanship, 78 Senators voted against Sen. Rand Paul's (R-KY) plan to offset disaster aid relief and FEMA funding with cuts to foreign aid.  Only 20 senators voted for it.

Supreme Court asked to halt Texas execution  —  HUNTSVILLE, Texas - Attorneys for a Texas death row inmate are appealing to the U.S. Supreme Court just hours before the man's scheduled execution.  —  Forty-eight-year-old Duane Buck is scheduled for lethal injection Thursday evening …