Rep. Ryan: Rick Perry is right on Social Security  —  The Republican chairman of the House Budget Committee on Tuesday drew fire from Democrats for backing Texas Gov. Rick Perry's description of Social Security as a “Ponzi scheme.”  —  Social Security fits the technical definition of a Ponzi scheme …

Chart of the Day: ‘Buffett Rule’ Wouldn't Bring In Much Revenue  —  This week, President Obama announced a new way for the government to make more money: put a floor on the tax rates that millionaires face.  He coined the idea the “Buffett Rule,” after billionaire investor Warren Buffett …

Gary Johnson's Big Breakthrough  —  The former New Mexico governor has just landed a spot in the next presidential debate Thursday night.  Howard Kurtz on why that could take the heat off Perry and Romney.

Rick Santorum contacted Google, says company spreads ‘filth’  —  A Google search for Santorum has generated some inappropriate results since gay columnist Dan Savage organized an online campaign to link graphic sexual terms to the socially conservative senator's name.

Reid warns shutdown is possible  —  Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said Tuesday there is a chance that the government could shutter at the end of this month.  —  Criticizing House Republicans for the disaster relief provisions in their budget bill, Reid told reporters, “We're not going to cave on this.”

Poll finds Obama losing ground to Republicans  —  WASHINGTON — Look out President Barack Obama.  Even Sarah Palin's gaining on you.  —  A new McClatchy-Marist poll finds that Obama looks increasingly vulnerable in next year's election, with a majority of voters believing he'll lose to any Republican …

Texas GOP Rep On Cuts To Family Planning: ‘Of Course This Is A War On Birth Control’  —  The GOP's concerted campaign against women's health has resulted in about 1,000 anti-abortion bills in state legislatures across the country and numerous federal attempts to eradicate a woman's right to choose.

Centrist Dems Already Trying To Put The Brakes On Obama's Tax Increases  —  President Obama's deficit-reduction plan—complete with tax increases on the wealthiest Americans—won high marks from his liberal base encouraged to see Obama back in fighting mode, but the plan is set to hit …

Alter vs. Suskind: Not longing for Clinton  —  On MSNBC, Jonathan Alter — the author of a more sympathetic book on Obama's first year than Ron Suskind's — offers a different theory of the White House:  —  ANCHOR: What about the claim he makes about Peter Orzag and Larry Summers saying they were “home alone” in the White House.

9/20: 39% Approval Rating for Obama, Lowest of Presidency  —  President Barack Obama faces a litany of bad news.  The president's job approval rating, his favorability, and his rating on the economy have hit all-time lows.  To compound matters, three in four Americans still believe the nation …

Recounting the Dead  —  Even as Civil War history has gone through several cycles of revision, one thing has remained fixed: the number of dead.  Since about 1900, historians and the general public have assumed that 618,222 men died on both sides.  That number is probably a significant undercount, however.

$16 Muffins Found at U.S. Meetings  —  U.S. Justice Department agencies spent too much for food at conferences, in one case serving $16 muffins and in another dishing out beef Wellington appetizers that cost $7.32 per serving, an audit found.  —  “Some conferences featured costly meals …

Report: At least 200 murders in Mexico now linked to Fast & Furious weapons  —  A conservative estimate from this morning's conference call with Darrell Issa, via our Townhall cousin Katie Pavlich. … They're discovering more every day, you know.  But as I say, 200 is the conservative number.

Bill Clinton scorches GOP field on climate change  —  Bill Clinton turned up the heat on the leading Republican presidential contenders Tuesday, saying their opposition to acknowledging climate change makes the country “look like a joke.”  —  “If you're an American, the best thing …

U.S. Alleges Full Tilt Poker Was Ponzi Scheme  —  The U.S. Justice Department on Tuesday accused poker celebrities Howard Lederer and Christopher Ferguson among other executives of a major poker website of defrauding poker players out of more than $300 million.

Solyndra execs will decline to testify at hearing  —  Solyndra LLC's chief executive and chief financial officer will invoke their Fifth Amendment rights and decline to answer any questions put to them at a Congressional hearing on Friday, according to letters from their attorneys obtained by Reuters.

Cleve Foster Case: U.S. Supreme Court Halts Texas Execution … HUNTSVILLE, Texas — A former Army recruiter who for the third time this year was hours away from his scheduled execution for the rape-slaying of a woman in Fort Worth nearly 10 years ago was granted yet another reprieve by the U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday.

Phone hacking: Met police drop Guardian demands  —  Scotland Yard is investigating phone hacking at the News of the World  —  Scotland Yard has “decided not to pursue” its legal bid to force the Guardian to reveal the sources it used for stories about phone hacking.

Schweddy Balls Make AFA Squirm  —  The American Family Association affiliate OneMillionMoms is calling on activists to boycott Ben & Jerry's because of the company's new Schweddy Balls ice cream.  In an email, the group describes the legendary Saturday Night Live skit featuring People …

Dean: Employers will drop coverage under Obamacare  —  Former Democratic National Committee Chairman, and doctor, Howard Dean backed a McKinsey & Co. survey today that found that almost a third of private-sector employers will drop their employee health insurance coverage …

‘Just go be Joe’: Obama lets Biden loose on the campaign trail  —  Vice President Biden has been unleashed on the campaign trail, he said Tuesday night, telling a crowd at a Chicago fundraiser “we are going to win this race.”  —  Biden joins President Obama in the new phase of the 2012 reelection campaign …