Obama and Perry, geese and ganders  —  The New York Times has an item this morning about tonight's Republican debate, and it featured this Getty Images photograph, taken before the start of last week's debate.  —  It wouldn't be especially interesting, except I also remember seeing this photograph several hundred times four years ago.

Why Do Liberals Have Such a Soft Spot for Cop Killers Like Troy Davis?  —  Mumia Abu-Jamal killed Philadelphia police officer Daniel Faulkner.  Leonard Peltier murdered FBI agents Jack Coler and Ronald Williams.  Liberals enthusiastically supported both of them.

The Great $16 Muffin Myth  —  I've been reading all day about the $16 muffins the Department of Justice served at one of its conferences, and I finally got curious about this.  Is it really true?  So I went to the DOJ Inspector General's website, got the report, and searched for “muffin.”

Boehner chastises conservatives: You voted to spend more money  —  House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) delivered a tough message to conservatives who rejected his government funding bill on Wednesday: You voted to spend more money.  —  Four dozen House Republicans broke ranks and opposed …

CERN claims faster-than-light particle measured … GENEVA (AP) — Scientists at the world's largest physics lab say they have clocked subatomic particles traveling faster than light, a feat that - if true - would break a fundamental pillar of science.  —  The readings have so astounded researchers …

Gunning for Rick Perry  —  Hustler Magazine publisher Larry Flynt is putting GOP Presidential candidate Rick Perry in his crosshairs ... he'll be offering up to $1 million for anyone who can prove Perry has had an illicit sexual liaison ... TMZ has learned.  —  The ad — which Flynt …

US walks out as Iran delivers anti-US speech  —  UNITED NATIONS (AP) — American diplomats led a walkout at the U.N. General Assembly Thursday as Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad fiercely attacked the United States and major West European nations as “arrogant powers” ruled by greed and eager for military adventurism.

Explosive Email Shows Anti-Palin Author McGinniss, Random House Likely Published Literary Hoax  —  The awful launch week for the over-hyped, expected bestseller The Rogue: Searching for the Real Sarah Palin, by controversial author Joe McGinniss, just got worse.  Much worse.

Who Benefited from Job Growth In Texas?  —  A Look at Employment Gains for Immigrants and the Native-Born, 2007 to 2011  —  Steven A. Camarota is the Director of Research and Ashley Monique Webster a demographerat the Center for Immigration Studies.  —  Governor Rick Perry (R-Texas) …

Is Irish Austerity Paying Dividends?  —  Last year, the failure of Irish austerity was on the lips of every left-wing wonk in America.  Paul Krugman, the leader of this school of thought, has compared austerity to bloodletting and other such primitive medical quackery (a comparison he repeated a couple of days ago).

The Five Million Dollar Man  —  How government unions rip off the taxpayer.  —  In his Labor Day speech in Detroit, Barack Obama issued a ringing endorsement of government employee unions: … From the president's hometown comes an example of what he is actually supporting.

MAP: Which Countries Enlist Gay Soldiers?  —  The United States is now one of 26 countries worldwide that welcome gays and lesbians in the military, according to the Palm Center.  —  The United States is now one of 26 countries worldwide that welcome gays and lesbians in the military, according to the Palm Center.

Voting to Hire a Chief Without Meeting Him  —  The mystery isn't why Hewlett-Packard is likely to part ways with its chief executive, Léo Apotheker, after just a year in the job.  It's why he was hired in the first place.  —  The answer, say many involved in the process, lies squarely with the troubled Hewlett-Packard board.

Palestine Logo Suggests Elimination of Israel  —  The logo of “the Permanent Observer Mission of Palestine to the United Nations” - on their website and on top of their official statements at the U.N. - shows the Palestinian Authority's claim to a Palestine that stretches throughout …

Republicans demand Buffett's tax returns  —  The GOP is making a concerted effort to pressure billionaire investment guru Warren Buffett to release his tax returns to the public.  —  Republicans say Buffett — the public face of Obama's proposed “Buffett Rule” to increase taxes on the wealthy …

Judicial Diva Gone Wild?  Chief Judge Jones Tells Judge Dennis to ‘Shut Up’  —  Chief Judge Edith Jones: Underneath her robe beats a judicial diva's heart.  —  Can you enforce civility by being... uncivil?  That's the question being raised, over and over again, by federal judges from Texas these days.

The great euro swindle  —  Finally, the Eurosceptics have been vindicated.  But will their dishonest opponents ever be held to account?  —  Very rarely in political history has any faction or movement enjoyed such a complete and crushing victory as the Conservative Eurosceptics.  The field is theirs.

Obama's Tax Déjà Vu  —  After several dispiriting months of watching their president try and fail to find consensus with Republicans, liberals are once again feeling buoyant this week.  That's because President Obama has at last adopted a defiantly populist tone …

At hearing, supercommittee members display eagerness to tackle tax reform  —  The members of the new deficit-reduction supercommittee were hopeful Thursday that they could step up to the plate and tackle tax reform, saying it could be key to driving job growth.

Contradictory beliefs  —  It isn't a good thing to have contradictory beliefs.  Since I've notice what appear to be such beliefs in myself recently, I thought I'd share, both because I guess that there are others out there who also have them, and in the hope that Crooked Timber's community …