Handicapping the GOP Debate  —  The candidate with the best economic platform likely will prevail.  —  As Republicans gather in Florida for Thursday's Fox News-Google presidential debate in Orlando, the contest remains very fluid, raising the stakes (and hopes) for all nine candidates.

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.

Vote shows Boehner's lack of control  —  House Republicans tried a fresh strategy Wednesday night: Go it alone on a spending bill.  —  The result was an embarrassing setback.  —  Wednesday night's rank-and-file rebuke of GOP leadership — with 48 Republicans bolting on a temporary spending bill …

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.”

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 …

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) …

Class warfare, Elizabeth Warren style  —  This must-watch clip of Elizabeth Warren aggressively rebutting the GOP's “class warfare” charge is burning up the internet, and once you watch it, you'll understand why:  —  Warren's camp tells me the event took place in Andover, Massachusetts last month …

Bill Clinton: Rick Perry's like Israeli ‘militants’  —  Former president Bill Clinton suggested Thursday that Texas Gov. Rick Perry was ideologically in line with “militant subgroups in Israel” and was too willing to let the Jewish state do whatever it wants.

Solyndra employees: Company suffered from mismanagement, heavy spending  —  Former employees of Solyndra, the shuttered solar company that exhausted half a billion dollars of taxpayer money, said they saw questionable spending by management almost as soon as a federal agency approved …

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.

Millionaires, The Middle Class, and Taxes — Actual Numbers  —  Further to this post about whether the Obama/Boo-Fay — sorry, Obama/ Buffett with two t's - claim is true: the Tax Policy Center has new numbers about the distribution of average tax rates by income class.

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 …

Meh — And I Mean That  —  OK, the Fed moved.  It was a bit stronger than expected — and BB and company stood up to the GOP.  —  But seriously, they're trying to use a water pistol to stop a charging rhino.  —  Conventional monetary policy operates by changing the supply of monetary base, which is a unique, uniquely liquid asset.

Whitman Expected to Get HP CEO Nod After Markets Close (and Not for the Interim Either)  —  Former eBay CEO Meg Whitman is poised to be named the new CEO of Hewlett-Packard later today after the markets are closed, said multiple sources close to the situation.