Dukakis, Kerry ... Romney?  —  Remember Michael Dukakis (1988) and John Kerry (2004)?  It's possible to lose a winnable presidential election to a vulnerable incumbent in the White House (or in the case of 1988, a sitting vice president).  So, speaking of losing candidates from Massachusetts …

Clash breaks out at GOP rally supporting Mitt Romney in Parma  —  PARMA, Ohio — Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney sent two GOP heavyweights to northern Ohio Thursday to beat President Barack Obama's similar bus tour to the punch.  —  Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal and former Minnesota …

Obamacare Is A Major Tax Cut For Middle Class Families  —  Following the Supreme Court's Affordable Care Act ruling, Republicans — including Mitt Romney — have vigorously insisted that the Affordable Care Act is a tax on the American people.  But instead of being a tax increase …

‘Great Day For The First Amendment’: Walker Wins Appeal Vs. Kimberlin Peace Order  —  Back on May 29, Judge C.J. Vaughey of District Court of Maryland for Montgomery County signed a peace order against attorney Aaron Walker, preventing him from writing anything about convicted Speedway Bomber Brett Kimberlin.

Morgan Freeman: Obama Isn't America's First Black President  —  President Barack Obama told his compelling life story during the campaign leading up to his election in 2008.  Upon his inauguration, many Americans took pride in their country having elected their first black president …

Obama: Turn Off Fox News  —  Obama suggests patron ask bar owner to switch off the conservative-leaning cable network.  —  Image by KEVIN LAMARQUE / Reuters  —  PARMA, Ohio — At an unscheduled stop at Ziggy's Pub and Restaurant, an Amherst, Ohio bar, President Barack Obama suggested …

Why the Soda Ban Won't Work  —  Michael Bloomberg , Childhood Obesity , New York Politics , Bloomberg Soda Ban , Soda Ban , New York News  —  There are few who would criticize Mayor Bloomberg for working towards the goal of a healthier New York.  Unfortunately, there are many who would …

Innocent woman spends 53 days in jail  —  Fifty-three days.  —  From Aug. 21 until Oct. 12, Teresa Culpepper was locked in the Fulton County Jail.  —  And all that time she insisted she was not the woman police wanted for throwing hot water on Angelo Boyd — a man she had never met, a man who said he had never met her either.

What This Higgs Boson Thing Really Means  —  As you may have heard, there is now strong evidence that a particle called the Higgs boson, whose existence has long been predicted on theoretical grounds, actually exists.  —  Let me explain to you what the Higgs boson is.  —  Just kidding!

Rep. Joe Walsh gets into shouting match with CNN host over ‘true hero’ remark  —  Rep. Joe Walsh (R-Ill.) refused to apologize again Thursday for his attacks on his Democratic challenger, an Iraq war vet he accused of not being a “true hero.”  —  “I'm not going to back out of anything,” Walsh said to CNN's Ashleigh Banfield.

Agents stir outcry by detaining former Arizona Gov. Raul Castro, 96  —  Ex-governor had trace of medical radiation  —  The wife and a friend of former Arizona Gov. Raul Castro are calling for changes in Border Patrol procedures after agents recently detained the frail 96-year-old in 100-degree heat for more than a half-hour.

UPDATED: Brad Pitt's Mother DID Write Anti-Gay Letter  —  UPDATE (4:30 PM): The Springfield News-Leader has changed its story again, including deleting the Opinion Page editor's previous comment.  According to a new editorial note posted on the letter:

Allen West Called a “Bought Mother F*cker”  —  After finishing his recitation of the Declaration of Independence during the city of Delray Beach's Independence Day festivities, Congressman Allen West was verbally accosted in front of a small group of constituents and media.

Americans See More Economic Harm Than Good in Health Law  —  Independents help tilt the balance to the negative  —  PRINCETON, NJ — Americans are more likely to say the 2010 healthcare law upheld by the Supreme Court last week will hurt the national economy (46%) rather than help it (37%) …

Flier for whites only pastors' conference has residents upset  —  WINFIELD, AL (WBRC) - In most situations, a flier advertising a pastors' conference wouldn't cause much stir, but one event in West Alabama has the townspeople of Winfield upset.  —  The flier was discovered at Norris Music …

The Pauls' New Crusade: “Internet Freedom”  —  Defending the Internet — and the corporations that invest in it — from government regulation is the new “End the Fed,” Paul advisors tell BuzzFeed exclusively.  A new Paul manifesto: “This is our revolution.”

Napolitano on weird weather and climate change: 'There's a pattern here'  —  Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano this week linked climate change with the wildfires hitting Colorado.  —  Napolitano said “there's a pattern here” as she noted the summer wildfires as well as the East Coast heat wave …

Banksters  —  How Britain's rate-fixing scandal might spread—and what to do about it  —  “SINCE we have not more power of knowing the future than any other men, we have made many mistakes (who has not during the past five years?), but our mistakes have been errors of judgment and not of principle.”

HBO Not Proceeding With Fox News' Roger Ailes TV Movie Produced By MSNBC Rivals: “CNN Affiliation” Cited As The Reason  —  EXCLUSIVE UPDATE: I scooped yesterday that HBO had done a secret deal for an Untitled Roger Ailes Project being executive produced by Fox News rivals from MSNBC.