Chicagoans hungry to flip the bird to Rahm, nicely  —  Some of you asked just what the scene's like on Chick-fil-A appreciation day in Chicago, home to #ChicagoValues, and the city at the heart of the controversy over Chick-fil-A after our mayor congratulated an alderman in shutting the company …

On the Distributional Effects of Base-Broadening Income Tax Reform  —  This paper examines the tradeoffs among three competing goals that are inherent in a revenue-neutral income tax reform—maintaining tax revenues, ensuring a progressive tax system, and lowering marginal tax rates.

Senor 1, Mitchell 0  —  Romney senior adviser defended Gov. Mitt Romney's comments about the effect of culture on Palestine — rather than economics — in an exchange with Andrea Mitchell Wednesday on “Morning Joe.”  —  ANDREA MITCHELL: Dan, if Gov. Romney had made those points in that speech …

Five Things Everyone Should Know About GOP Senate Candidate Ted Cruz  —  Ted Cruz will protect this golf course from the United Nations and George Soros  —  Today, Texas Republican primary voters selected Ted Cruz as their candidate to replace retiring U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX).

GOP lawmakers equate birth-control mandate with Pearl Harbor, 9/11  —  House Republicans called the Obama administration's birth-control mandate “religious bigotry” and compared it to the events of Pearl Harbor and Sept. 11, 2001.  —  The heated remarks came at a press conference marking the mandate's first day.

Obama Hits 50% In Florida, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Quinnipiac University/CBS News/New York Times Swing State Poll Finds  —  Word format Crosstabs by State  —  Watch Video: Assistant Director Tim Malloy discusses poll results  —  Clip Information and Download:  —  FLV File - Download For Website (1920x1080 / 125MB)

Rubio: Don't tax Olympic medals  —  Sen. Marco Rubio is offering the Fab Five, Missy Franklin, Ryan Lochte and all the other American Olympic medalists more than just a pat on the back.  He's trying to keep the IRS off their backs.  —  Rubio (R-Fla.) introduced today The Olympic Tax Elimination Act …

‘Culture,’ Prosperity, and Political IQ  —  I accept the idea that “culture” has a legitimate part in explaining national or regional success.  In the late 1980s, after living in Japan, I wrote a book examining cultural differences between U.S. and Japan — and arguing that America would do best …

Prolific, Elegant, Acerbic Writer  —  Gore Vidal, the elegant, acerbic all-around man of letters who presided with a certain relish over what he declared to be the end of American civilization, died on Tuesday at his home in the Hollywood Hills section of Los Angeles, where he moved in 2003, after years of living in Ravello, Italy.

Wendy's Sign Angers Liberals; Wendy's Tweet Angers Conservatives  —  Moderates remain uninsulted, but give it a few hours.  —  This message was displayed on numerous North Carolina Wendy's signs this morning.  —  Source: i.imgur.com  —  The sign, and its implied support of Chick-fil-A's stance …

For immediate release  —  Information received since the Federal Open Market Committee met in June suggests that economic activity decelerated somewhat over the first half of this year.  Growth in employment has been slow in recent months, and the unemployment rate remains elevated.

Twitter Launches Political Index: The Twitter Pulse Of The Election  —  The Twitter Political Index could be one of the most powerful social media tools of the election.  —  Right now, if you want to know how the country feels about Barack Obama or Mitt Romney, you have to rely …

Badminton Players Disqualified for Throwing Matches  —  LONDON — Badminton officials took the extraordinary step of tossing out four pairs of women — two from South Korea and one each from China and Indonesia — for deliberately trying to lose their preliminary matches Tuesday night …

Rep. King Goes Birther: Suggests Obama's Parents Telegrammed Fake Hawaii Birth Announcement From Kenya  —  Try as they may, Republicans just can't seem to kick their birther habit.  —  The latest GOPer to dabble in the ridiculous fantasy that President Obama wasn't actually born in the United States: Rep. Steve King (R-IA).

Obama Cites ‘Independent, Non-Partisan Study’ Written by Former Staffer, Close Ally  —  President Obama cited an “independent, non-partisan study” in Mansfield, Ohio earlier today:  —  “And you do not have to take my word for it,” said Obama.  “Just today, an independent …

How Many Things Last 24 Years?  —  RUSH: Cookie also went back to our audio sound bite archive, and I have the cue sheet here, and she has a sound bite from my grandfather back in the early nineties, and from my old speech teacher in High School, Irene Wright.