Brutality of Syrian Rebels Posing Dilemma in West  —  The Syrian rebels posed casually, standing over their prisoners with firearms pointed down at the shirtless and terrified men.  —  The prisoners, seven in all, were captured Syrian soldiers.  Five were trussed, their backs marked with red welts.

Obama struggles to convince Congress Syria isn't about him  —  President Obama is struggling to convince lawmakers, foreign leaders and the public that military action in Syria isn't about him.  —  Opponents of a military intervention in Syria say the president is trying to save face …

The “no's” keep piling up on Syria resolution in the House  —  By Aaron Blake and Sean Sullivan, Published: September 5 at 6:30 am  —  Congress took the first formal step toward approving military action in Syria on Wednesday, with the Senate Foreign Relations Committee's 10-7 vote to send its resolution to the full chamber.

The Buck Stops Here  —  Obama goes Galt.  —  “First of all, I didn't set a red line,” Barack Obama said today at a press conference in Stockholm.  “The world set a red line.  The world set a red line when governments representing 98% of the world's population said the use of chemical weapons are …

An Early Look at Premiums and Insurer Participation in Health Insurance Marketplaces, 2014  —  With open enrollment in new insurance marketplaces set to begin Oct. 1, this analysis provides an early look at insurance premiums in 17 states and DC that have publicly released comprehensive data …

Why Do We Even Care About Syria's Chemical Weapons?  —  The United Nations estimates that more than 100,000 Syrians have died since the country's civil war began in March 2011.  More die every day.  But the U.S. is not considering military action to save them.

John Boehner May Save America After All  —  Cops Not Into Video of Daredevil Driving Really Fast Around Manhattan  —  John Boehner has sworn up and down that he is going to stay in his job as Speaker of the House past the 2014 elections.  Jonathan Ward thinks John Boehner is lying.

The Women of the Afghanistan War  —  The present war in Afghanistan, now nearly 12 years old, has affected the lives of millions of women.  Many have been victimized; others have played the roles of soldiers, insurgents, politicians, caregivers, and much more.

Bill Maher Dismisses ‘Insufferable Racist’ Donald Trump on Leno  —  When Bill Maher wasn't humiliating Jay Leno to his face on last night's Tonight Show he was taking on his other favorite target: Donald Trump.  Leno asked Maher about their long standing feud and the Real Time host explained …

Donald Rumsfeld: Obama ‘did draw’ red line  —  Continuing his criticism of President Obama's strategy on Syria and “lack of leadership,” the former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld hit the president on his statement Wednesday that he “didn't set a red line.”  —  “He did draw it!”

Senator Rand Paul: Why I'm Voting No on Syria  —  If American interests are at stake, then our goal should not be stalemate  —  I supported the decision to go to war with Afghanistan after our nation was attacked on 9/11.  Colin Powell wrote in his autobiography: “War should be the politics of last resort.