GOP internal debate: Is party repeating mistakes of 1998?  —  BARACK OBAMA BILL CLINTON JOHN BOEHNER 2014 ELECTIONS  —  For anyone who was around, it's hard to compare 1998 — the year of the Monica Lewinsky scandal, the Starr Report, and Bill Clinton's impeachment — with any other year.

LAWMAKERS TRY TO SEAL $225M AID PACKAGE FOR ISRAEL  —  WASHINGTON (AP) — Democratic and Republican members of Congress scrambled Tuesday to seal a $225 million boost to Israel's Iron Dome missile defense system before they break this week for a month-long recess.

Break up the states!  The case for the United Statelets of America  —  Here's how Wyoming, Vermont and North Dakota are exercising tyranny over the rest of us — and how to stop them  —  A ballot initiative that would support breaking California into six smaller and more coherent states …

George Zimmerman ‘patrolling’ Central Florida shop after gun theft  —  Owner of Pompano Pat's in DeLand says Zimmerman not working for him  —  DeLAND, Fla. -  —  Although he's not a hired security officer, George Zimmerman has been “patrolling” outside a Volusia County gun shop …

US is no safer after 13 years of war, a top Pentagon official says  —  The nation is no safer after 13 years of war, warns a top US military official who leads one of the nation's largest intelligence organizations.  —  “We have a whole gang of new actors out there that are far more extreme than Al Qaeda …

Rand Paul planning 2015 book.  Mean anything?  —  WASHINGTON - Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul is working on a new book that will come out early next year - about the same time he will decide whether to run for president.  —  “Just coincidence, probably just coincidence, yeah,” the Republican said …

Peter Nathan Steinmetz, Barrow Brain Scientist, Arrested at Airport With AR-15  —  Dr. Peter Nathan Steinmetz, a brain scientist with Barrow Neurological Institute in Phoenix, was arrested on Friday for mishandling his AR-15 in Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport.

How Military Guns Make the Civilian Market  —  The U.S. Army plans to select a new standard-issue handgun.  If history is a guide, similar pistols will soon start appearing at gun stores and crime scenes near you.  —  This week, the U.S. Army will brief arms manufacturers on the design requirements for a new standard-issue handgun.

Downscale  —  I recently had a conversation with an intensely conservative businessman whose first foray into politics was fighting for a tax hike on his business and others like it.  The little town where he lived as a young man had no paved roads, waterworks, or sewage facilities …

Obama Thanks Muslims for ‘Building the Very Fabric of Our Nation’  —  WASHINGTON, D.C. (Worthy News)- As Ramadan came to a close, President Obama thanked the Muslim community “for its many achievements and contributions” and “building the very fabric of our nation” and “strengthening the core of our democracy.”