Donald the Whiner  —  Donald Trump is given to superlatives, so let's do him the honor of pronouncing him the most fabulous whiner in all of American politics.  —  By Trump's own account, he's the baddest, smartest thing going, except if you ask him a challenging question …

Rick Perry stops paying all of his staff as fundraising dries up  —  This post has been updated.  —  Rick Perry's presidential campaign has stopped paying all of its staff as the Republican former Texas governor's fundraising has dried up, campaign officials and other Republicans familiar with the operation said late Monday.

Bill Press: Schumer proves unworthy to lead Democrats  —  He tried to hide it, and so far he's been successful.  —  Clearly by design, Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) released a statement declaring his opposition to the Iran nuclear deal on Thursday night, while 24 million Americans …

Armed Patriot Group Roams Ferguson With Assault Rifles  —  Heavily-armed members of a controversial patriot group added an extra dose of unease to protests early Tuesday in Ferguson, Missouri.  —  The Oath Keepers organization says its members — all former military, police and first responders …

G is for Google  —  As Sergey and I wrote in the original founders letter 11 years ago, “Google is not a conventional company.  We do not intend to become one.”  As part of that, we also said that you could expect us to make “smaller bets in areas that might seem very speculative or even strange …

WH staffer charged for allegedly shooting at Capitol Police boyfriend  —  A White House staffer is facing domestic violence charges after allegedly firing at her U.S. Capitol Police boyfriend with his service weapon, according to NBC 4 Washington.  —  A White House spokesman told The Hill the staffer …

The Coddling of the American Mind  —  Something strange is happening at America's colleges and universities.  A movement is arising, undirected and driven largely by students, to scrub campuses clean of words, ideas, and subjects that might cause discomfort or give offense.

GOP struggles on income equality  —  Republicans are struggling to address income inequality on the campaign trail as they look to connect with middle class voters.  —  Democratic presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders are hammering Republicans over what they say is a growing gap between the rich and the poor.

The New College Compact … For millions of Americans, a college degree has been the ticket to a better life.  My grandfather worked his entire life in a lace mill, but my dad made it to college.  He was able to start his own small business, and that made a huge difference in our lives.

Lawrence Lessig to Explore a Run for President as a Democrat  —  Lawrence Lessig, the Harvard professor and democratic theorist, in 2014.  —  Some people land gyrocopters on the lawn at the Capitol to protest big money in politics.  Lawrence Lessig, the Harvard professor and democratic theorist, is thinking of running for president.

U.S. Shelves Its $500M Syrian Rebel Army  —  The Obama administration has itself a new proxy force to fight ISIS—but not the rebel army it's committed half a billion dollars to assemble.  —  The Obama administration is still publicly counting on a $500 million rebel army to beat ISIS in Syria.

State by State, Democratic Party Is Erasing Ties to Jefferson and Jackson  —  WASHINGTON — For nearly a century, Democrats have honored two men as the founders of their party: Thomas Jefferson, for his visionary expression of the concept of equality, and Andrew Jackson, for his populist spirit and elevation of the common man.