ADL: Some opponents of Ground Zero mosque are bigots, but we should let them win anyway  —  As you have probably heard, the Anti-Defamation League came out against the Ground Zero mosque today.  I wanted to highlight this extraordinary bit from their statement: … That's just amazing.

Anthony Weiner's Spitting Mad Rant Against Republicans On The House Floor (VIDEO)  —  The House was debating a bill last night that would provide up to $7.4 billion in health care aid to rescue and recovery workers who have faced health problems since their work in the wake of the September 11 attacks.

Why Charles Rangel is surviving  —  Despite predictions he would be swiftly abandoned by his colleagues, House Democrats are shrugging off Rep. Charles Rangel's ethical scandal as they head for the exits for a six-week summer break.  —  At least for now.  —  Most Democrats are suggesting …

Mea Culpa 360: CNN Anchor Says He Was Wrong to Let Shirley Sherrod Smear Andrew Breitbart Unchallenged  —  On Thursday's Anderson Cooper 360, anchor Anderson Cooper faulted himself for not pressing Shirley Sherrod when she appeared on the show back on July 22 and claimed that conservative Andrew Breitbart …

U.S. Economic Growth Slowed to 2.4% Rate in 2nd Quarter  —  The United States economy expanded at an annual rate of 2.4 percent in the second quarter, after expanding 3.7 percent in the previous three months, the Commerce Department reported on Friday.  —  Nonresidential fixed investment …

North Korean football team shamed in six-hour public inquiry over World Cup  —  North Korea's football team has been shamed in a six-hour public inquisition and the team's coach has been accused of “betraying” the reclusive leader's heir apparent following their failure at the World Cup, according to reports.

Did the government cause the Gulf spill?  —  The generally accepted view of the Deepwater Horizon disaster has focused on the blowout preventer and the non-standard procedures BP conducted just before the explosion and fire.  However, most of the damage and the main source of the spill came …

Gingrich expects Palin to run in 2012  —  Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) said Friday that he expects former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin (R) to be among the crowd of GOP presidential candidates in 2012.  —  Gingrich, himself a potential candidate for president, sized up the field …

SEC charges billionaire Texas brothers who donate to GOP with fraud  —  Sam and Charles Wyly, billionaire Texas brothers who gained prominence spending millions of dollars on conservative political causes, committed fraud by using secret overseas accounts to generate more than $550 million …

Senate Votes to Double Fines, Jail Time for Pot Brownies  —  Dianne Feinstein's Reefer Madness (graphic by twolf1)  —  Last night, the United States Senate voted to double the penalties for the nation's newest existential threat: brownies made with marijuana!

Phytoplankton Panic  —  Phytoplankton, the tiny little ocean creatures that generate a massive amount of the world's oxygen, form the base of the ocean food chain, and otherwise deserve to be nominated Hero of the World Economy, First Class, are apparently dying off.

G.M.'s Electric Lemon  —  GENERAL MOTORS introduced America to the Chevrolet Volt at the 2007 Detroit Auto Show as a low-slung concept car that would someday be the future of motorized transportation.  It would go 40 miles on battery power alone, promised G.M., after which it would create its own electricity with a gas engine.

Curbing Your Enthusiasm  —  Why does the Obama administration keep looking for love in all the wrong places?  Why does it go out of its way to alienate its friends, while wooing people who will never waver in their hatred?  —  These questions were inspired by the ongoing suspense …

Crist On Top In 3-Way Florida Senate Race, Quinnipiac University Poll Finds; Dem Sink Tied With Either Republican In Govenor's Race  —  Florida Gov. Charlie Crist leads the three-way race for the U.S. Senate seat with 37 percent, followed by 32 percent for Republican Marco Rubio and 17 percent …

Wikileaks Afghanistan: Taliban ‘hunting down informants’  —  The Taliban has issued a warning to Afghans whose names might appear on the leaked Afghanistan war logs as informers for the Nato-led coalition.  —  In an interview with Channel 4 News, Zabihullah Mujahid, a Taliban spokesman …

U.S. SENATE RACE: Poll: Reid, Angle neck and neck  —  Sixty percent of Nevadans see nation on wrong track  —  Sen. Harry Reid and Sharron Angle are locked in a dead heat, says a new poll for the Las Vegas Review-Journal and KLAS-TV, Channel 8 that shows the GOP challenger regaining ground …

Black lawmakers irate over Emanuel's $1.5 billion promise to Sen. Lincoln  —  African-American lawmakers are irate that the Obama administration has promised Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark.) $1.5 billion in farm aid while claiming it can't pay a landmark legal settlement with black farmers.

Pastor Hosting ‘International Burn A Quran Day’: ‘We Have Nothing Against Muslims’  —  On September 11, 2010, the extremist evangelical Dove World Church — whose pastor, Terry Jones, has written a book called “Islam Is Of The Devil” — plans to host “International Burn A Quran Day,” …

Nelson, Gregg announce Kagan votes  —  Washington (CNN) - Sen. Ben Nelson said Friday that he will not support Elena Kagan's nomination to the Supreme Court, but will vote for the cloture, a move that will help bring the nomination to an up or down vote.  —  “As a member of the bipartisan 'Gang of 14 …

Gates Gets Grumpy in Speech to Scouts  —  Defense Secretary Robert Gates, a former Eagle Scout, addressed the Boy Scout jamboree being held at Virginia's Fort A.P. Hill.—and struck a decidedly cranky tone.  —  In his Wednesday speech, Gates said that young Americans are “increasingly physically unfit …

Dems, GOP maneuver on repeal  —  House Democrats proposed repealing a piece of the health care overhaul Friday, a move designed to thwart Republican efforts to do the same thing and declare an early victory in their efforts to repeal the whole law.  —  Democrats proposed repealing …