In Exclusive Interview, Paul Ryan Distances Self From Todd Akin  —  CARNEGIE (KDKA) — In Congressman Paul Ryan's first interview in Pennsylvania, Mitt Romney's vice presidential pick reacted strongly to Congressman Todd Akin's comment than women who are raped rarely get pregnant.

Like a Boss  —  When it comes to being a rich guy, Mitt Romney should own it  —  What do women want?  The conventional biological wisdom is that men select mates for fertility, while women select for status — thus the commonness of younger women's pairing with well-established older men but the rarity of the converse.

Sheriff candidate says he wouldn't reject deadly force to stop abortions  —  Candidate says he believes elective, late-term abortions aren't lawful  —  Candidate's abortion comments draw criticism  —  A Republican candidate for Hillsborough County Sheriff said Wednesday …

The Tax Returns are Hurting Romney, Badly  —  I didn't mention this in my previous post, but in addition to the aforementioned questions, NBC News and the Wall Street Journal asked respondents about the recent controversies over Bain Capital and Mitt Romney's tax returns to gage whether they affected support for the Republican nominee.

An Update to the Budget and Economic Outlook: Fiscal Years 2012 to 2022  —  For fiscal year 2012 (which ends on September 30), the federal budget deficit will total $1.1 trillion, CBO estimates, marking the fourth year in a row with a deficit of more than $1 trillion.

Texas Judge Suggests He Will Join ‘Civil Unrest, Civil Disobedience, Civil War Maybe’ If Obama Is Reelected  —  Judge Tom Head, a county judge in Lubbock, Texas, announced on a local television station that he would personally join the resistance against a United Nations' takeover of American sovereignty …

Costs Seen in Romney's Medicare Savings Plan  —  WASHINGTON — Mitt Romney's promise to restore $716 billion that he says President Obama “robbed” from Medicare has some health care experts puzzled, and not just because his running mate, Representative Paul D. Ryan, included the same savings in his House budgets.

Team Romney calls out Obama for misspelling ‘Ohio’ at campaign stop  —  President Obama needed a do-over to spell “Ohio” correctly on the campus of Ohio State University this week.  —  Although Obama and several students at a campaign stop Tuesday morning at Sloopy's Diner on the campus …

Rick Warren cancels Obama-Romney forum at Saddleback Church  —  LAKE FOREST - Rick Warren, Saddleback Church's pastor, announced Wednesday that a civil forum planned with President Barack Obama and presumptive Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney at the church has been canceled …

Republican Party Changes Rules To Stop The Pauls  —  Avoiding “distractions” in Tampa.  —  Image by Czarek Sokolowski / AP  —  TAMPA, Florida — The Republican National Committee's Rules Committee voted to require written certification that a presidential candidate has a plurality …

Could Hurricane Isaac derail the GOP convention?  —  It's deja vu all over again: Four years ago, Hurricane Gustav threatened Republican National Convention plans.  This year, it's Hurricane Isaac.  —  The bad weather, still a tropical storm in the Atlantic, has convention planners …

Economists Risk Labeling as Political Hacks  —  By Laurence Kotlikoff 2012-08-21T22:30:48Z  —  Some 500 of my colleagues in economics, almost all academics, have signed a statement applauding former Governor Mitt Romney's economic plan and condemning President Barack Obama's handling of the economy.

Zing!  Romney on Obama: ‘Bless his heart’; Update: No, it's not racist … Oh, yes, he did.  He dropped the most awesome insult ever. … Swoon!  Romney's point is, of course, correct and needs repeating.  But the “bless his heart” is getting more play as of now; it was the delicious final touch on the pro-freedom message.

A Nation Adrift From the Rule of Law  —  We are losing sight of the basic principles that made us great in the 20th century.  —  No one doubts that the coming election will be the most important referendum on the size and nature of government in a generation.

Get Lost  —  So, as you might have heard, Michael Mann of Climategate infamy is threatening to sue us.  —  Mann is upset — very, very upset — with this Mark Steyn Corner post, which had the temerity to call Mann's hockey stick “fraudulent.”  The Steyn post was mild compared with other things …

Advice Regarding Akin  —  My advice, for what it's worth, to conservatives and Republicans desperate to see Todd Akin off the ballot in Missouri: You've made your point.  You've bewailed and denounced and threatened.  Now it's time to hearken to the words of Lincoln, in his great Temperance Address …