Spitzer Redux  —  There will always be candidates for public office who are ethically compromised, temperamentally unsuitable and politically incompetent, but if they insist on running anyway, who has the right to tell them not to?  Campaigns sort out the good public servants from the bad.

U.S. Considers Faster Pullout In Afghanistan  —  WASHINGTON — Increasingly frustrated by his dealings with President Hamid Karzai, President Obama is giving serious consideration to speeding up the withdrawal of United States forces from Afghanistan and to a “zero option” …

White House Has Known For Months Obamacare Implementation Wouldn't Work  —  Last week, it scaled back several required provisions.  They aren't the first.  And probably won't be the last.  —  If you've been reading all the Obamacare stories lately, you might get the impression …

Michael McConnell: Obama Suspends the Law  —  Like King James II, the president decides not to enforce laws he doesn't like.  That's an abuse of power.  —  President Obama's decision last week to suspend the employer mandate of the Affordable Care Act may be welcome relief to businesses affected …

Rebel Yell  —  A close aide to Sen. Rand Paul (R., Ky.) who co-wrote the senator's 2011 book spent years working as a pro-secessionist radio pundit and neo-Confederate activist, raising questions about whether Paul will be able to transcend the same fringe-figure associations that dogged his father's political career.

Santorum to jump into Texas abortion ban battle  —  (CNN) - Rick Santorum's heading to Texas to put his support behind a controversial bill that would ban most abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy.  —  According to a press release obtained by CNN that will be sent later Tuesday …

Kill the Bill  —  We are conservatives who have differed in the past on immigration reform, with Kristol favorably disposed toward it and Lowry skeptical.  But the Gang of Eight has brought us into full agreement: Their bill, passed out of the Senate, is a comprehensive mistake.

Eric Cantor plans anti-IRS push  —  House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) on Tuesday will tell House Republicans that he plans floor votes before the August recess on a slew of bills in response to the IRS controversies.  —  The most intriguing: a bill to allow Americans …

Obama is faulted on leadership  —  Supporters and critics of President Obama are looking for leadership on many pressing issues from the White House, but many believe they are not getting it.  —  On Monday, Obama held a Cabinet meeting and spoke about his effort to modernize government databases.

Florida Accidentally Banned All Computers, Smart Phones In The State Through Internet Cafe Ban: Lawsuit  —  When Florida lawmakers recently voted to ban all Internet cafes, they worded the bill so poorly that they effectively outlawed every computer in the state, according to a recent lawsuit.

Rush Limbaugh tells caller not to watch Fox  —  Rush Limbaugh had a message for one of his callers: Stop watching Fox News.  —  “Tony from Tampa” called into Limbaugh's radio show on Monday to complain about the lack of outrage from the right over President Barack Obama's policies …

Questions for Snowden  —  In a June 2012 Guardian column, Greenwald wrote, “As a foreign national accused of harming U.S. national security, he [Assange] has every reason to want to avoid ending up in the travesty known as the American judicial system.”  —  On April 10, 2012 …

What The Texas GOP Hopes No One Will Say Out Loud: Proposed Bills Weaken Inspections and Requirements Currently Kick In At 16-weeks  —  Austin has become center stage for the religious conservative effort to reverse Roe v Wade.  Many Texans, like Rep. Greg Bonnen (R), insist that they support …

Did Spitzer actually tear up?  —  Former New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer seemed to tear up at the end of an interview with Morning Joe on Tuesday while discussing the “pain” he had experienced in the five years since the prostitution scandal that forced him to resign from office.  —  “A lot of pain.

Criticizing CNN: Goodbye to that  —  I used to say: I criticize because I care.  But I no longer do. … As of today, I have retired from criticism of CNN for falling short of some sort of journalistic standard that news providers should maintain.  That activity no longer makes sense.

US agency baffled by modern technology, destroys mice to get rid of viruses  —  $170,000 of PCs, printers, keyboards, cameras, and mice destroyed in gross overreaction.  —  The Economic Development Administration (EDA) is an agency in the Department of Commerce that promotes economic development …

SC Gov. Nikki Haley says she was abused as a child  —  GREENVILLE, SC — SC Gov. Nikki Haley on Monday said she was physically abused as a girl by a child-care provider, offering a rare, personal disclosure that she said was meant to underscore the challenge any community faces in protecting its children.

Leaked report shows Bin Laden's ‘hidden life’  —  Government report obtained exclusively by Al Jazeera reveals results of investigation into AQ chief's life on the run.  —  Former al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden was able to hide in Pakistan for nine years due to the “collective failure” …

LIVEBLOG: Texas Senate committee hears abortion legislation  —  Tuesday, 1:55 p.m. — The Senate Committee on Health and Human Services went into recess at about 1:45 in the morning, without voting on the abortion bill it was hearing.  —  Sen. Jane Nelson, chairwoman of the committee …

In Reversal, Florida Judge Okays Testimony About Trayvon Martin's Marijuana Usage  —  Jurors in the George Zimmerman murder trial will be able to hear defense testimony that Trayvon Martin had small amounts of marijuana in his system at the time he was shot to death in February 2012.

Crucial nuclear option decision arrives for Majority Leader Reid  —  The Nevada Democrat must decide whether to trigger a controversial tactic known as the nuclear option to strip from Republicans the power to endlessly debate presidential nominees.  —  The maneuver entails changing …