The Washington Examiner says it best "At a time of crisis, Obama plays politics". The NY Post wasn't very impressed with Obama's speech either. Panned again, by John Podhoretz. Rich Lowry adds his thoughts on the first President in our history to have our credit rating downgraded.

Thomas Sowell writes in NRO about the GOP's Pyrrhic Victory. For the life of me, I do not understand why the GOP is being blamed in recent polls (obviously, the respondents do not watch Fox News, they must be Michael Moore clones) ...yes, they spent far too much under Dubya, but the spending on entitlements has been driven by the liberal left and the media. If the current administration would end the out-of-control regulations and admit Obamacare is unaffordable, the economy would begin to turn around. More people working, more people paying into rather than taking from the system. If Obama says one more time that there must be "shared sacrifices" he best be supporting a flat tax for everyone. Shared sacrifices means everyone, not just the rich.

The WSJ sees a silver lining in the downgrade.

Larry Kudlow says it is no time to panic.

The Mercatus Center gives a good history lesson on fiscal reform.

More on Fast and Furious. Some Random Thoughts from Thomas Sowell.

We've saved today's best for last, a scathing indictment of Obama's intelligence by Bret Stephens.

A Nation mourns for our Navy Seals and all who have made the ultimate sacrifice protecting America.

RIP Hugh Carey who regretted leading the fight to have Medicaid pay for abortions.

Here is an article you would not expect from us...but it really is worth the read.

The WSJ on American Gets Downgraded. Also from the WSJ: How to get that AAA Rating back.
(Hint....Reagan would know!)

The Washington Examiner also knows how. And the Heritage Foundation reminds everyone...It's the Spending.

Nicole Gelinas opines on America's road to discredit.

S&P isn't finished. The downgraded Fannie and Freddie, how will that effect Fannie's request on Friday for and additional $5.1 billion?

Are States next?

Some perspective from Congressman Cantor on the debt ceiling debate.

China threatens US.

The GOP Presidential race begins in earnest on Saturday in Ames, Iowa.

Is this modern math? No wonder Government has fiscal problems!

You may want to think twice about having a personal photo on Facebook.

Weekly Wrap-Up

He’s celebrating and cashing in, but it’s shaping up to be an unhappy birthday for Barack Obama.

He’s getting bad news from Florida...

He’s facing "255,000 problems" as far as unemployment is concerned...

And the economy is “A Mess.”

It’s better to give than to receive, we’ve all heard – and here we learn that with his commandment that under Obamacare insurance plans must provide free birth control, Obama celebrated his birthday by giving a special handout to two of his favorite special interests: Planned Parenthood and the drug industry.

In analyzing this “Contraception by Fiat,” National Review states that this new regulation is “yet one more reason that Obamacare deserves to be repealed.”

I agree. What’s more, this article also points out that “insurance companies don’t provide anything for free.” Everyone’s premiums will increase to make up the difference – which means each of us will be subsidizing this “free” birth control, whether we like it or not.

Do you support this new mandate? Vote today in our new Weekly Poll.

RedState.com describes our very own Chuck Schumer as a “thoroughgoing lying hypocrite” – which seems harsh, but a quick look at the then-and-now video of Chuck’s self-righteous stand against violent rhetoric and his use of that very rhetoric makes it hard to disagree.

And what has Chuck so upset? The checks-and-balances spelled out in the U.S. Constitution. I’m expecting Chuck to hold a press conference blasting the Founders as “extremists” any day now.

As always, have a nice weekend!

The ink is hardly dry on the debt ceiling bill and the Feds have borrowed 60% of it already! New unemployment claims remain around the 400,000 mark. Add to that the GDP numbers downgrading, is it any wonder then that the DOW is plunging...hopefully it will bounce back before closing today.

Why the debt ceiling isn't selling in Peoria.

Victor Davis Hanson wants the President to "Spare Us the Sermons"

And please spare us the regulations!

High gas prices are hindering job growth and the Obama Administration is at fault. Are the high gas prices the reason why the taxpayers will have to fund Obama's bus tour of battleground states?

Trying to recapture the public respect that surged after the killing of Osama bin Laden, Obama's team is endangering Americans.

Larry Kudlow is more optimistic regarding the economy than most.

The only way we will really turn our Nation around is to elect more people like Sen. Rubio...his thinking is the future. We are approximately 66 weeks away from the 2012 elections, the question is will we be able to keep the momentum up? If we fail, this will be our future. Because it is obvious that President Obama and his lemmings refuse to acknowledge their policies are the problem. There is hope, but we must continue to ring the clarion bell as loud as we can.

Michael Goodwin understands. So does George Will.

The Military is NOT the problem.

It helps when Sen. Rubio and Congressman Paul Ryan are in Congress and keep their feet to the fire. Henninger on Paul Ryan's focus and why he is the 2nd most wished for presidential candidate.

Mr. Clinton, it really is way past the time for you to stop playing the race card!

The Feds get one issue right.

When was the last time you heard this?

Thomas Sowell's Misleading Words - Part 2.

Chalk this up as a win for Nassau County taxpayers.

This, however, is a big loss for New Yorkers.

Poor VP Joe Biden, just loves to put in foot in his mouth.... here and here.

The bill is signed and as the Heritage Foundation states "Our work has only begun" Wesley Pruden starts his analysis with "Now the real fun begins", but the best headline I came across was from the Washington Examiner "There will be hell to pay if the debt deal drops". Rich Lowry's column deals with the "end of Keynes"

The ink isn't dry yet and Harry Reid is already calling for tax increases.

This from the Prime Minister of the country we are paying to get supplies to the International Space Station. We are "Parasites" according to Putin and this being told to the youth of Russia. As far as I am concerned the parasite is the person demanding $60 M per trip to the space station.

It is Thomas Sowell Tuesday.

It appears there is a deal to increase the debt limit, but not everyone is on board. The coverage of the deal follows the normal main stream media's assessment of this administration: Obama walks on water and TEA people are the devil incarnate. Jonah Goldberg's column for tomorrow has a fair recap of the last few weeks. The title says it all "A debt deal, but we're still disaster-bound"

Kudos to the Weekly Standard for correcting Obama's wildly inaccurate claim and the advice for those who do not want to vote for the deal. Fred Barnes also recommends 6 good choices for the panel.

Reuters has a quick synopsis of the deal. Heritage Foundation has a better analysis. Largest hike in the history of our Nation.

In case you missed this over the weekend, Obama' tweets, loses followers.

Thanks again, President Obama, you really are trying to end America as we know it, we like our big cars, they keep us safe.

Every year there is a news article on how the dead sign petitions or vote, won't they ever learn?