The Prospect of Medicare Murder: May save Obama in key swing states.

But Then There's the Pesky Rise in Jobless Claims: Though the last week also showed a drop in layoffs.

Meanwhile, a Texas County Judge is Prepping for Civil War: If Obama is reelected. He's calling for a militia, and his name is Judge Head. (If you have lived in Texas, you may find this utterly commonplace. One morning in 1997, I awoke to find my Denton county commission had declared the whole region pro-life, just going right ahead against the laws of the land.)

The Moves of the Nonaligned Movement: Leaders of 120 countries neither aligned with nor against any major power bloc—themselves now a major voting bloc in the UN—are meeting in Iran, and Ban Ki-Moon's decision to attend goes against American objections.

Damascus Is No Place to Be A Civilian Right Now: "Civilians are enduring a horrific level of violence," says Amnesty International.

The Government and the Goat: A widow cannot blame the state for her husband's goring in Olympic National Park.

Catholics and Mormons, Sitting in a Tree?: The most powerful American Catholic will speak at the Republican convention.

The U.S. and Pakistan: Should divorce, a diplomat says, because this marriage has been dead a long time.

The Economy, Stupid: Why the Federal Way man threatened Obama.

U.S. West Nile Virus Outbreak: In Texas, especially, where the extra-hot summer isn't helping.

The Hawaiian Island That's 98 Percent Privately Owned: And a look at Lanai's new owner.

Paul, When You Go to the Convention in Tampa: Perhaps you could finally catch the macaque on the loose there.

Nicaragua Is the New Florida?: Where U.S. retirees go.

Microsoft's New Logo: The first since 1987.

BBC Turns Down George Orwell Statue: It would be "too left-wing." Or, it could be that George Orwell despised the BBC.

If Paul Ryan Likes Rage Against the Machine: Then do protest songs make any damn difference at all?

Alleged Sexual Assault Against Women and Children: Will keep two Jordanian paralympians and their trainer out of the London games.

Burglar at the Mariners Store: All he wanted was Ichiro jerseys. (This is where a baseball joke goes.)

The Afro-Cuban klezmer music of Eli Rosenblatt and his band is pretty much my favorite Seattle dance experience right now. Tonight, Si Limon is playing in Fremont. Join me! Here's a video of a 2010 performance. (Sorry the sound quality is not better, but you get the idea—great stuff.)