ChuckBaldwinLive.com | As everybody on the planet knows now, Barack Obama was re-elected President of the United States. Democrats retained control of the US Senate, while Republicans retained control of the US House of Representatives. In other words, the national elections produced no change. But, in reality, we haven't had any significant change in a national election in many years.

Antiwar | Not even a full day had passed before newly reelected President Obama ordered another drone strike in Yemen. Huffington Post: On Wednesday morning, as many Americans sifted through the voter data and exit poll numbers of President Barack Obama’s reelection the night before, the Twitter feeds of close watchers of Yemen lit up with reports of another sort of presidential event: an apparent U.S. drone strike had killed several individuals in that country.

Renew America | This week, I read a surprising piece by WND's David Kupelian in which he asserted that people willing to accept the choice of evils in this year's presidential election are following the example of America's founders ("Beware the 'lesser-of-two-evils' trap"). Kupelian notes that in order to secure approval of the U.S. Constitution, the founders compromised with the existence of slavery. He then asserts that "the Founding Fathers, by drafting, ratifying, and implementing the Constitution of the United States, engaged in the most monumental example in American history of deliberately choosing the lesser of two evils."

Truth Alliance | Are we witnessing a neocon take over of the Presidency...once again? Or, maybe they never really gave Barry any power at all, only time. Just enough time to take the heat of the Republicans for their own betraying of the Constitution for eight long years.

The Blaze | With the unprecedented budget explosion of means-tested, welfare-related entitlements, does Team Obama think it can buy the election? It’s a cynical question. But I wouldn’t put it past that cynical bunch. Remember Harry Hopkins, Franklin Roosevelt’s close aid? It was Hopkins who argued tax and tax, spend and spend, elect and elect. Sound familiar? And if I’m not mistaken, the high-tax, anti-rich, big-spending, redistributionist FDR is one of President Barack Obama’s idols. o let’s take a look at some of the recent budget-explosion data points:

Examiner | The Houston Chronicle posted their weekly report on Saturday detailing their top 10 most popular articles of the week. Third most popular was an article describing GOP Vice Presidential candidate Paul Ryan's plea to Ron Paul supporters, begging for their support, just weeks after the GOP and the media egregiously shunned Paul supporters at the national convention and throughout the entire 2012 nomination process.

US News | This post was updated at 11:38 a.m. to include comment from the Gary Johnson campaign. At least two of the original sponsors of the 2012 presidential debates have pulled their support over the exclusion of Libertarian presidential candidate Gary Johnson, arguing that the commission which runs the debates is locked into a two-party outlook. The first presidential debate will take place in Denver on Wednesday between President Barack Obama and Republican contender Mitt Romney.

Politico | A survivor of the July massacre in Aurora, Colo., is appearing in a television ad airing nationally this week to press the presidential candidates to discuss their plans to stop gun violence at the first debate. The ad stars Stephen Barton, a Syracuse University graduate who was on a cross-country bike trip and had stopped in Aurora for the night. Barton told POLITICO he felt an “obligation” to speak up as a survivor of gun violence.

US News | Libertarian presidential nominee Gary Johnson has filed a lawsuit to win a spot in the presidential debates that start in Denver on Oct. 3. It's unlikely that he will succeed, but Johnson argues that the private Commission on Presidential Debates, along with the Democratic and the Republican parties, are unfairly blocking him from participating. Only President Barack Obama and GOP challenger Mitt Romney are being allowed to debate. "Someone has to stand up and call this what it is—a rigged system designed entirely to protect and perpetuate the two-party duopoly," says Johnson spokesman Ron Nielson. "That someone will be the Johnson campaign."

Truth Alliance | Who, or better yet what, will fill the void left by the collapse of the Ron Paul campaign at the RNC in Tampa? Those of us who placed considerable hope in this man Ron Paul as a true peoples champion, are starting to fill the vacuum his presence has left unquestionably this past week. Who will advance the cause of Liberty, End the Fed, and stop the atrocities of American imperialistic foreign policy abroad on a national stage? Crickets...there are very few loud enough voices that reach a national stage, and none so unifying as Ron Paul.

NewsWithViews.com | The Internet has been burning up about the "Comeback Team" after Willard Romney announced his VP choice as Paul Ryan. Star of conservatives because of his "leadership" in heralding "smaller government" and Ryan's much touted efforts to solve America's financial crisis. Sounds good - until you read the label. The problem with those who think Paul Ryan has solutions is they don't even know the how the problem got started and neither do reporters or journalists who write this type of flashy trash:

Tampa Bay Times | The five-year anniversary of 9/11 approached, just one month away. Strother Hammond sat at a computer, his fingers hovering over the keys, his mind churning. He tapped out a message, hit the enter key. "I believe 99.991% of America knows 911 is a lie deep down, but they just need the bucket of water dumped on the witch," he wrote. "This is critical to remember. As soon as everyone realizes that everyone else is wondering the same thing, the truth of 911 will sweep through like a thief in the night."

Lew Rockwell | Few people in public life ever stray from the three-by-five card of approved opinion. On those rare occasions when they do, a macabre ritual of clarifications, retractions, and apologies – a veritable liturgy of expiation – invariably follows. Forgive me, for I have contradicted the holy mainstream. Never again shall I stray from the Biden-to-Romney spectrum.