In the New York Times:

OUR leaders have asked for “shared sacrifice.” But when they did the asking, they spared me. I checked with my mega-rich friends to learn what pain they were expecting. They, too, were left untouched.

While the poor and middle class fight for us in Afghanistan, and while most Americans struggle to make ends meet, we mega-rich continue to get our extraordinary tax breaks. Some of us are investment managers who earn billions from our daily labors but are allowed to classify our income as “carried interest,” thereby getting a bargain 15 percent tax rate. Others own stock index futures for 10 minutes and have 60 percent of their gain taxed at 15 percent, as if they’d been long-term investors.

These and other blessings are showered upon us by legislators in Washington who feel compelled to protect us, much as if we were spotted owls or some other endangered species. It’s nice to have friends in high places.

Here is an issue the President can easily make his. He could of done it last December of course, but it is not too late.

Speaking for me only

Watching tonight: The finale of the Next Food Network Star (go Susie or Jeff.) The season opener of the Great Food Truck Race. And, of course, Big Brother and Breaking Bad. Am I missing anything?

This is an open thread, all topics welcome, TV related or not.

Obama's approval rating is tanking -- it's now below 40%, the lowest of his Presidency.

Congress is faring even worse. More than 80% of Americans disapprove of the job Congress is doing, and plenty don't plan to vote for incumbents:

Just 18% of registered voters in a Washington Post survey said they were inclined to vote to re-elect their representative in Congress -- the lowest number in more than two decades (only once before had it ever dipped below 30%).

Obama and the Democrats should promise a lock box on the Medicare eligibility age and on social security benefits. And warn the Republicans that tax hikes for the rich are coming whether they like it or not. (Someone has to pay for the wars Republicans got us into.) Seniors vote in huge numbers and Medicare and Social Security are major issues for them. As for Republicans and the Tea Party: all wind but no sail. I'm not even paying attention to them. As bad as our incumbents are, they are worse. And most people know it. People may be amused by crackpots, but they don't vote for them.

As the economy worsens, President Obama and his senior aides are considering whether to adopt a more combative approach on economic issues, seeking to highlight substantive differences with Republicans in Congress and on the campaign trail rather than continuing to pursue elusive compromises, advisers to the president say.

Mr. Obama’s senior adviser, David Plouffe, and his chief of staff, William M. Daley, want him to maintain a pragmatic strategy of appealing to independent voters by advocating ideas that can pass Congress, even if they may not have much economic impact. [. . .] But others, including Gene Sperling, Mr. Obama’s chief economic adviser, say public anger over the debt ceiling debate has weakened Republicans and created an opening for bigger ideas like tax incentives for businesses that hire more workers, according to Congressional Democrats who share that view. Democrats are also pushing the White House to help homeowners facing foreclosure.

[. . .] So far, most signs point to a continuation of the nonconfrontational approach — better to do something than nothing — that has defined this administration. Mr. Obama and his aides are skeptical that voters will reward bold proposals if those ideas do not pass Congress. It is their judgment that moderate voters want tangible results rather than speeches.

Just passing bills that do nothing are not "results." Pretending that they are "results" with the economy floundering is part of the President's political problem. Another "Recovery Summer" stunt won't help - it will hurt.

Speaking for me only

There is little news being reported other than Republicans, and I'm not interested in them.

What's left? I finally made the switch yesterday from a drip brewer to a single serve coffee maker with pods. I should have done it a year ago. I forgot what fresh coffee tastes like. If you haven't switched yet, and you make coffee only for yourself every morning, try it. I was afraid the coffee would taste like instant or be too weak or not hot enough. All false. It's great and fast and no pot or filter to clean. I got the Keurig Special Edition B60.

Second new thing I did: I wanted to hear BTD on the radio on Sirius yesterday, which meant driving somewhere, but what's open at 9 am on a Saturday morning? The local Farmer's market. I am so tired of grocery store tomatoes. Even their heirlooms have little taste. Our farmer's market was excellent -- aside from tomatoes with real flavor, I got sweet onions that were picked hours before I bought them, Olathe corn on the cob and Pallisades peaches and the best melons I've had in years. Yes, Whole Foods has them too, but not as fresh. Go early and skip the crowds.

I'd rather write about the news, but for now I'm not seeing anything interesting, so here's an open thread, all topics welcome.

Big Tent Democrat and David Waldman debut Daily Kos Radio this morning on Sirius Left Channel 127 from 10 am ET to 1pm ET. Give a listen.

This is an open thread, all topics welcome.

Obama's health care bill took a hit today.

A federal appeals court in Atlanta on Friday struck down a key provision of the Obama administration's health care reform law, ruling that Congress exceeded its authority in mandating that most Americans buy health insurance by 2014 or face a penalty.

A divided, three-judge panel of the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the individual mandate was "breathtaking in its expansive scope" and therefore unconstitutional. The "individual mandate," they wrote, "exceeds Congress's enumerated commerce power."

The opinion is here.

In court all day. Flying tonight. Tomorrow morning at 10 am EST is our Daily Kos Radio debut on Sirius XM Channel 127. You can get a 30 day free trial online subscription. Hope you can join us. Open Thread.

It's a jail day for me, here's an open thread for you. All topics welcome.

Texas Governor Rick Perry has officially declared himself a candidate for the Republican nomination for President. He and Mitt Romney are now considered frontrunners.

No matter how disappointed you are with Obama and the Democrats, any Republican would be far worse.

I don't want Republicans picking Supreme Court Justices. I don't want them making economic policy. They would be the worst by far on crime policy.

Things are bad now, but there's no need to make them worse.

The gang of 12 henchman for the Deficit Budget Committee is now in place. Nancy Pelosi named the Democratic House appointees today. They are:

Democratic Reps. Chris Van Hollen (Md.), Xavier Becerra (Calif.) and James Clyburn (S.C.).

On the Republican House side:

House Speaker John Boehner tapped House Republican Conference Chairman Jeb Hensarling, R-Texas, to serve as co-chair of the committee. He also appointed House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Dave Camp, R-Mich., and House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Fred Upton, R-Mich., to the committee.

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Remember the corrupt juvenile judge scheme in Pennsylvania the prosecutors dubbed "Cash for Kids?" The scheme involved the judges taking money from private detention centers in exchange for sentencing kids to the facilities.

Defiant former Judge Mark Ciavarella Jr., convicted of racketeering, has been sentenced to 28 years in prison.

Ciavarella, known for his harsh and autocratic courtroom demeanor, filled the beds of the private lockups with children as young as 10, many of them first-time offenders convicted of petty theft and other minor crimes.

....In the wake of the scandal, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court tossed about 4,000 convictions issued by Ciavarella between 2003 and 2008, saying he violated the constitutional rights of the juveniles, including the right to legal counsel and the right to intelligently enter a plea.

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