MSNBC reported this hour that two workers involved in the recovery effort of the BP oil disaster have died. Details are sketchy at this time; the network said that two were dead; one was a cleanup worker, one was a ship captain.

Kendrick Meek is now saying that “when I become the nominee, the Democratic nominee, I will be the only pro-choice candidate on the ballot.”

It’s great to hear his enthusiasm for abortion rights, but I have to wonder where Meek’s commitment was last year when he joined with four pro-life Democrats to demand restrictions on insurance coverage for abortion services in the health care bill?

While we gather in anticipation outside the White House door, putting up an ear to the Oval Office, straining to hear any bits and pieces of the conversation, trying to make out whether Stanley McChrystal said “I’ve compromised the mission” again, it’s worth considering just what that mission is. And while the chatterers and courtiers run their personality-driven readouts of this whole Rolling Stone blowup, I’m encouraged by the number of reports – mostly confined to the blogosphere – about the actual war effort, and the futility thereof.

Today, the House EdLabor Committee, chaired by Rep. George Miller, is hosting a hearing called “Worker Health and Safety from the Oil Rig to Shoreline.” The hearing will explore what protections are in place for oil rig workers, what went wrong on the Deepwater Horizon, and how to protect cleanup workers in the Gulf Coast for BP’s oil disaster.

This is the fifth installment of Social Security Works’ weekly livestream of the Closed Door Debt Commission. The best action is around 9:15am and 11:30am, right as members of the commission are entering and leaving.

Yesterday was a singularly unimpressive day at the Wall Street reform conference committee, with concessions and industry giveaways galore.

From the time of his appointment, some of us have been calling for a closer look at McChrystal the Special Ops guy, who commanded the rogue troops of Camp NAMA where access by the International Red Cross was blocked, where the treatment of prisoners was so out of control that other DOD commands banned their troops from operating there – and his claims to be concerned about civilian casualties.

And who was proven right about Afghanistan? Joe “Bite Me” Biden.

Glenn Beck and his gang, as tasteful as ever.

Gene Wilder — Pure Imagination. from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.