President Obama is not only appointing someone who wants to dismantle DNI even while Congress thinks it should be strengthened; he’s doing so in such a way that deliberately avoids reestablishing the balance of power between the branches of government.

Each time the Catfood Commission holds its secret meetings Alex Lawson of Social Security Works has been outside with his camera, shooting video of the closed front door as FDL runs a live stream on our front page. The Washington Post wrote it up recently. As committee members go in and out of the room Alex asks them questions when he can and yesterday he had an exchange with Alan Simpson that was…well, extraordinary.

The effects of long-term unemployment for millions of people, with a shockingly high 8.6% unemployment rate by 2012, are staggering. But not to Ben Nelson (from Nebraska, a state which has a much more manageable unemployment problem, it should be noted), who would rather kick millions more out of their jobs and consign the rest to years of suffering.

While I’m pleased to see Michael wants to welcome Jane Hamsher and other progressives to the Sierra Club under his watch, I’m waiting for Michael to do what any good host does before he throws a housewarming party: clean the house.

In a 5-4 decision issued this morning, the Supreme Court ruled that more than 600 cases decided by two members of the National Labor Relations Board are invalid and will need to be re-opened. That means more than two years’ worth of work by the NLRB is out the window, leaving thousands of workers in limbo.

This has snowballed. Jeff Miller (R-FL), a Republican Congressman from the Pensacola area (one of the places hit hard by the oil spill), has publicly called for Joe Barton to step down in the wake of his comments apologizing to BP for their “treatment by the White House.”

The drumbeat has already started: We can’t afford to indict BP because it would cause a lot of harm to employees and shareholders. The Obama Administration has demonstrated its acceptance of this mindless mantra, and we shouldn’t hope to win real sanctions against this rapacious company. But what are the consequences for the employees of BP who created the mess? “The New York Times” reports that criminal indictments aren’t likely against employees, except at very low levels. That seems odd.

BP CEO Tony Hayward is testifying before the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigation. The meeting is chaired by Bart Stupak (D-MI). It is expected that the meeting will be interrupted throughout the morning for a series of House votes. You can watch the testimony live on CSPAN 3. You can find part one of the liveblog here and part two here.

You’ve probably seen Scarecrow’s post about Joe Barton’s heartfelt apology to BP’s Tony Hayward. But as Steve Benen points out, it’s nothing new. Leaping to BP’s defense has become something of a wingnut meme.

The Prime Minister’s Office issued a press release in English following the meeting, which was also sent to foreign diplomats, was substantially different than the Hebrew announcement – according to the English text, a decision was made to ease the blockade, but in the Hebrew text there was no mention of any such decision.