In which the author makes his first congressional visit and first MyFDL post.

• House Dems meh on Sen. Turtle’s backup plan.
• Bachmann’s thugs.
• The latest on the Murdoch Mafia.
• But…Al Gore is fat.
• IOKIYAR.

In terms of the sanity of our politics, just another day ending in “Y”.

Cab Calloway — Minnie the Moocher.

Introduced last September, Archie Comics’ first openly gay character, Kevin Keller, has made the big time: He’s getting his own series!

Who’s the party of Reagan now?

According to the UK legal charity Reprieve, “the first large array of photographs depicting the devastating impact of US unmanned aircraft (‘drone’) attacks on innocent civilians in Pakistan” goes on display today at at Beaconsfield Art Gallery, 22 Newport Street, London. The show, which displays the work of Noor Behram, a 39 year old photographer from the North Waziristan Agency (NWA), runs until August 5. Reportedly, photos from 28 of 60 drone attack sites visited by Behram can be viewed at the London gallery.

Perhaps there’s still enough democracy, moral outrage, and respect for the rule of law left to bring such scoundrels to account. Heaven knows, the public would welcome that. But I doubt it. Sooner or later, violating the norms is all you have left.

I spoke with Barney Frank today about the current debt ceiling debate. He said he would not vote for any bill that raised the debt ceiling which included cuts to Social Security or Medicare benefits, including a chained CPI, which is included in the Gang of 6 deal.

Here’s the text of the letter I delivered to DeGette’s office today, along with the FDL Fact Sheet.