There have been no formal talks between the President and Congressional leaders for the last three days about raising the nation’s debt limit (though there has been “activity and progress” according to OMB Director Jack Lew), but the endgame is nonetheless coming into focus.

The DEA has no problem with chemo patients weakened by hunger. Ignore science. Just say no to marijuana to alleviate nausea at the mere thought of food.

Cordray had a short but impressive run as Ohio Attorney General, taking over for Marc Dann, who resigned after a sexual harassment scandal. Cordray was the very first Attorney General to sue a mortgage servicer over foreclosure fraud and robo-signing, in October 2010. I spoke with Cordray about that lawsuit against GMAC at that time. Unfortunately, he lost his re-election to former Sen. Mike DeWine in 2010, but Warren brought him into CFPB as head of enforcement.

Somewhere over my computer screen is a modest group of thoughtful, worried, anxious and maybe hopeful folk who happened upon these words by choice or accident. Writers, communicating from a distance, have a moral responsibility to imagine their readers as individual embodied beings with their own histories, victories, challenges and tragedies.

A good writer’s motto: There are stories in readers’ eyes that are more poignant than your own.

The Congressional Progressive Caucus has responded to President Barack Obama, who said progressives would have to be “sold” on deficit reduction. Specifically, he claimed that “if you are a progressive, you should be concerned about debt and deficit just as much as if you’re a conservative.”

The conditions at Security Housing Units (SHU) at Pelican Bay Prison, and other Supermax prisons, clearly constitute torture and/or cruel, inhumane treatment of prisoners. It relies on the use of severe isolation or solitary confinement, the effects of which I’ve written about before in the context of the Bradley Manning case (see here and here). At Pelican Bay, the prisoners in “administrative segregation” are locked in a gray concrete 8′X10′ foot cell 22-1/2 hours per day. The other time (if that privilege is granted) is spent alone in a tiny concrete yard. There is no human physical contact. No work, no communal activities. If the prisoner has enough money they can purchase a TV or radio. Meals are pushed through a slot in the metal door.

Happy morning! I hope your pancakes are almost ready. Hmm, I wonder what our Marion has to offer.

Our friend Cindy Kouril is hosting Book Salon today, don’t miss it. The book is The Threat Matrix: The FBI at War in the Age of Global Terror. Our Book Salon scheduler Bev has an uncanny sense of timing for things, note that FBI Director Mueller is currently up confirmation for a continuation of his tenure. So join in the discussion, 5pm ET.

And tomorrow, Lisa has a special Movie Night, as you can see from the poster on the right. Personally, I have some serious doubts about Celebrity Rehab, what with the recent and most unfortunate death of Jeff Conaway, perhaps if he had been encouraged/allowed to detox and go clean out of the limelight, he’d be alive today. But Bob Forrest is a *Monster* in the recovery community, so it will be a Movie Night to remember, Lisa scores once again.

Humphrey the Bear and Ranger J. Audubon Woodlore — Hooked Bear. This Walt Disney Studios cartoon was released on April 27, 1956.

The Lame-Stream Media has of course been waging an all-out attempt to discredit Sarah Palin and make her look like a vicious dingaling, employing underhanded tactics such as showing footage of her talking. The most recent instance of anti-Palin LSM venom would be the attempt on the part of the far-left Atlantic to prove that [...]

“Business Friendly Climate” is one of the buzz phrases we see and hear a bit more frequently these days. I guess it is a phrase that may have always been around to some extent but is not just limited to the business press. But what exactly does “Business Friendly Climate” actually mean?