Why 11 Democratic Senators and not 50 (all of them, less the three on the Super Committee) signed this effort spearheaded by Jeff Merkley is beyond me, but if more sign on it could be a crucial factor in actually pivoting away from deficit talk and toward jobs.

In our response to the government’s petition for Writ of Mandamus, we argue that there are no grounds for relief and that the elements for filing a Mandamus Writ have not been met. The Government could have appealed Judge Facciola’s finding of prima facie proof of vindictive or selective prosecution instead of issuing the Writ; further the Government is not irreparably harmed by Facciola’s finding because the government had multiple opportunities to develop a case that would rebut any selective or vindictive prosecution defense put forth by the Choi legal team.

Yesterday’s setback for Speaker John Boehner on a continuing resolution to fund the government shows what little real control Boehner has over his caucus. With 242 members, Boehner has the ability to pass any legislation he wants without Democratic crossover votes – and in this case he got 6 Democratic crossovers. He has a good deal of power at his disposal to threaten Congressmen, to tell them their legislation will never see the light of day, to withhold needed campaign support, to knock them off committee assignments. He did all this and more yesterday. And he still could not budge the more conservative members of his party.

So almost half of all the “Texas Miracle” job went to undocumented immigrants. That should really play well with the Teabagger base.

An email chain turned over by the Department of Homeland Security in response to a subpoena in the Dan Choi case reveal that it was the White House that tipped off the Secret Service with the information that 3 days later there would be a DADT protest in front of the White House. Brian Bond, Deputy Director of Public Engagement, sent an email to then-Deputy Chief of Staff Jim Messina, Dan Pfeiffer, Melody Barnes, Tina Tchen, Dan Pfeiffer, Shin Inouye and others telling them he had it on “pretty good authority” that “Choi will be a part of it.”

In something which should be remembered – because I have a feeling that it may be the opening salvo to something huge and sinister – NY Archbishop Timothy Dolan has sent a letter to President Obama claiming that he is alarmed about recent actions by the President’s administration that supposedly “escalate the threat to marriage and imperil the religious freedom of those who promote and defend marriage.”

I have to agree with The Economist that this policy is trivial, even if you agree (as I do) with the component parts. “Our economy is riddled with a multitude of deeply-embedded structural flaws that allow the well-connected to enrich themselves at the expense of the rest of us, but nobody will do anything about it.” And yes, that was on the website of The Economist.

Many have reported on the IMF’s new growth forecasts, which show serious downgrades throughout the industrialized world. But less remarked upon is the information about the financial industry in the same report, which warns that the global banking system is in its most precarious position since the 2008 crisis.

Speaker Boehner and the rest of the Republican leadership owe no apologies for sharing their views with Chairman Bernanke and the rest of the governors. The cause for outrage is the nature of these views.

Was it when it was after 10 pm and the Supreme Court still hadn’t issued a decision? Was it when the Supreme Court issued a “temporary reprieve” instead of a stay of execution and left people emotionally on edge outside the prison? Or was it when there was an abrupt flurry of sirens that pulled up and police storm troopers marched over to provide reinforcement for a line of police, which had been standing on guard? Was that when it became apparent Troy Davis was going to be killed Wednesday night?