More than one percent of all Americans — 3.3 million people — will have lost their unemployment benefits by month’s end if Congress doesn’t pass an extension of long-term benefits. They represent a huge chunk of our neighbors, our customers, our family members. And our country seems to have decided they and those who depend on them are expendable.

Thank you, Nancy Pelosi, for saving me money. The money in question being that which I might have donated to any Democrats this election cycle. Turns out I’ll need it, thanks to your pushing for a vote to put me on cat food when — or if — I retire.

I don’t know about you, but I am just tickled pink that Nancy Pelosi punted on passing a budget and handed responsibility for cutting the deficit by 3% of GDP to the fucking Republican CEO of Honeywell.

“The very rich are different from you and me.” Yes, and that’s why their representatives on the Catfood Commission are horrified that their fellow commissioner Alan Simpson was so indiscreet as to reveal what they think of most Americans: Namely, that we’re “lesser” than them.

A lot has been said and I’m sure a lot more will be said on the primary challenge Bill Halter mounted against Blanche Lincoln in Arkansas, a primary challenge I was glad to help work on. In the lessons learned category, I recommend Jane’s post, which goes through a history of intentional primary challenges we often forget and gives an overview of what outside groups can learn when engaging in these tactics.

In trying to identify exactly what went on in Arkansas I’ve been taking a close look at the numbers and I’ve come to a few conclusions. I’ll lay out the full set of numbers here as well so folks can draw their own.

Senate Republicans successfully filibustered the scaled-back tax extenders/jobs bill today, by a count of 56-40. All Republicans voting voted against the bill, including such so-called moderate Republicans as Olympia Snowe, Susan Collins and Scott Brown.

Brian Beutler has a disturbing article about House conferees working inside the conference committee on behalf of the New Democrats and the New York delegation to kill or weaken key provisions of the Wall Street reform bill.

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.

Despite earlier reports of a new day for the embattled Section 716 provision of the Wall Street reform bill, which would force mega-banks to spin off their swaps trading operations, a compromise appears in the works. Blanche Lincoln has a lot to think about here. She supposedly won her Democratic primary on the strength of committing to “tough” new rules on Wall Street. A compromise like this would damage that argument significantly. It’s her move.

Arkansas was a loss, but the effort was worth it for the ripples it created and its potential as a model for the future. [I can talk about a lot of these issues in my 5:00 PM EST Sunday FDL book salon conversation on my Soul of a Citizen book]