The White House has been trying to maneuver everyone into reach a big austerity deal, but I simply can’t see Obama carrying out his short term veto threat unless the administration had been lying other aspects of the debt ceiling issue.

Some stories over the weekend collectively add up to a counter-offensive about both government and private industry’s impotence in the face of the foreclosure crisis.

The next shoe is going to drop shortly as Private Mortgage Insurers are caught out with way too much liability and way too little reserves to pay them with. Ignoring the housing crisis means that it continues to do damage.

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.