While the economy probably seems fine for the millionaires in Congress and the millionaires they hang out with at expensive fundraisers, lower income Americans are struggling.

I am extremely glad to finally hear someone of prominence acknowledge that the question of how to lower health care costs isn’t this great complex mystery, but a problem for which governments around the world have several well tested solutions.

The more likely possibility, given what Brennan, Napolitano, and Clapper have said is that the US–the entire government–was left out of the loop on this investigation. That’s certainly Britain’s prerogative. You never know when some Dick Cheney figure is going to sabotage a British investigation on them, after all.

The fox isn’t guarding the henhouse anymore; corporate foxes have outsourced the hens, leased the henhouse in an interest rate swap to Dubai, collateralized the egg stream in a CDO with Singapore traders, and re-hired the egglayers into at-will employment.

It seems the British government’s inquiry itself will not start until all pending civil and criminal complaints about torture are completed — and the government is helpfully offering to serve as mediator to speed their completion this year.

I know, I know: David Cameron, the guy who overcame his privileged and cosseted upbringing, is the one who’s actually going to be living at that address. But the man who put Cameron at Number Ten Downing is a Frenchman named Baudoin Prot, the chief executive officer of BNP Paribas, a huge multinational banking firm — and Cameron and the Tories had better do as he says, or he can break them just as he made them.

Since the Conservative Party won the most MPs in the British elections last week, Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg has sought an alliance with the Tories in high-level talks. But Liberal Dem MPs have not fully endorsed the measure, seeking assurances that their key issues – many of which are at odds with the Conservatives – would get addressed in any power-sharing arrangement. Seeking the advantage, Labour has initiated talks with the Liberal Dems aimed at their own minority government coalition. And Labour leader Gordon Brown has added a new wrinkle to those negotiations by announcing that he will step down as Prime Minister.

Polls are now closed in the United Kingdom, and the UK Guardian published an exit poll indicating that no party won a majority. So, there could be what is called a “hung parliament”–a House of Commons where no one party holds a majority of seats. In many parliamentary systems, this is not an unusual occurrence and results in a coalition government, but in two-party-dominated Britain, this could turn out to be a watershed event.

In the United Kingdom general election May 6, “tactical voting” has become a serious issue as prominent members of the Labour Party push for it as a way to “keep out the Tories.” It’s an issue in upcoming US elections, as well.

Tactical voting is voting for someone besides the candidate you would most want to see win. Normally it is used to stop the candidate you hate the most from winning, by voting for your second or even third choice.