Do-Nothing Congress as a Cure  —  A trick question: If Congress takes no action in coming years, what will happen to the budget deficit?  —  It will shrink — and shrink a lot.  This simple fact may offer the best hope for deficit reduction.  —  As federal law currently stands …

Wall Street executives warn John Boehner on debt limit  —  NEW YORK — Republicans are growing increasingly concerned about the impact a bruising fight over raising the nation's $14.29 trillion debt ceiling could have on U.S. financial markets.  —  House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) …

Will Daniels seek presidency?  Sounds like it  —  Wearing a green jacket that made him look like he'd just won the Masters, Gov. Mitch Daniels on Tuesday talked about the “savage process” politicians go through when running for president, and about the “certainty of hurtful things” occurring to the families of those seeking the job.

GE Responds to Public Outcry - Will Donate Entire $3.2 Billion Tax Refund to Help Offset Cuts and Save American Jobs  —  Fairfield, CT, 13th April, 2011- GE CEO Jeffrey Immelt has informed the Obama administration that the company will be gifting its entire 2010 tax refund, worth $3.2 Billion …

Obama's “bad negotiating” is actually shrewd negotiating  —  In December, President Obama signed legislation to extend hundreds of billions of dollars in Bush tax cuts, benefiting the wealthiest Americans.  Last week, Obama agreed to billions of dollars in cuts that will impose the greatest burden on the poorest Americans.

Pray.  Hope.  Prepare.  —  When I was in Cairo during the Egyptian uprising, I wanted to change hotels one day to be closer to the action and called the Marriott to see if it had any openings.  The young-sounding Egyptian woman who spoke with me from the reservations department offered …

Graham Vows To ‘Tie Senate In Knots’ Over $50K Left Out Of Budget Deal  —  Not all Republicans were celebrating Tuesday about the fine print of the $38.5 billion in cuts House Republicans managed to wrangle in last week's 11th-hour budget showdown.  Tea Party loyalists who wanted tens …

Inflation Actually Near 10% Using Older Measure  —  After former Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker was appointed in 1979, the consumer price index surged into the double digits, causing the now revered Fed Chief to double the benchmark interest rate in order to break the back of inflation.

New York's Cuomo Outscores Christie, Other Governors In States Polled By Quinnipiac University; More New Yorkers Approve Of New State Budget  —  New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo has a 64 - 16 percent job approval rating among registered voters, higher than the governors in any state polled by Quinnipiac University so far this year.

Sidney Harman 1918-2011  —  Sidney Harman died last night of complications from acute myeloid leukemia at the young age of almost 93.  He first learned of his illness one month ago and remained vigorously engaged as Executive Chairman of Newsweek, and Chairman of the Academy for Polymathic Study …

Lobbyists Won Key Concessions in Budget Deal  —  WASHINGTON — At a quarter till midnight last Friday, with a deal to avert a government shutdown barely an hour old, Senator Harry Reid phoned a fellow Democratic senator, Ron Wyden, at home and startled him with some bad news.

Why Obama was forced to give today's deficit speech  —  If President Obama is in political trouble, just wait a minute.  He'll give a speech.  He thinks speech-making is his best skill and clearly prefers campaigning over presidenting at a desk.  —  Oh, look!  Obama's giving another speech this afternoon.

Oops... NY Times Admits That Obama's Economic Policies Have Failed - Then Quickly Scrubs the Line  —  The New York Times released a rare and honest appraisal of of Barack Obama's failed economic policies yesterday.  —  Economix Blog reported: … But, that wasn't posted long.

ThinkProgress Leaves Bachmann Speechless: Doesn't ‘Have An Answer’ On Whether Homosexuality Is A Public Health Hazard  —  Yesterday, Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) — who is seriously considering launching a campaign for the presidency — appeared before the FAMiLY Leader, an anti-gay social conservative group in Iowa.

The Keystone of the Islamic Milieu: Inbreeding  —  The darkest hour is just before dawn.  A huge swath of this planet, from the Straits of Gibraltar to the Philippine Sea, has been held in a synthetic, forced nightfall for nearly fourteen centuries.  But the sunrise is coming …

Capitol Hill staffers line up for free Botox  —  If you see Capitol Hill staffers smiling uncontrollably this week, it's not because they're happy about avoiding a government shutdown: They probably just got a stiff shot of Botox.  —  More than a dozen Hill staffers got Botox injections …

It's Morning  —  This piece from National Journal explains all: … There you have it.  8.8% unemployment is no reason not to cut spending and we need to think about the future.  But I have a sneaking suspicion that the futures of people who are financially suffering are impacted quite a bit.