CBO: John Boehner's debt bill comes up short  —  On the eve of a House vote, new cost estimates from the Congressional Budget Office could pose a problem for Speaker John Boehner as he tries to rally conservative support for his two-step plan to raise the federal debt ceiling and avert default next week.

An Open Letter to the GOP  —  As someone who understands the pressures and difficulties you have been going through, I want to say, “Congratulations.”  You won, and so did the country.  —  Absent some major miscalculations, within the next few days there will be official acknowledgement of what has already happened.

Public Wants a Debt Ceiling Compromise, Expects a Deal Before Deadline  —  GOP Widely Viewed as ‘More Extreme in Its Positions’  —  OVERVIEW  —  The public overwhelmingly favors a compromise in the debt ceiling standoff.  And even as negotiations aimed at resolving the issue show little progress …

SwiftVets revenge  —  The Navy Times (no link) reported last week that Navy Secretary Ray Mabus stripped the Silver Star from a Vietnam swift boat veteran, Capt. Wade Sanders:  —  “Had the subsequently determined facts and evidence surrounding both the incident for which the award …

The Cult That Is Destroying America  —  Watching our system deal with the debt ceiling crisis — a wholly self-inflicted crisis, which may nonetheless have disastrous consequences — it's increasingly obvious that what we're looking at is the destructive influence of a cult that has really poisoned our political system.

Pat Buchanan: Norwegian Right-Wing Terrorist ‘Breivik May Be Right’  —  Today, in a World Net Daily op-ed, failed presidential candidate and conservative pundit Pat Buchanan offers an example of the ethnic bigotry and racial insensitivity that has come to define him.

Michelle Obama praises McDonald's  —  First lady Michelle Obama, who has made the fight against childhood obesity a major part of her platform, praised McDonald's today for plans to add apples to Happy Meals and other new nutritional projects.  —  Obama's statement: … The Associated Press reports:

Cat To Emerge from Bag?  —  There's an interesting possibility, even a likelihood, we may see unfold over the coming days.  And if it happens, we might find out quickly whether there's a limit past which consensus opinion, the Wall Street/business interests who hold such a sway over national politics …

Envoy contrasts terror in Israel, Norway  —  JERUSALEM (JTA) — Norway's ambassador to Israel drew distinctions between the Oslo and Utoya massacres and Palestinian terrorism.  —  Svein Sevje said in an Israeli newspaper interview Tuesday that while the Norwergian bomb and gun rampages …

British Economy, After Austerity, at Zero Growth in the Past Nine Months  —  What's amazing about this debt limit debate, and the headlong rush to austerity, is that we have empirical evidence of what can result, in this kind of economy, when you massively roll back spending.