Quote of the Day
"I love the fact that Sheldon put in about $10 million with Gingrich and I put in a lot less with Rick. I like to say I'm an investor and Sheldon is a casino guy."

-- Santorum Super PAC financier Foster Freiss, in an interview on Bloomberg TV, poking fun at Gingrich Super PAC backer Sheldon Adelson.
 
Obama's Brush with Political Disaster
From The New Republic:
For voters contemplating whether he deserves a second term, the question is less and less one of policy or even worldview than of basic disposition. Throughout his political career, Obama has displayed an uncanny knack for responding to existential threats... But, in every case, the adjustments didn't come until the crisis was already at hand. His initial approach was too passive and too accommodating, and he stuck with it far too long.
 
Money and Morals
From Paul Krugman at the New York Times:
Lately inequality has re-entered the national conversation. Occupy Wall Street gave the issue visibility, while the Congressional Budget Office supplied hard data on the widening income gap. And the myth of a classless society has been exposed: Among rich countries, America stands out as the place where economic and social status is most likely to be inherited. So you knew what was going to happen next. Suddenly, conservatives are telling us that it’s not really about money; it’s about morals. Never mind wage stagnation and all that, the real problem is the collapse of working-class family values, which is somehow the fault of liberals.
But is it really all about morals? No, it’s mainly about money.
 
New Hampshire Republican proposes end to lunch break law
From Raw Story:
A Republican State Representative in New Hampshire has found a way to create a new front in the war on workers, proposing a bill that would repeal the state’s law requiring that workers get a 30-minute lunch break after five hours of labor. State Rep. J.R. Hoell (R), a supporter of libertarian-leaning Rep. Ron Paul (R-TX) for president, told a New Hampshire General Court committee this week that he believes the law is unnecessary because it is in employers’ interest to treat workers well, according to The Concord Monitor.
 
Settlement launches foreclosure reckoning
From the Washington Post:
The government’s $25 billion settlement Thursday with banks over fraudulent foreclosure practices begins a long-promised reckoning with the financial industry over its role in the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression, officials said. The deal represents the largest industry settlement since an agreement with tobacco companies in 1998 and will force five of the nation’s largest banks to overhaul their mortgage-servicing practices and reduce loan balances for many borrowers who owe more than their houses are worth.