"Elizabeth Warren on Debt Crisis, Fair Taxation" (video)

LiveSmartVideos, video (02:06):

Elizabeth Warren discussing the debt crisis, fair taxation and other important issues as part of her talking tour.

Troy Davis and his mother (photo)

(CLICK ON IMAGE TO ENLARGE)

Troy Davis and his mother.

David Horsey on USA Income Inequality (cartoon)

(CLICK ON IMAGE TO ENLARGE.)

Seattlepi.com, cartoon.

Howie P.S.: That piece of middle class pie looks pretty good!

"Feingold says Obama shouldn’t be primaried"

Sam Stein (HuffPo), via John Aravosis:

"I strongly disagree with Ralph Nader. As I've said many times before, I believe that re-electing President Obama is an absolute imperative for our economy, our judicial system, for progressives and for our country," said former Sen. Russ Feingold, who announced recently that he was not running for Wisconsin's open Senate seat. MORE...

(Updated with video) Greg Sargent: "The moderate, centrist elite does not speak for moderate voters"

UPDATE: Rachel Maddow on The Today Show this morning (MEDIAite), with video (03:45):

Maddow continued to push back on the idea that the President has a problem with the base, and cited broad public support for his latest policy proposals.

Greg Sargent:

My pick for read of the morning is this piece by Politico’s Glenn Thrush, which gently skewers the caterwauling of the moderate elite (Mark Penn, David Brooks) about Obama’s new populist approach.

With the claim gaining currency that Obama’s jobs bill and push to hike high end taxes are all about appealing to the base, and are certain to further alienate independents and moderates, it’s worth reiterating that the use of terms like “moderate” and “centrist” by such opinionnmakers is entirely arbitrary. They have nothing to do with where the center of public opinion, if such a place even exists, actually lies.

As Thrush puts it, saying what must never be said in polite centrist company:

Polls show the major components of the plan, particularly the tax hikes on families earning $250,000 or more — and the “Buffett tax” on millionaires, polls well with all voters, including swing state independents.

This happens to be true. Key takeaway: Self-proclaimed centrist and moderate opinionmakers and pollster types do not speak for moderate voters. MORE from Sargent's The Morning Plum...

Greg Sargent: "Obama really has hit the "reset button" on his presidency"

Greg Sargent:

A changed landscape? On the morning after Obama vowed to veto any deficit deal that cuts entitlements without raising revenues, and accused Republicans of waging class warfare on behalf of the wealthy, the sense is unmistakable that a page has been turned, that the President is trying out an approach that’s fundamentally new. Commentators had constantly asked — in the awful Beltway cliche — how Obama would move to “hit the reset button” on his presidency. We now have our answer. The reset button has been pressed. MORE...

Howie P.S.: Ezra Klein (via AMERICAblog) wonders: Is the White House finally "manning up"?

Krugman: Austerity is "The Bleeding Cure" (with video from SNL)

Paul Krugman with video-"When's the last time you've had a leeching?"- (03:01):

Doctors used to believe that by draining a patient’s blood they could purge the evil “humors” that were thought to cause disease. In reality, of course, all their bloodletting did was make the patient weaker, and more likely to succumb.

Fortunately, physicians no longer believe that bleeding the sick will make them healthy. Unfortunately, many of the makers of economic policy still do. And economic bloodletting isn’t just inflicting vast pain; it’s starting to undermine our long-run growth prospects. MORE...

H/t to "TODAY’S MUST-READ" @ The Stand.

Frank Rich on the new Suskind book about the Obama White House

Frank Rich (via AMERICAblog):

"...could someone else have done better? Not the out-of-it McCain, not Hillary (an equivocator in her own right and one who would have embraced the same Clinton administration alumni and Wall Street crowd that Obama did). I still believe Obama was our best hope, and I still hope, however quixotically and self-deludedly, that he might learn from his mistakes." MORE...

Obama's opening supercommittee bid: "abandoning the strategy of pre-compromising"

Greg Sargent has a roundup of reactions and early reports of Obama's supercommittee strategy:

As a number of us have argued, Obama’s continuing demand that Republicans pass the whole American Jobs Act — and his willingness to take it straight to the American people — represents a new approach by the White House. Rather than signaling a willingness to give early ground on core liberal principles in the name of compromise as a desirable end in itself, Obama and his advisers laid down some hard lines at the outset in a manner designed to increase leverage in the battles ahead.

The initial reports about what Obama will propose as his opening bid today for the deficit “supercommittee” suggest that they are sticking with it.

The key details, per Zachary Goldfarb: MORE...

Howie P.S.: Robert Reich is curbing his enthusiasm:

Apparently Obama will propose that people earning more than $1 million a year pay at least the same tax rate as middle-class earners. That's aiming mighty low. MORE...

Senator Bernie Sanders on Poverty in America on The Bill Press Show (audio)

The Bill Press Show, audio (11:55).

Howie P.S.: Click on "Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) on the Census poverty report" under the "SHOW HIGHLIGHTS" heading.

Bill Clinton on Obama: "when he’s got a real opponent ...we’ll be in a different world politically.” (with video)

MEDIAite with video (02:47)from CBS' Face the Nation:

Former president Bill Clinton argued on Face the Nation today that President Obama has, in essence, made himself his primary opponent leading up to the 2012 presidential election, and emphasized the role of compromise in contemporary politics.

Host Bob Schieffer asked Clinton if he agreed with James Carville (a former Clinton advisor) in saying that now is the time for President Obama’s team to panic and shake up their entire reelection strategy. Clinton did not take this view, but rather gave Obama credit for his jobs speech last week, which the former president thought was a good first step in taking care of the debt problem.

Clinton looked at President Obama’s struggle right now as a powerful political one. MORE...

Ezra Klein: "How much could a tax on millionaires raise?"

(Andrew Harrer - BLOOMBERG)

Ezra Klein (WaPo):

On Monday, the Obama administration will call for a new tax on income over $1,000,000. The details aren’t available yet, but various versions of of a millionaire’s tax have been floating around for some time now, so it’s possible to get a rough sense of what the tax could raise. MORE...

Tacoma teachers: "Video from the picket line – Strike day 4" (video)

"Striking Tacoma teachers walk the picket lines in front of Jason Lee Middle School in Tacoma on Wednesday, September 14, 2011." Jeremy Harrison/Staff photographer (Jeremy Harrison/The News Tribune)

Tacoma News Tribune, video (03:11).

Papantonio: "America's Income Disparity Explained" (with video)

golefttv, with video (10:09):

While 68.3 million Americans struggle to get enough food to eat and wages are declining for 90 percent of the population, US millionaire household wealth has reached an unprecedented level. According to an extensive study by auditing and financial advisory firm Deloitte, US millionaire households now have $38.6 trillion in wealth. On top of the $38.6 trillion, they have an estimated $6.3 trillion hidden in offshore accounts.

"The TALKERS Interview: A conversation with MSNBC and Dial Global progressive talk star Ed Schultz"

talkers.com:

Ed Schultz is one of the most-listened-to progressive radio talk show hosts on the air in America today and a burgeoning presence in the cable news/talk television scene. His daily radio show syndicated by Dial Global Radio Networks –– now in its eighth year –– broadcasts live weekdays from New York City 12:00 noon to 3:00 pm ET on more than 100 affiliates across the country. In addition, he hosts a prime time 10:00 pm ET weekday cable television program (Monday through Thursday) on MSNBC. The Talkers Interview with Ed Schultz was conducted by Michael Harrison. MORE...

"As Republicans Approach The Ropes On Jobs Bill, Democrats Reach For The Towel"

Tommy Christopher (MEDIAite):

The President has kept the pressure on Congress in a series of speeches, and it appears to be working, at least a little bit. House Republicans like Boehner, Eric Cantor, and even Paul Ryan have sent signals that some kind of deal might be possible, a sign that, even if they’re just stalling so they can regroup, the President’s push has them back on their heels somewhat.

The President can always count on members of his own party to go all weak in the knees whenever there’s a crucial fight, and this time is no different. Several Democrats are already signaling opposition to President Obama’s plan, which completely undercuts the best leverage the President has. MORE...

"Sustainable West Seattle takes on Tox-Ick!"

Cate White (Sustainable West Seattle):

Toxic runoff comes from many everyday sources, including soap, paint, fertilizers and herbicides, and even dog poop. According to the Department of Ecology, toxic runoff is the No. 1 threat to the health of Puget Sound. Each year, 14 million pounds of pollutants wash from our streets and driveways directly into our rivers and streams, and ultimately into the Sound. Sustainable West Seattle takes on Tox-Ick! “Most people I talk to think that polluted runoff from our streets and driveways go to facilities to remove contamination,” said Cate White, leader of Sustainable West Seattle’s toxic runoff outreach group. “However, that isn’t true. Most runoff is not treated. Our campaign helps people understand how they can reduce that flow of toxic runoff.” MORE...

Howie P.S.: This group is sponsoring a series of educational events in West Seattle starting September 11 and ending November 19 at various locations. The next one is Saturday, September 24th @ 10am @ the Youngstown Cultural Arts Center.

Taibbi: "The $2 Billion UBS Incident: 'Rogue Trader' My Ass"

Matt Taibbi:

The U.S. missed its own chance for ringfencing when a proposal for a full repeal of Gramm-Leach-Bliley was routed during the Dodd-Frank negotiations.

That means we’re probably stuck here in the states with companies like Bank of America, JP Morgan Chase and Citigroup, giant commercial banks in charge of stewarding trillions in client bank accounts and consumer credit accounts who also behave like turbocharged gamblers via their investment banking arms.

Sooner or later, this is going to blow up in our faces, and it won't be one lower-level guy with a $2 billion loss we'll be swallowing. It'll be the CEO of another rogue firm like Lehman Brothers, and it'll cost us trillions, not billions. MORE...

"Papantonio: Soulless Republicans Will Never Sign Onto Jobs Bill" (video)

golefttv, with video (12:23):

Mike Papantonio and Ed Schultz talk about whether or not the GOP will ever support the President's jobs bill. They also take a look at some of the crazier moments from Right Wing talkers.

Ari Melber on "Washington's Revolving Door" (video)

MSNBC-Dylan Ratigan, video (03:37).