FURTHERMORE. . .

Wall Street Journal - All of those twentysomethings who voted for Barack Obama last year are about to experience the change they haven't been waiting for: the return of income tax bracket creep. Buried in Nancy Pelosi's health-care bill is a provision that will partially repeal tax indexing for inflation, meaning that as their earnings rise over a lifetime these youngsters can look forward to paying higher rates even if their income gains aren't real. In order to raise enough money to make their plan look like it won't add to the deficit, House Democrats have deliberately not indexed two main tax features of their plan: the $500,000 threshold for the 5.4-percentage-point income tax surcharge; and the payroll level at which small businesses must pay a new 8% tax penalty for not offering health insurance. This is a sneaky way for politicians to pry more money out of workers every year without having to legislate tax increases.

Las Vegas Sun - Sen. John Ensign has moved out of the C Street house, the Christian home he shared with other elected officials on Capitol Hill that came under scrutiny for its residents' beliefs and practices and their role in trying to end the Nevada Republican's affair with a campaign staff member. The red brick town house emerged this summer as the subject of political intrigue - not only as a pivotal location in Ensign's affair with Cynthia Hampton, but also that of South Carolina Republican Gov. Mark Sanford, who sought guidance there as he wrestled with his own affair. . . Ensign apparently was not pushed out, but left on his own. He apologized to his colleagues. . . "I don't discuss my living arrangements," Ensign told the Sun. . . A timely book, "The Family," by religious writer Jeff Sharlet, described the organization that runs the house as a longtime, backroom power player in Washington, grooming lawmakers as spiritually chosen political leaders. Men often gather there for spiritual fellowship.

Recovered history: 2007: Hillary Clinton heavy into rightwing cult

Center for Responsive Politics - One percent of Americans can claim to be millionaires, yet 44 percent of members of Congress are millionaires according to the Center for Responsive Politics. CRP data indicate that currently serving U.S. senators have a reportable worth of $1.79 million for 2008, down from $2.27 million in 2007, and House members median income was $622,254 in 2008, down from $724,258 in 2007

Boing Boing - Observer Business [columnist] John Naughton discusses what a rip off it is for ebook vendors to "sell" you books with abusive, multi-thousand word "license agreements," pretending that because you bought your book over the network, it wasn't a sale, and so you don't get to own it. These "licenses" aren't about upholding copyright (if they were, you could replace thousands of words of lawyerese with four simple words: "Don't violate copyright law"). They're about overriding copyright -- which has all kinds of guarantees for the rights of book-owners -- with a private law that gives every advantage to the publisher or retailer, converting you from a noble reader to a wormy, contemptible licensor who doesn't deserve to own books.