The fireworks finally started to go off in last night’s GOP debate and, yes, Perry was the man in the cross-fire. There was plenty of give and take, if you want to let people know what you think, feel free to use the comments area. With the various contenders stepping up their games out of necessity, the next debate may be even more contentious.

An early note from Afghanistan, reports claim insurgents are firing rockets at the U.S. Embassy.

Obama is heading to Speaker Boehner’s district to pitch his jobs program. Obama looks to remain a tax and spend liberal right to the very end. Let’s hope it ends next year in November.

The prospects for President Barack Obama’s $447 billion jobs plan grew dimmer Monday as he unveiled the fine print of how it would be paid for–primarily through tax increases that Republicans said would destroy jobs, not create them.

Mr. Obama proposed limiting itemized deductions for families with taxable income of $250,000 or more a year, ending tax breaks for oil companies and corporate jet owners, and cutting out a tax break for investment-fund managers. The White House says the tax changes would take effect in 2013 and estimates they would raise $467 billion in additional revenue over 10 years.

Republicans in Congress, who had been striking a more conciliatory tone about backing at least parts of the proposal the president unveiled last Thursday, disputed the White House contention that the plan would cause no additional job losses for the struggling economy.

“It would be fair to say this tax increase on job creators is the kind of proposal both parties have opposed in the past,” said Michael Steel, a spokesman for House Speaker John Boehner (R., Ohio). “We remain eager to work together on ways to support job growth, but this proposal doesn’t appear to have been offered in that bipartisan spirit.”

Megan McArdle looks at the jobs plan and realizes its all a bit of political theater. With almost $1 in tax hikes for every $1 in new spending, it certainly doesn’t look like a serious proposal. Robert Samuelson, meanwhile, thinks we all need a refresher course in how jobs are created.

Yes, Paul Krugman is still a horses ass. Meanwhile, Donald Rumsfeld has dropped his subscription to the NY Times over Krugman’s 9-11 editorial. Dude, what took you so long?

DOOM: A pocketful of dust.

BigPeace: Worldview, September 13-Greece Default Almost Certain

In Science news, there were fifty new Exoplanets discovered. I wonder what the tax rates are out there?

Gallup says 86% of the population now approves of black-white marriages. I guess racism doesn’t explain the end of Obama’s honeymoon after all.

Apparently Bank of America didn’t get the memo. All the politicians have been talking jobs. BoA is doing away with 30k of them.

An estimate claims American drivers may spend about $491 Billion this year for gasoline. You don’t get the mileage out of a half trillion dollars you used to, or perhaps you do technically get more mileage – it just doesn’t feel that way to your pocketbook?

Have you noticed? Museums and memorials today are preoccupied with death and disaster.