Midday open thread

• With the House proposing taxing the wealthy to pay for health care, Atrios warns we should brace ourselves for the following waves of crappy press coverage:

  Confusion between total and marginal tax rates.

  Confusion between small business revenue and small business profits.

  Stories about how in some places $350,000 isn't all that wealth.

• Via Balloon Juice, a couple of interesting posts. First, John Cole notes that while President Obama was pure enough to bask in the Pope's presence yesterday, he wasn't good enough for Notre Dame; and Cole finds a great piece on how dog therapy is being used for PTSD patients.
• President Obama has appointed Brendan Johnson, the 34-year-old son of Senator Tim Johnson (D-SD) as U.S. attorney for South Dakota.
• More British troops have now been killed in Afghanistan than in Iraq.
• General Motors is going to take to eBay to try to sell new cars.
• President Obama visits Ghana, only the third sitting president to do so.
• Karl Rove gets in a Twitter of a discussion about executive overreach when someone asks him about Obama and his appointments of "czars":

  
  Too bad Think Progress can name all the czars Rove's boss appointed while in office.

• A five-year prison term has been handed down in the case of a man convicted in September of having a gun outside the Obamas' home in Chicago.
• Secretary of State Hillary Clinton asks North Korea to grant amnesty to the two American journalists being held there.
• A new report takes a look at neo-Nazis in the U.S. military and it's not pretty. But don't worry, by Monday someone will be apologizing for stating the truth, a la the DHS report walkback.
• Rep. George Miller is going to introduce legislation next week that will reflect President Obama's plan to restructure the student loan industry--a plan that's being fought tooth and nail by private banks, which will be cut out of a lot of interest-bearing action if it passes.