Welcome back readers! Today is Tuesday, and it’s been a whirlwind day of news! Yes, Chris Christie isn’t running for president… but that was to be expected and I don’t feel the need to discuss the situation. Here are today’s important news stories.

Occupy Wall Street and Occupy Everything

The Movement Broadens and Expands First, the Occupy Wall Street support is growing from powerful nationwide unions. The Communication Workers of America have pledged their support and that of their 700,000 members. Also, according to Labor journalist Mike Elk, AFSCME the United Steel Workers and the AFL CIO will all also pledge support. This thing is getting beg folks, get excited. Follow the first link to see Mother Jones’ overview of the movement from the beginning and use the interactive map to find the #Occupy protest nearest to you. Become part of the solution!

Dems Trying to Salvage Jobs Bill With Barack Obama’s American Jobs Act languishing in Congress, Democrats are trying to entice the public opinion needed to override the intransigence of the Republican House. The one thing that the American public can agree on in a bipartisan manner is taxing the rich. As a part of the Super Committee, Dems are trying to pass a Millionaires surtax that would more than pay for Obama’s Jobs Bill. Who knows how the political system will actually work this situation out, the public’s views are clear. In a recent CBS poll, 51 percent agreed that The Buffett rule (which would raise taxes on the super rich) would not affect the amount of hiring in the country. This flies in the face of how the mainstream media is reporting the story. Maybe the public is smarter than we give them credit for.

Right Wing Extremist Calls for Mass Murder John Joseph Jay is an Anti-Muslim extremist who has clear ties to Pam Gellar. Gellar is an ‘expert’ that Fox News uses again and again to explain issues regarding Muslims. Jay, in his personal blog, explicitly called for the mass murder of Congressmen, members of the media, professors, liberals and Muslims. Yes, all Muslims should be forced to leave the country or be murdered and all mosques should be burned to the ground. This obviously batshit crazy individual helped found the American Freedom Defense Initiative with Pam Gellar. This association tells you all you need to know about who Fox brings on to discuss Muslims. Even a slight connection would be damning.

The Approaching Political Threat Really interesting post from Digby on the possible political future of David Petraeus. Already the hero of the right wing, he has been given legitimacy by the Obama Administration and his political star appears to be very much on the rise. Looking beyond the fact that Counter Insurgency has been a devastating failure in Afghanistan and his apparent role in the coverup of the death of Pat Tillman, my main problem with Petraeus as a Presidential candidate is this – in a time where we’re in at least four wars, the last thing we need is a General President (even in 2016). To help this nation, we need to be ending wars… and I don’t see Petraeus doing that.

Gay Men Offered Fewer Job Interviews The American Journal of Sociology put out a study that found that gay men were 40% less likely to be offered job interviews. This discrimination was particularly heinous in the Midwest and the South. It’s examples like this that prove that we have a long way to go before we can consider ourselves an equal society.

Occupy the NBA With the announcement that a labor agreement between the NBA and the Players Association is not anywhere on the horizon and the Preseason and possibly the Regular Season might be cancelled, Dave Zirin has a plan – Occupy the NBA. In a world where owners blackmail governments to hand over billions of dollars in public money that results in private wealth, the people should rise up and stand with the Players in this struggle. I can’t do the piece justice, read Zirin’s post because it’s fantastic.

Thanks for reading and staying informed! Keep reading The Progressive Playbook and come back tomorrow for another Daily News Drop!

Sources: Mother Jones, The Raw Story, Talking Points Memo, Think Progress, Digby’s Hullabaloo, The Advocate, Edge of Sports