Here are links to some of our favorite stories and columns from the weekend and today.

Who's gonna stand up to the super-rich? That's what Frank Rich of the New York Times asks in a column that wonders whether the U.S. can even "afford the damage being done by the ever-growing income inequality between the wealthiest Americans and everyone else."

"Don’t Touch My Junk" A man named John Tyner cell phone-video’d his refusal to go through the new “naked X-ray” machine at the San Diego airport. He then had to go through a pat-down, during which he told the TSA screener, "If you touch my junk I'll have you arrested.” He now faces up to $10K fine in a civil suit. Here’s a CNN report on the incident.

The GOP plan in Raleigh As Chris Fitzsimon of NC Policy Watch points out, the GOP agenda essentially boils down to this: “Slash services to the poor and then make them pay a higher percentage of their income in taxes.”

Money now, freedom later Two gay troops groups announced today that they would support breaking off DADT repeal if doing so would help get the defense authorization bill through Congress. They will, however, keep pressing for repeal in the lame-duck Congress,

Who needs education policies? If you think things are getting really heated in Charlotte over school board decisions, you should take a look at what’s going on in Wake County (Raleigh), where conservatives took over the school board. NC Policy Watch reports that one of the conservatives’ leaders, John Tedesco, now says that abolishing the U.S. Dept. of Education “would be great.” Sorry, but that’s just plain imbecilic. Not that the idea being stupid keeps Sen. Richard Burr and Rep. Sue Myrick from supporting it.

Gold to Go Worried about your money or your bank? Think you’d rather buy stuff with gold instead? Help may be on the way, with plans to introduce gold-selling “ATM’s” in the U.S., following the example of Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Arab Emirates.

• Working "Gold To Go" machine in Abu Dhabi

Open letter from Iraq vet Jason Hurd, an Iraq vet from Kingsport, Tenn., wrote an open letter to the American people, urging them to support a policy of no more combat deployments for already-traumatized troops. Sounds reasonable, huh? Not according to the military.