In a town hall discussion broadcast live on CNBC Monday, President Barack Obama said the country's economy is "moving in the right direction" -- even if it doesn't feel that way.

Responding to questions from, in addition to the host John Harwood, a student, a Wall Streeter, a small business-owner and a self-described member of the middle class, the president acknowledged that "times are tough for everybody," but pointed to his record so far as president and asked the audience to trust in his agenda. "We went through the worst recession since the Great Depression," he said. "Those programs that we put in place worked. So now you've got a financial system that is stable. ...The challenge is that the hole was so deep."

The tough questions came near the beginning. The chief financial officer for a veterans service organization, who called herself a "middle-class American," said she was "exhausted of defending you" and "deeply disappointed with where we are right now."

This is my personal plea to you Mr. President. I voted for you, I spoke out for you, I contributed to your campaign several times. But you have let me down and let down hundreds of thousands of othersthat did the same. For you to stand there and tell me that things are better PISSES ME OFF. If there is another candidate to vote for next time that is not some crooked politician that is owned by big business, my vote and money will go there. You need to make Warren the permanent head of the Consumer Protection Agency and withdraw your nomination for Jack Lew because he is CLEARLY NOT LOOKING OUT FOR ME. MY ADVICE TO YOU MR. PRESIDENT IS TO GROW SOME BALLS AND FIGHT FOR WHAT THE PEOPLE WANT AND FORGET ABOUT BIPARTISANSHIP. THAT SHIP HAS SAILED AND SUNK.

This group of investors, which together account for nearly 100% of early stage startup deals in Silicon Valley, have been meeting regularly to compare notes. Early on it was mostly to complain about a variety of things. But the conversation has evolved to the point where these super angels are actually colluding (and I don’t use that word lightly) to solve a number of problems, say multiple sources who are part of the group and were at the dinner. According to these souces, the ongoing agenda includes:

• Complaints about Y Combinator’s growing power, and how to counteract competitiveness in Y Combinator deals
• Complaints about rising deal valuations and they can act as a group to reduce those valuations
• How the group can act together to keep traditional venture capitalists out of deals entirely
• How the group can act together to keep out new angel investors invading the market and driving up valuations.
• More mundane things, like agreeing as a group not to accept convertible notes in deals (an entrepreneur-friendly type of deal).
• One source has also said that there is a wiki of some sort that the group has that explicitly talks about how the group should act as one to keep deal valuations down.

At least two people attending were extremely uneasy about the meetings, and have said that they are only there to gather information, not participate.

So what’s wrong with this?

Collusion and price fixing, that’s what. It is absolutely unlawful for competitors to act together to keep other competitors out of the market, or to discuss ways to keep prices under control. And that appears to be exactly what this group is doing.

A former top executive at Citigroup who participated in the deregulation of Wall Street during the Clinton administration and recently was tapped by President Barack Obama for a top White House post told a Senate panel last week that deregulation didn't lead to the recent financial crisis.

How can Obama pick Jack Lew to run the Office of Management and Budget given Lew's professed view that deregulation of the financial system did not contribute to the current recession? On top of it all, the nomination has passed 9 to 0 in favor in committee. This should be stopped and stopped immediately for the good of the nation. Speak up if you agree.

Newsweek’s Howard Fineman to Join The Huffington Post

By JEREMY W. PETERS AND BRIAN STELTER

Howard Fineman, one of the more recognizable pundits on cable television and a correspondent for Newsweek for 30 years, is leaving the magazine to become a senior editor at The Huffington Post.

Mr. Fineman’s move from a print medium to online news is a sign that The Huffington Post, which has until now heavily relied on young bloggers, is maturing. And it signals that the site, which has become one of the largest news destinations on the Web since it started in 2005, is investing significantly in its growth.

Wow, Fineman leaves Newsweek to join HufPo. This is very close to what I predicted yesterday in reaction to Frederic Filoux's post at Monday Note yesterday. This migration from Big Media to the Low Overhead Tech Media is already happening and this announcement is only one example. Stay tuned for more....

PORTLAND, Maine — Organizers say Lady Gaga is visiting Maine's largest city to join a rally against the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy on gays.

Thank you Lady Gaga for taking a public stand on this important civil rights issue. How can the military in the country that stands for equality for all refuse one group equal rights under the law? Add your comments here and pass it along.

The relationship to news aggregation needs to be reconsidered. Publishers of original news (magazines and newspapers mostly) should issue a “thanks” to fair-referrals such as Techmeme and many others like it — and, at the same time, protect themselves from cynical aggregators that will prey on their costly journalistic production.

I think that the HufPo and future aggregators of their ilk portend a trend of the best journalists leaving big media and starting their own well read blogs. These blogs will have low overhead and strong sponsors. These blogs will open up an opportunity for independent advertiser networks and new revenue models like Grabbit.