Our Economic Pickle: “Wages have fallen to a record low as a share of America’s gross domestic product. Until 1975, wages nearly always accounted for more than 50 percent of the nation’s G.D.P., but last year wages fell to a record low of 43.5 percent. Since 2001, when the wage share was 49 percent, there has been a steep slide.” [New York Times]
Following the House GOP leadership election, Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Wash., speaks to reporters after the House Republicans voted for her to head the Republican Conference for the next session of Congress, at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, Nov. 14, 2012. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
How NRA’s True Believers Converted a Marksmanship Group into a Mighty Gun Lobby: “They are absolutist in their interpretation of the Second Amendment. The NRA learned that controversy isn’t a problem but rather, in many cases, a solution, a motivator, a recruitment tool, an inspiration.” [The Washington Post]
One Month After Newtown Shooting, NRA Releases Shooting Game App With Coffin-Shaped Targets: “But it isn’t all about hunting. It allows players practice shooting at targets — coffin-shaped targets, with red bullseyes at head- and heart-level.” [ThinkProgress]
Newly Unemployed Lawmakers Buzzing About Million-Dollar Lobbying Jobs: “Being the top dog at a prominent business group can have all the trappings of Congress: a full-time staff, juice as a D.C. insider, and the chance to be your own boss.” [The Hill]
Ex-IRS Director on Dark-Money Groups: “Investigate Them and Prosecute Them”: “Big dark-money groups like the Karl Rove-advised Crossroads GPS promised the IRS they would have “limited” involvement in politics—in order to protect their non-profit tax-exempt status—yet went on to spend hundreds of millions of dollars to influence the 2010 and 2012 federal elections.” [Mother Jones]
How Unions Went From Border Hawks To Immigration Doves: “With victory in sight, SEIU is committing the full force of its 2.1 million members to pushing comprehensive reform in 2013, with plans for rallies around the country, education campaigns for members, and an inside game aimed at lobbying lawmakers in Washington towards a final vote.” [Talking Points Memo]
Drones Are Fool’s Gold: They Prolong Wars We Can’t Win: “The greatest threat to world peace is not from nuclear weapons and their possible proliferation. It is from drones and their certain proliferation.” [The Guardian ]
