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Here are some of the stories the Moyers & Company crew are reading this morning.
First, the big story:
- Reuters on how the ghosts of Iraq led to David Cameron’s humiliating defeat last night, when the British Parliament voted against participating in a strike on Syria.
- Despite the Brits’ decision, France is still in.
- And according to The New York Times, so are we.
- But The Hill’s Mike Lillis notes that both liberals and conservatives want Congress to vote on it.
- At Politico, Glenn Thrush and Jennifer Epstein look at how Obama painted himself into a very difficult corner when he talked of “red lines.”
- In The Washington Post, Ernesto Londoño reports that American military officers have deep misgivings about the strikes.
- At Foreign Policy, David Kenner notes that most of the activists who brought attention to the chemical weapons attack in the outskirts of Damascus ended up paying with their lives.
- And for what it’s worth, The Guardian’s Michael Cohen makes a coherent liberal argument in favor of intervention.
- In a guest post at Juan Cole’s Informed Comment, Anthony Dworkin, Daniel Levy and Julien Barnes-Dacey offer “Eight Things to Consider Before Intervening in Syria.” Perhaps the most interesting is the question of whether doing so is legal absent a sign-off from the UN Security Council.
Corporate America not so socially responsible → Writing in The New Yorker, Duke University economist Aaron Chatterji on corporations “failing to do good” voluntarily.
Now we know → Edward Snowden’s latest leak not only has details about how NSA breaks codes, but also the scoop on the heretofore classified intelligence budget. Kevin Poulsen runs it down over at Wired.
This is your brain on poverty → At Think Progress, Bryce Covert looks at new research which suggests that living in poverty, and constantly worrying about making ends meet, has the same effect on brain function as “constantly pulling all-nighters.”
In a chamber full of multi-millionaires → Over at The Atlantic, Stephen Lurie notes that two-thirds of US senators don’t pay their interns.
Don’t blame the robots! → At Beat The Press, economist Dean Baker takes on the claim that technology, rather than public policy, is to blame for America’s spiraling inequality.
President has power → NPR’s Scott Neuman with a quick rundown of Obama’s two new executive orders on gun safety.
We never learn → Paul Krugman explains how a weak response to a financial crisis only sets up the next disaster.
Is the “War on Drugs” coming to an end? → Jacob Sullum, writing on Reason‘s blog, looks at reactions to the DOJ memo on marijuana enforcement and the states.
Think twice before texting this weekend → Over on The Atlantic Wire, Brian Feldman reports on a New Jersey judge’s ruling that a person who texts someone they know is driving bears some responsibility for accidents caused by cellphone distraction.
What are you reading? Tell us in the comments!
