Morning Reads

Here are some of the stories the Moyers & Company crew are reading this morning.

Big news on the Syria front…

Russian President Vladimir Putin. (AP Photo/RIA-Novosti, Alexei Druzhinin, Presidential Press Service)

  • The Russians appear to have taken Kerry up on an off-hand remark, perhaps giving everyone a chance to step back from the precipice.  NYT ed board weighs in with some analysis. As does political scientist James Fearon at The Monkey Cage.
  • Syria rushes to say yes, reports the AP. Obama says breakthrough is possible, per CNN.  Implementation may be tricky.
  • Slate’s Joshua Keating wonders what Kerry had in mind when he threatened Syria with an “unbelievably small” strike.
  • Obama tells CBS that he knows the American people aren’t down for more armed conflict in Middle East.
  • France, which had been the strongest supporter of U.S. military action, now says it will seek action along the lines of the Russian proposal through the UN, according to The Guardian.

And in other news…

No need for a warrant on the border –> Susan Stellin reports for the NYT that the government has made it a policy to snoop through people’s electronic devices at border crossings in order to avoid those pesky warrants.

Eminent headache for Wall Street –> MoJo’s Josh Harkinson looks at Richmond, California’s plan to use eminent domain to fight the foreclosure crisis.

Republicans blame Republicans for voting rights –> Republican state officials blame Washington GOPers’ obstructionism for blocking their voting restrictions, reports Daniel Strauss over at TPM.

Who woulda thunk it? –> George Zimmerman is in hot water again for allegedly pulling a gun on his wife during a domestic dispute. At ALECexposed, Lisa Graves notes that there’s a pattern here.

Not just unions –> Over at The Hill, Kevin Bogardus reports from the AFL-CIO convention that labor’s opening its doors to non-union workers.

Beacon of freedom  –> At The American Prospect, Paul Waldman looks at the story of a journalist facing life in prison for posting a hyper-link, and puts it into context within the “War on Terror.”

God’s army? –> Drew Miller writes about the dangers of a crusading evangelized military at Policymic.

Smile! –> World Happiness Report shows slight uptick, according to McClatchy.

What are you reading? Tell us in the comments!

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