Good morning! Here are some of the stories we’re reading as we get in gear here at Moyers & Company HQ…
Now that the website seems to be working –> Charles Ornstein reports for ProPublica that there’s a looming Obamacare deadline that nobody’s talking about.
Civil War –> John Boehner lashed out at conservative critics of the budget deal struck this week in uncharacteristically harsh terms, reports Matt Berman for National Journal. AND: TPM’s Sahil Kapur on the outside conservative groups’ returning fire.
Who won? –> The New Republic’s Noam Scheiber says the budget deal was a win for Democrats. Mother Jones’ Kevin Drum says it shows that Republicans have won the war over austerity.
No wonder they hate Elizabeth Warren –>Lee Fang reports for The Nation that Third Way conceded what many have suggested in the past: that the group gets most of its funding from Wall Street.
Keystone –> At The New Yorker, Ryan Lizza looks at the significance of John Podesta, an outspoken opponent of the Keystone XL project, joining the Obama administration.
Crime and punishment –> JPMorgan will face a rare criminal penalty for turning a blind eye to Bernie Madoff’s Ponzi scheme, according to Jessica Silver-Greenberg and Ben Protess in The New York Times.
Uncivilized –> Japan condemned by human rights watchdogs for carrying out “secret executions,” reports Justin McCurry for The Guardian. ALSO: At The Atlantic, Andrew Cohen looks at the judicial machinations that resurrected the death penalty in the US in the 1970s.
Scary –> Minnesota National Guard member arrested for stealing military IDs for his militia. AP, via TPM.
Counterintuitive –> Polls have long found atheists to be the most distrusted minority group in the US, but The New Republic’s Isaac Chotiner argues that America may be ready for its first nonbelieving president.
Not so compassionate conservatism –> Vladimir Putin defended Russia’s anti-gay laws, saying his country is a global bulwark of conservatism which stands opposed to “fruitless so-called tolerance.”
Just weird –> A sign-language interpreter at Nelson Mandela’s funeral was accused of gesturing “gibberish”; now says he was hallucinating during the ceremony, according to the AP.
Space drone –> McClatchy’s WJ Hennigan reports that a secret unmanned spacecraft operated by the Pentagon has been orbiting Earth for the past year.
What else is happening out there? Let us know!
