Good morning and happy Friday! Here are some of the stories we’re reading at Moyers & Company HQ this AM…
Our Town working as usual –> Anna Palmer and Byron Tau report for Politico that K Street lobbyists are doing just fine despite the do-nothing Congress’ failure to get anything accomplished.
Watching the watchers –> WaPo’s Steven Rich and Barton Gellman report that the NSA is trying to build a super-computer that could crack most encryption.
New normal? –> Annie-Rose Strasser at ThinkProgress writes that a new FBI study finds that mass shootings have increased from an average of 5 per year between 2000 and 2008 to 16 per year since then.
Prioritizing climate –> At the NYT, Coral Davenport reports that John Kerry is prioritizing the completion of a climate change deal. ALSO: Using small words, MoJo’s Chris Mooney patiently explains to Donald Trump that winter freezes don’t conflict with the science of climate change.
Whither prosperity? –> Saket Soni writes at The Nation that in the future we may all face the kinds of jobs immigrants have long worked — with no security, low pay and scant benefits. ALSO: At The Atlantic, Peter Beinart offers the awkward observation that before his fall into disgrace, John Edwards’ focus on poverty set the stage for the new populism rising in the Democratic Party.
ER –> New study finds that increasing Medicaid enrollment leads to more, not fewer, trips to the emergency room for treatment. Sarah Kliff with the details at WaPo.
NRA with peace signs –> The SFChron’s Carla Marinucci reports on the growth of the Liberal Gun Club, whose members are otherwise progressive but just as reactionary as the NRA in their opposition to even modest gun safety laws
Fired –> The title of this fascinating Deadspin post by marriage equality activist Chris Kluwe says it all: “I Was An NFL Player Until I Was Fired By Two Cowards And A Bigot”
Ohio civil war –> At the Daily Beast, David Freedlander looks at the simmering conflict between Republican Governor John Kasich and his erstwhile tea party supporters.
Let your crazy shine –> Local NC politician says he’s quitting to start a write-in candidacy against Senator Kay Hagan on the Constitution Party platform. The twist? He wrote his resignation in Klingon.
