Good morning! Here are some of the articles we’re reading at Moyers and Company HQ…
Tick-Tock –> Ezra Klein writes at Wonkblog that the government could shutdown simply because Congress runs out of time to play its game of chicken. Also: over at TAP, Jonathan Bernstein looks at what might happen after a shutdown.
Rational actors –> In the WaPo, Dana Milbank points out that members of the defund or shutdown caucus have not gone mad, but rather are responding to some perverse political incentives.
Thawing out –> John Kerry will meet with Iranian FM Mohammed Zarif on Thursday, reports Paul Richter in the LAT. It will be the highest-level meeting between the U.S. and Iran since the 1979 hostage crisis. Also: TNR‘s Marc Tracy on why Israeli PM Bibi Netanyahu wants to scuttle any potential deal on Iranian nukes.
No more reports –> U.S. military will stop giving daily updates on the remaining 19 Guantanamo hunger-strikers, reports Carol Rosenberg in The Miami Herald.
Follow the money –> The Harvard Law Record interviews Lawrence Lessig about why he got involved in campaign finance reform. He says removing the underlying corruption of money in politics is the first step to making progress on any issue.
Costly bet –> WSJ reports that one trader lost millions betting on a Mitt Romney victory on Intrade. He or she may have been trying to manipulate the market.
College athletes fight back –> At Salon, labor reporter Josh Eidelson on NCAA athletes getting organized.
Laughably wrong–> At Think Progress, Igor Volsky dismantles the latest Obamascare story making the rounds — someone embraced some awfully fuzzy math. Also: at RH Reality-Check, Amanda Marcotte writes that conservatives are becoming hostile to the very concept of health.
The failed 401(K) experiment –> Lynn Parramore on the shift away from traditional pensions and inequality for AlterNet.
The AP reports that Lois Lerner, the IRS official at the center of the agency’s tea party scandal is retiring.
For political junkies only –> Seriously, only those needing a fix should read this analysis of Switzerland’s direct democracy in action over at The Monkey Cage.
Lucy slims down –> Newly discovered fossils have given scientists a new look at Lucy, the world’s most famous 3 million year-old skeleton. Science Magazine has the story.
What are you reading this AM? Tell us in the comments!
