Happy Thursday morning! Here are some of the articles we’re reading at Moyers and Company HQ…

Unintended consequences –> NATO head says chemical weapons deal with Syria is a good thing, but may also strengthen Bashar al-Assad’s hand, reports James Rosen for McClatchy.

Cruz –> At Salon, Alex Pareene says Ted Cruz’ filibluster will make him a star with the GOP base but scuttled his future chances of winning the White House. Also: Slate’s Dave Weigel on bogus claims of media bias against Cruz.

And 234 autographed copies of Atlas Shrugged! –> Greg Sargent looks at what Republicans are demanding in order to raise the debt ceiling — including new abortion restrictions — and concludes that they’re “insane.” Also: Paul Krugman wonders what the point is of having financial markets if they’re not going to freak out at times like these.

Thanks for nothing –> LAT’s E. Scott Reckard reports that banks’ “foreclosure relief” settlement didn’t bring relief to many struggling homeowners.

Watching the watchers –> Jeffrey Rosen writes about how toothless the FISA court is for TNR. Also: BBC reports that NSA spied on Martin Luther King and Mohammed Ali.

Grifters gonna grift –> David Corn and Andy Kroll report for Mother Jones that Newt Gingrich’s PAC takes in a lot of cash from conservative donors but doesn’t seem to spend much of it on conservative candidates.

Slavery and soccer –> Guardian investigation finds that Qatar is using slave labor to ready for the 2022 World Cup facilities; projects 4,000 will die during construction binge.

Some good news –> In Politico, Kaiser Family Foundation head Drew Altman explains why he thinks Obamacare is holding down health-care costs.

Misreading the voters –> The Daily Beast’s Michael Tomasky on how legislators think their constituents are more conservative than they really are.

Country wisdom –> Jim Hightower rips into those trying to cut food stamps during a recession in The National Memo.

3-6 months? –> Iranian President Hassan Rouhani says he wants to cut a nuclear deal pronto, reports The Age. At TAP, Matt Duss says the big obstacle will be hawks in DC and Tehran.

Nice-time news –> George H.W. Bush (along with Barbara) witness same-sex marriage in Maine.

So what else? Tell us what you’re reading in the comments!