Good morning! Here are some of the stories we’re reading this AM at Moyers & Company HQ…
Buck stops there –> Norm Ornstein writes at the National Journal that the bungled ACA rollout reflects Obama’s biggest weakness: day-to-day administration. ALSO: At The Next New Deal, Mike Konczal argues that the problems with the exchanges don’t reflect poorly on liberalism so much as they highlight the failure of neoliberalism.
Deadline pushed –> White House pushes back the date when a fine will kick in for the uninsured by six weeks, reports the WaPo.
Growing underclass –> In the LAT, Doyle McManus wonders what might be done to reverse the trends of growing inequality and middle-class decline.
Slavery –> At TAP, Rachel Cernansky looks at indentured servitude in America.
Gideon losing ground –> Andrew Cohen laments in The Atlantic that it’s not big news when a person’s fair trial rights are violated and recounts the story of one indigent criminal defendant in New Jersey.
Surging –> MoJo’s Tim Murphy reports that applications for gun permits in Utah are surging on fears of mass shootings and new gun regulations that don’t actually exist.
Grassroots? –> TNR’s Alec MacGillis on the cozy ties between Wall Street and tea party lawmakers.
Not number one –> NYT editorial board looks at a new study which finds Americans lagging other wealthy countries in literacy, numeracy and problem-solving skills.
Merkel smash! –> German Prime Minister Angela Merkel isn’t terribly pleased with reports that the NSA was monitoring her cellphone. The Guardian’s Ian Traynor, Paul Lewis and Phillip Oltermann report that she called Obama to gripe.
Overruling himself –> Election law expert Richard Hasen writes in The Daily Beast about a recent “revelation that shocked the legal community,” when a judge who voted to uphold voter ID laws admitted he made a mistake.
Texas versus democracy –> The Nation’s Ari Berman on the Lonestar State’s new voter ID law, and the many Texans it’s likely to disenfranchise.
“Worldwide pattern of criminal conduct” –> Diebold indicted for bribery and falsifying records, reports James McCarty for the Cleveland Plain Dealer.
Will Detroit enter bankruptcy? –> Trial underway to determine that question, with both creditors and the city manager claiming that the other party operated in bad faith. Mark Guarino reports for the Christian Science Monitor.
The trauma of being a bully –> Cop who pepper-sprayed UC-Davis students awarded $38,000 for emotional distress. Students only got $28,000 each in their settlement.
What could possibly go wrong? –> NatGeo: Russia plans to put nuclear power plants on ships… to power offshore oil rigs in the Arctic.
What are you reading this morning? Let us know in the comments!
