Good morning! It’s a crisp winter day here in NYC, and here are some of the stories we’re reading as we get up to speed…
Big move –> Obama will appoint Senate Finance Committee Chair Max Baucus as our next ambassador to China, a move that will have a ripple effect on the Democratic caucus.
LIZ! –> Elizabeth Warren understands who pays whom in the employee-employer relationship; introduces bill to bar firms from checking credit scores for potential hires. The Washington Post’s Ryan Cooper says it’s a sad reflection on Congress that this is the best employment measure on the table right now.
Dog ate it –> Republican lawmakers in Florida tell court hearing a voting rights case that they destroyed documents during their redistricting process. Mary Ellen Klas reports for The Tampa Bay Times.
Mapping the uninsured –> The New York Times maps new Census data out this week showing where the uninsured in America live.
Crushed –> Evan Soltas’ headline at Bloomberg says it all: “North Carolina Shows How to Crush the Unemployed.”
Helped –> At Business Insider, David Vinnik notes that the government gives out a lot more housing assistance to the affluent than to the poor.
The CIA Post? –> At AlterNet, Norman Solomon notes that Washington Post owner Jeff Bezos has a cozy relationship with the intelligence agency. ALSO: Sen. Bernie Sanders says the NSA is “out of control,” according to CBS News.
Dangerous –> Matt Valentine writes at Salon that gun activists’ open carry movement is alarming psychologists.
Privatized –> At The Progressive, Ruth Conniff looks at a new school privatization measure passed this week in Wisconsin.
This civil war –> Daily Beast writer Jamelle Bouie tells Democrats that the “centrists” in their party are selling bad economic policies at a time when Americans want inequality to be addressed.
That civil war –> At The Huffington Post, Jason Sattler says the suddenly very public GOP infighting is animated by fundraising rather than a serious ideological divide.
Compassionate! –> Georgia Rep. Jack Kingston says we’d be a better society if we made poor children sweep the floors in order to get free school lunches. Dave Neiwert reports for C&L.
Silly season? –> The Village Voice’s Roy Edroso looks at the religious right’s annual war against the imaginary war against Christmas.
What else is happening? Tell us in the comments!
