Good morning! Today is National Haiku Poetry Day — you know what to do…
Stat of the day: 4 percent — share of Americans newly insured in 2014, according to Gallup.
Too big to jail –> At Newsweek, David Cay Johnston sums up a new Justice Department Inspector General’s report before slamming the Obama administration for doing “nothing to prosecute those who racked in billions through illicit banking practices.”
Rich and white –> At The Atlantic, Tom Levenson applies “the history of white supremacy in America to the Supreme Court’s McCutcheon decision.” ALSO: Norm Ornstein writes at National Journal that America is at risk of becoming a “banana republic.”
Cooking the books? –> There’s good news out of Detroit, where the city’s emergency manager has agreed to pay almost all of Motor City’s pension obligations. But at Policy Shop, Wallace Turbeville wonders how he bridged what was sold to the public as an insurmountable pension gap, and asks whether “the original unfunded pension obligation was a manufactured number to make matters seem worse?”
Torture –> Over at Juan Cole’s Informed Comment, Scott Corey explains the importance of the Senate releasing its report on CIA torture.
Forewarned –> TNR’s Brian Beutler rips the conservative media for feigning outrage over the fact that the people they told to not buy insurance coverage didn’t buy coverage.
LIZ!! –> Matt Viser offers some choice tidbits from Elizabeth Warren’s new memoir at the Boston Globe.
Doing great in OK –> Earlier this week, Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin, winner of ALEC’s Thomas Jefferson Freedom award last year, signed a bill prohibiting localities from raising their minimum wages. She’s now expected to sign another piece of ALEC-approved legislation that will allow utilities to charge people a fee for installing their own solar panels. Kiley Kroh reports for ThinkProgress.
Not to be outdone –> Tennessee lawmakers passed a bill — pushed by the Koch brothers — banning the construction of bus rapid transit in two counties, one of which includes Nashville. At Wired, Keith Barry calls it “mind-boggling.”
All in a day’s “work” –> Speaking of the Koch brothers, their fortune grew by $1.3 billion yesterday and now stands at over $100 billion. And David de Jong reports for Bloomberg that they’re upping their political spending.
Pitch perfect –> Seattle Councilmember Kshama Sawant responds in The Stranger to a small business owner worried about her campaign for a $15 minimum wage.
Occupy –> At The Nation, Amity Paye considers whether the Occupy movement helped make police departments more accountable.
Welchers –> For the past 20 years, Verizon has gotten financial perks for building out a statewide broadband network in New Jersey, but Jon Brodkin reports for Ars Technica that after taking the money, the company led a “massive astroturf campaign” to get out of its obligation.
Just what they need –> Tim Murphy reports for MoJo that gun giveaways are shaping up as the “hottest conservative campaign gimmick” this election cycle.
