Good morning! Today is National Receptionists’ Day, so be extra nice to any receptionists you encounter in your travels.
Another domino falls –> Idaho’s gay marriage ban was ruled unconstitutional on Tuesday, according to The Idaho Statesman.
Worse than insults –> At The Daily Beast, Michael Daley recalls the story of a woman who “was hastened to her grave by Donald Sterling’s effort to evict her from her home because she was black.” ALSO: According to a senior official with the NBA players’ union, megastar Lebron James will lead players in a boycott if Sterling remains the owner of the Los Angeles Clippers next season. Via: NBC Sports.
ALEC (mis)fires back –> The American Legislative Exchange Council was widely mocked for its “Rich States, Poor States” report, which deemed those with anti-union policies, lax environmental regulations and low taxes on the wealthy to be “rich” states, even if their economies are doing poorly. The group tried to respond to its many critics, but as Michael Hiltzik reports for the LAT, they only managed to dig themselves deeper in the process.
Dirty politics works –> In the wake of Karl Rove’s suggestion, quickly retracted, that Hillary Clinton suffers from brain damage, Peter Beinart writes at The Atlantic that Rove has never hesitated to sink into the mud because dirty campaigns have proven effective for him throughout his career in politics.
Sentenced –> Former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert was sentenced to six years in prison for taking bribes while he served as the mayor of Jerusalem. Mike Schwartz has the details for CNN.
“Something’s clearly wrong” –> Robert Reich points out that “a woman giving birth in America is more than twice as likely to die as a woman in Saudi Arabia or China,” and argues conservative ideology is partially to blame.
Left out –> Rep. John Conyers has held a House seat for almost 50 years, but his Democratic primary opponent challenged the signatures he’d collected to qualify for the ballot and got two-thirds of them disqualified on a technicality. Conyers is suing — if he loses in court, he’ll have to run as a write-in candidate. Cameron Joseph has the story for The Hill.
Sustainable –> Germany set a record on Sunday when it generated 74 percent of its energy needs from renewable sources, reports Kiley Kroh for ThinkProgress.
So far, so good –> At Vox, German Lopez points out that tax revenues are up, and both violent crime and property crimes are down in Denver since it legalized marijuana.
Not exactly welcoming –> A Mexican citizen filed a lawsuit charging that what began as a traffic stop ended up in a savage beating and five months of solitary confinement at an ICE facility in Mississippi. Chris Randolph reports for Courthouse News.
Cupboard is bare –> TNR’s Danny Vinik writes that while it’s nice that John Boehner has come to the realization that sky-high inequality is a problem, Republican policy mavens don’t have any solutions on hand for addressing it.
There are lies and then there are lies –> Police have wide latitude when interrogating suspects, but an Indiana appeals court ruled that a detective went too far when he told a black man that he’d be railroaded by an all-white jury if he didn’t confess to a lesser offense. Travis Gettys reports for The Raw Story.
Rebranding –> Eric Cantor’s attempts to show his kinder, gentler side led an irritated Michael Kinsley to review the rich history of politicians trying to project a moderate image to Beltway reporters for Vanity Fair.
“Breaking Bad in Iran” –> That’s the title of an interesting piece in The Guardian by Ramita Navai about the rise of crystal meth use in the Islamic Republic.
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