Good morning — and happy Women’s Equality Day! On this date in 1920, the 19th Amendment went into effect, giving American women the right to vote. Fifty years later, the National Organization for Women organized the Women’s Strike for Equality — a nationwide day of protests that was, at the time, the largest gathering of advocates for women’s rights in American history.
Big mess –> Reuters reports that Islamic State militants have overrun a Syrian airbase after several days of fighting that left more than 500 dead. It was the last government stronghold in a wide swath of Northern Syria now under the control of the Islamic State. AND: At The Atlantic, Peter Beinart argues that US airstrikes in Syria would be useless because we have no reliable allies on the ground. ALSO: David Kirkpatrick and Eric Schmitt report for the NYT that Egypt and the UAE have combined forces to strike “Islamist-allied militias battling for control of Tripoli, Libya.” The two allies did not alert the US in advance of their actions.
Austerity claims another victim –> And that victim is the entire French government, which was dissolved after a senior minister’s “call to end austerity policies imposed by Germany” created a political crisis in François Hollande’s coalition. Anne Penketh has the details at The Guardian.
Fiscal conservatism –> Ian Millhiser reports that taxpayers are shelling out $500 per hour for John Boehner’s attorney to sue the Obama administration. And that’s just the cost of the lawyer.
Google-esque –> At The Intercept, Ryan Gallagher reports that the NSA has developed a Google-like search engine that allows law enforcement agencies to access the treasure trove of data it has collected — including data on American citizens who have committed no crime. The report is based on documents released by Edward Snowden.
After the protests –> Nightly protests continue in Ferguson, Missouri, but Ryan Reilly and Amanda Terkel report for HuffPo that some members of the community are looking to build a sustainable movement for real reforms.
Somewhat related –> Reliable nationwide data on police shootings simply do not exist. At Gawker, Brian Burghart relays some of the things he’s learned in the process of trying to compile his own national database.
Monsters –> Already there have been five “monster hurricanes” in the Eastern Pacific this year — and MoJo’s Chris Mooney points out that “all this activity has been accompanied by numerous hurricane records.”
Sovereign Moors –> “Sovereign citizens” hold a fringe ideology that says white people don’t have to submit to any laws they don’t like. At The Raw Story, Travis Gettys explains that “Sovereign Moors” believe that’s true for African-Americans as well.
Mythical creatures –> A Pew study concludes that the 11 percent of Americans who claim to be libertarian and also know what the word means “tend to be modestly more supportive of some libertarian positions, but few of them hold consistent libertarian opinions on the role of government, foreign policy and social issues.”
“Disruptive technology” –> Terrence McCoy reports for WaPo that the Chinese are developing a revolutionary new technology that would allow submarines to travel faster than anyone ever imagined.
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