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Monday, February 11, 2013

Stories to Watch: 2/11/13


Vice President Joe Biden promises to take the Gospel of Gun Regulation to rural Americans. You go where the convincing is most needed, I guess. Exhibit A.

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As if to remind you that he came from Politico, Buzzfeed's Ben Smith writes a simpleminded and sensationalist piece reporting that younger people will be "disproportionately" "screwed" by Obamacare. This is a terrible betrayal, because all those young people voted for Obama. O the Humanity! They're going to be pissed when they find out!

The problem: "disproportionately" apparently means they'll be charged as much as anyone else for health coverage, so it's kind of the wrong word. What he means is that more young people than old people will pay into the risk pool. Duh. There are more young people than old people. That's gonna happen. Young people get "disproportionately" "screwed" for drivers' licenses and cans of corn and shower curtains with pictures of fish on them and you get the idea.

Further, those young people will -- for the most part -- become old people themselves. At which point they'll "screw" the younger population, et viola!; proportionality restored.

And that's not even getting into Smith saying that Obama's "enemies" are seniors. How Smith can write this hacky crap without being laughed out of the business (I'd imagine that would look something like this) is one of the world's greatest mysteries.
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The lack of dignity in our national discourse hits a new low.


We could get some infrastructure funding going right now for next to nothing, but it won't happen because Republicans have somehow convinced themselves that infrastructure is a frivolous luxury.


RIP Marqes Bovre. If you're from Madison, Wisconsin, you know who he is.


This is interesting. Nate Silver looks at Karl Rove's big plan to beat Tea Party candidates in the primaries and finds that the people Rove's most likely to help are least likely to need money -- so Rovian help wouldn't actually help much. Meanwhile, the base is basically revolting against Rove's plan, so any 'bagger who wants to can claim that Rove wants them out... and score big points by doing so, both in PR and in fundraising. Long story short, Karl may be doing more harm than good to his cause. Dems around the country may wind up rejoicing, as some unelectable freakshow comes out of their state's GOP primary, just icthin' to talk about the wonders of rape babies.

Sexual abuse victims aren't sorry to see Pope Benedict XVI go. "We won’t miss this pope," says one. The question is, is there really any reason to believe the next one will be any better?


No, taxes and regulations don't kill jobs.


File under "Stuff I already knew: confirmed": The Koch brothers and corporations -- including hack anti-scientists formerly from Big Tobacco, now with Big Polluters -- created the Tea Party. The idea that it just sprouted up organically in response to healthcare reform is the laughable horseshit you always knew it was.


Finally, Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg does not have good things to say about Senate Republicans, the filibuster, or the sham "filibuster reform" the senate leaders of both parties are trying to fool us with. Some day democracy will come to the US Senate. Maybe even in your lifetime.


[cartoon via McClatchy Newspapers]

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