A LEAN AND HUNGRY LOOK

Eric Cantor has been called a "rising star of the GOP" for almost fifteen years. At what point does he either make a move, or get labelled a has-been? 

http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2014/04/eric-cantor-will-always-be-a-rising-star.html

 Boehner out as Speaker? 

http://politicalwire.com/archives/2014/04/29/gop_lawmaker_predicts_boehner_is_done_as_speaker.html 

The power of family dynasties in American politics 

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/29/upshot/another-season-of-dynasty-for-voters.html?hp&_r=0 

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2014/04/29/family-dynasties-how-power-begets-power-in-congress/ 

Money's too tight to mention

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/04/29/1295611/-Chart-s-of-the-Day-Inflation-adjusted-median-household-income-down-4-309-since-high-point-in-2008 
Median household income down $4,309 

More: http://www.msnbc.com/msnbc/us-social-mobility-problem 

Good news out of Wisconsin 

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/04/29/1295643/-Voters-win-one-round-in-war-on-voting-Wisconsin-voter-ID-law-overturned 
Wisconsin voter ID law overturned

Here's why: http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2014/04/heres-why-wisconsins-voter-id-law-got-struck-down 

Botched execution in Oklahoma shows that "death by lethal injection" isn't as simple and humane as it sounds 

http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2014/04/oklahoma-botches-execution-postpones-another.html

http://www.vox.com/2014/4/29/5666680/why-oklahoma-tried-to-execute-a-man-with-a-secret-untested-mix-of

http://my.firedoglake.com/elliott/2014/04/29/oklahoma-execution-goes-wrong-is-halted-inmate-then-dies-of-heart-attack/ 

More: http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2014/04/botched.html 

When sports news becomes real news, part two

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/04/29/1295600/-NBA-bans-Donald-Sterling-for-life-will-try-to-force-him-to-sell-team
NBA bans Donald Sterling for life, will try to force him to sell team

More: http://crooksandliars.com/2014/04/donald-sterling-says-he-will-not-be-forced
"I spoke to Donald Sterling before his punishment, Bill and he said he's not selling the team and he's not going to be forced to sell the team." 

Glenn Beck goes too far (again)

http://crooksandliars.com/2014/04/glenn-beck-hillary-clinton-will-have-sex

Bonus item: Sarah! is in hot water over her comment that "Waterboarding is how we baptize terrorists." Christians, among many others, are outraged. 

Here, in its entirety, is her . . .  response?

http://politics.suntimes.com/article/washington/sarah-palin-takes-facebook-after-baptizing-terrorists-comment/tue-04292014-843am
"Actions to stop terrorists who’d utterly annihilate America and delight in massacring our innocent children? Darn right I’d do whatever it takes to foil their murderous jihadist plots – including waterboarding. Whatever one thinks of my one-liner at the NRA rally about treating evil terrorists the way they deserve to be treated to prevent the death of innocent people, it’s utterly absurd for MSNBC to suggest that I could put our beloved troops in harm’s way, but we’ve come to expect the absurd from that failing network. If you want to talk about what really harms our troops, let’s talk about politicians who gut our military’s budgets, or a president whose skewed budgetary priorities slash military benefits, or an administration that puts our vets on endless waiting lists for care that comes too late to help those who’ve paid the price for our freedom, or those who break bread with those who think it makes no difference how our military heroes died in Benghazi or anywhere else trying to protect America. Those actions are a heck of a lot more harmful than declaring an appropriate message our enemies should receive. If some overly sensitive wusses took offense, remember the First Amendment doesn’t give you a right not to be offended. Perhaps hypocritical folks who only want Freedom of Speech to apply to those who agree with their liberal agenda might want to consider that the evil terrorists who were the brunt of my one-liner would be the first to strip away ALL our rights if given the chance. That’s why we do whatever we can to prevent them from killing innocent people. And for that, we should NEVER apologize. Good Lord, critics... buck up or stay in the truck. And if you love freedom, thank our troops! Thank our vets! And thank those who have the brains to support them and the guts to defend what they have earned!"

***If you enjoy PBD and support what we are doing, you can help by forwarding a copy of this issue to your friends (using the envelope link below) or by sending them a copy of its URL: http://pbd.blogspot.com

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A CLEAN SHEET

It's never a good start when you have to say, "I am not a racist"

http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2014/04/donald-sterling-responds-to-audio-tape-im-not-racist/ 
Donald Sterling Responds to Audio Tape: I'm Not Racist!

More: http://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/not-racist-movement-comes-of-age 

http://prospect.org/article/words-ideas-actions-and-tangle-race

Is Donald Sterling a Democrat?

http://www.politico.com/story/2014/04/rush-limbaugh-donald-sterling-106104.html
[Rush Limbaugh] “This guy is a big Democrat. The only reason he’s in trouble right now is he did not give enough money to Obama. This guy was gonna get a leadership award from the NAACP L.A. chapter. The second one. This guy is a typically Hollywood Democrat.” 

No he's not: http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/donald-sterling-registered-republican
Sterling Is Registered Republican

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-fix/wp/2014/04/28/donald-sterling-is-a-republican-and-has-given-money-to-democrats-this-does-nothing-to-explain-his-history-of-discrimination/?wprss=rss_politics&clsrd

The low-wage recovery

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2014/04/28/wonkbook-americas-low-wage-recovery/

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/political-animal-a/2014_04/bad_new_jobs050102.php

A lack of accountability

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/29/world/senate-drops-plan-to-require-disclosure-on-drone-killings.html?partner=rss&emc=rss
The Senate has quietly stripped a provision from an intelligence bill that would have required President Obama to make public each year the number of people killed or injured in targeted killing operations in Pakistan and other countries where the United States uses lethal force. . . . 

John Kerry says Israel is in danger of becoming an "apartheid state"

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/kerry-threads-the-needle

http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2014/04/kerry-regrets-israel-apartheid-state-remark.html
 
More: http://prospect.org/article/us-israel-and-palestine-whats-plan-b
 
"Kissing Congressman" won't seek re-election

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/04/28/1295300/--Kissing-Congressman-Vance-McAllister-says-he-won-t-seek-re-election-but-will-finish-out-his-term

Sarah!s dopey, offensive comment finally bites her in the ass

http://www.vox.com/2014/4/28/5661708/sarah-palin-compared-waterboarding-to-baptism-and-christians-are

"I've long defended Palin against the offensive treatment she's received at the hands of a blatantly biased media, a media that collectively lost its mind the moment she entered the national stage. But that hardly means she must be defended at all times," writes journalist Mollie Hemingway at the Federalist. "Joking about baptism in the context of this aggressive action suggests that we don't think baptism is as life-giving or important as it is."  

What's also important is that Palin has often invoked the Bible and Christian teachings in her political rhetoric, calling the US a "Christian nation."  

"For anyone to confess Christ as their savior and to compare one of the means of God's grace to a reprehensible act of torture is reprehensible. I hope members of Gov. Palin's local church will explain to her why her remarks denigrate the Christian faith," writes Joe Carter, an editor at the Gospel Coalition. Even while explaining that he's opposed to the views of the "liberal cosmopolitan elite," he also cautions against a "right-wing populist position" like Palin's. "In our attempts to dehumanize our enemy we end up becoming less than human ourselves. It would be a Pyrrhic victory to save civilization and lose our humanity."  

Yet another writer also pointed the finger at the crowd that laughed at Palin's joke.  

"Even if you don't believe that waterboarding is torture, surely you agree that it should not be compared to baptism, and that such a comparison should be laughed at," says Rob Dreher at the American Conservative. "What does it say about the character of a person that they could make that joking comparison, and that so many people would cheer for it. Nothing good — and nothing that does honor to the cause of Jesus Christ."

More: http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/political-animal-a/2014_04/palin_cross_a_line050092.php

Bonus item: John Oliver's new show was uneven, mostly "Daily Show" derivative. But this was well done

http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2014/04/oliver-vs-alexander.html 

***If you enjoy PBD and support what we are doing, you can help by forwarding a copy of this issue to your friends (using the envelope link below) or by sending them a copy of its URL: http://pbd.blogspot.com

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HERDING CATS

The real world

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/28/world/europe/a-white-house-split-over-russia.html
As President Obama and his national security team struggle to increase pressure on Russia over its intervention in Ukraine, they have become entangled in a tense debate over how much emphasis to put on unity with European allies more reluctant to take stronger economic actions against Moscow. . . .

The privatization of police protection

http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2014/04/income-inequality-has-spurred-boom-private-security 


The refusal of Republican pols to allow Obamacare into red states is creating a serious gap in access to health care

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/04/27/1294544/-The-red-state-health-care-deficit-is-expanding

A glimpse of sanity

http://politicalwire.com/archives/2014/04/27/top_republican_says_obamacare_is_here_to_stay.html
Top Republican Says Obamacare Is Here to Stay

I still say this is unlikely, but we know there is some part of this guy that has NEVER accepted losing

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-politics/wp/2014/04/27/bob-schieffer-romney-may-consider-2016-run-if-jeb-bush-doesnt/
Bob Schieffer: Romney may consider 2016 run if Jeb Bush doesn’t

A scam

http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/tea-party-pacs-reap-money-for-midterms-but-spend-little-on-candidates/2014/04/26/0e52919a-cbd6-11e3-a75e-463587891b57_story.html
Tea party PACs reap money for midterms, but spend little on candidates

The NRA sorta kinda defends Cliven Bundy

http://www.salon.com/2014/04/28/fox_news_pathetic_last_stand_cliven_bundy_wayne_lapierre_and_the_liberal_media/

This is offensive on so many different levels

http://www.samefacts.com/2014/04/domestic-politics/blasphemy-4/
[Sarah Palin] “Waterboarding is how we baptize terrorists.”

[Mark Kleiman] Now, I’m not a Christian. So if Sarah Palin wants to associate a war crime with a Christian sacrament, it’s really no skin off my nose.  But if I were a Christian, I’d be pretty damned angry about this. It will be interesting to see whether any of the praying-aloud-in-the-marketplace-so-as-to-be-seen-of-men crowd has any problem with it.

More weird "Christian values"

http://politicalwire.com/archives/2014/04/28/quote_of_the_day.html
"Usually when I get up this early, I get up to kill something."  

-- Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI), quoted by BuzzFeed, at an early morning church service to a congregation not familiar with his passion for bowhunting.

Disaster story: what will CNN do when the Malaysian airline story goes away?

http://www.salon.com/2014/04/28/cnn_is_its_own_disaster_how_a_perversely_immature_news_channel_blew_its_opportunity/

Bonus item: Fading away . . .

http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/sarah-palin-soldiers-on-as-a-diminished-figure-in-the-republican-party/2014/04/28/e7a8ab9a-ce6b-11e3-b812-0c92213941f4_story.html 
Sarah Palin soldiers on as a diminished figure in the Republican Party 

***If you enjoy PBD and support what we are doing, you can help by forwarding a copy of this issue to your friends (using the envelope link below) or by sending them a copy of its URL: http://pbd.blogspot.com

I don’t get anything personally out of this project, except the satisfaction of doing it (I don’t run ads, etc.). The credit really all goes to the people whose material I copy and redistribute. But if I do have a “mission,” it is to get this information into the hands of as many people as I can.***

SUNDAY POTPOURRI

The bankers who run America

http://fdlbooksalon.com/2014/04/26/fdl-book-salon-welcomes-nomi-prins/

The teapartification of the GOP

http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2014/04/plutocrat-propaganda-dressed-up-in.html
 
Putting Cliven Bundy in context

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-fix/wp/2014/04/26/cliven-bundy-and-the-amazing-history-of-the-post-political-uproar-interview/?wprss=rss_politics&clsrd

More: http://www.salon.com/2014/04/26/seething_hate_even_fox_news_cant_deny_cliven_bundy_is_not_an_outlier/

http://firedoglake.com/2014/04/26/come-saturday-morning-cliven-bundys-dead-elephant-in-the-room/

http://www.salon.com/2014/04/26/cliven_bundy_and_racial_concern_trolling_why_the_ranchers_bigoted_rant_means_more_doom_for_the_gop/

The state of the death penalty

http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2014/04/are-we-slowly-awakening-to-fact-that.html 

Two GOP congressmen under investigation

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/friday-scandal-news-dump

When sports news becomes real news

http://www.vox.com/2014/4/26/5655790/sterling-q-a

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/political-animal-a/2014_04/donald_sterling_should_sell_th050079.php

"Normcore" -- what is it?

http://www.salon.com/2014/04/27/hipsters_they%E2%80%99re_just_like_us_normcore_sarah_palin_and_the_gops_big_red_state_lie/

The Sunday talk show line-ups

http://firedoglake.com/2014/04/27/sunday-talking-heads-april-27-2014/
ABC’S THIS WEEK: Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson. Then, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA). Roundtable: Matthew Dowd, Bill Kristol, Paul Krugman, and Fusion’s “AM Tonight” host Alicia Menendez. Sunday Spotlight with Robin Roberts.  

CBS’ FACE THE NATION: Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-MO). Then, Rick Santorum. Roundtable: Bobby Ghosh, Joe Klein, Peter Baker, and Nia-Malika Henderson of The Washington Post.  

CNN’S STATE OF THE UNION: Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Then, Sen. John Barrasso (R-WY) and Sen. Ben Cardin (D-MD). Roundtable: Matt Bai, S.E. Cupp, L.Z. Granderson.

MOYERS & COMPANY: Putting the Freeze on Global Warming. Two leaders of the climate change divestment campaign are urging institutions to break ties with the fossil fuel industry. Ellen Dorsey is executive director of the Wallace Global Fund and a catalyst in the coalition of 17 foundations known as Divest-Invest Philanthropy. Thomas Van Dyck is Senior Vice President – Financial Advisor at RBC Wealth Management, and founder of As You Sow, a shareholder advocacy foundation.  

MEET THE PRESS: Tony Blair. Then, White House Deputy National Security Adviser Tony Blinken. Roundtable: Mallory Factor, best-selling author and Professor at The Citadel; Jeffrey Goldberg, Correspondent for The Atlantic and Bloomberg View Columnist; Neera Tanden, President of the Center for American Progress; Rich Lowry, Editor of National Review.

Bonus item: Deport 'em!

http://www.vox.com/2014/4/26/5654020/awkward-americans-cant-pass-our-own-citizenship-test
They asked questions from the US citizenship test that every immigrant is required to take in order to naturalize. Not to spoil anything, but the people they interviewed — all of whom are native-born American citizens — didn't fare too well . . .

***If you enjoy PBD and support what we are doing, you can help by forwarding a copy of this issue to your friends (using the envelope link below) or by sending them a copy of its URL: http://pbd.blogspot.com

I don’t get anything personally out of this project, except the satisfaction of doing it (I don’t run ads, etc.). The credit really all goes to the people whose material I copy and redistribute. But if I do have a “mission,” it is to get this information into the hands of as many people as I can.***

AT LONG LAST LOVE

Dems aren't running away from Obamacare any more - even in the South

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/25/us/politics/democratic-candidates-grow-more-vocal-in-supporting-health-law.html?partner=rss&emc=rss&_r=0

http://politicalwire.com/archives/2014/04/23/landrieu_aggressively_defends_obamacare.html

Koch addiction

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/04/25/1294658/-A-bad-week-for-the-Kochs
A bad week for the Kochs

More: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/04/25/koch-brothers-cliven-bundy_n_5213481.html 

Cliven Bundy on MLK, Rosa Parks

http://crooksandliars.com/2014/04/cliven-bundys-blame-game-mlk-hasn-t-got

http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2014/apr/25/mlk-rosa-parks-bundy-says-hes/

More: http://www.vox.com/2014/4/25/5652630/what-martin-luther-king-jr-actually-said-about-rosa-parks

More on the danger of losing net neutrality

http://www.vox.com/2014/4/25/5652534/politics-is-about-to-destroy-the-internet

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2014/04/25/wonkbook-how-the-net-neutrality-ruling-could-change-the-internet/

Bonus item: Sean Hannity backs off Bundy's racial comments . . . too late

http://www.salon.com/2014/04/25/fox_news_flip_flop_sean_hannity_backs_away_from_cliven_bundy_the_racist_rancher/

http://www.salon.com/2014/04/25/fox_news_new_laughing_stock_cliven_bundy_and_stephen_colbert_will_destroy_sean_hannity/

***If you enjoy PBD and support what we are doing, you can help by forwarding a copy of this issue to your friends (using the envelope link below) or by sending them a copy of its URL: http://pbd.blogspot.com

I don’t get anything personally out of this project, except the satisfaction of doing it (I don’t run ads, etc.). The credit really all goes to the people whose material I copy and redistribute. But if I do have a “mission,” it is to get this information into the hands of as many people as I can.***

THE COMPANY THEY KEEP

Don't you hate when that happens?

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/hate-when-that-happens
One minute you're keeping it real defending a far-right scofflaw rancher who's skipped out on a million dollars in back fees to the federal government for using public land and is now guarding himself with a crew of heavily armed militia types and the next thing you know he turns out to be kinda racist. . . .

More: http://talkingpointsmemo.com/muckraker/what-cliven-bundy-supporters-are-saying-after-race-comments

http://prospect.org/article/daily-meme-fall-cliven-bundy

http://crooksandliars.com/2014/04/watch-fox-host-shut-down-dem-mentioning
  
Is Republicanism itself racist?

http://mediamatters.org/blog/2014/04/24/lawless-ranchers-slavery-comments-echo-conserva/199006
Lawless Rancher's Slavery Comments Echo Conservative Media Rhetoric 

More: http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/04/25/republicans-are-racists-no-it-s-just-all-a-big-coincidence.html

http://my.firedoglake.com/spocko/2014/04/24/lets-stop-letting-bundy-supporters-off-the-hook/

Grab the popcorn! Stewart/Hannity smackdown

http://americablog.com/2014/04/vicious-jon-stewart-takes-hannity-cliven-bundy.html

Chait

http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2014/04/the-rising-democratic-majority-doomed.html
My belief, of which I obviously can’t be certain, is that conservatism as we know it is doomed. I believe this because the virulent opposition to the welfare state we see here is almost completely unique among major conservative parties across the world. In no other advanced country do leading figures of governing parties propose the denial of medical care to their citizens or take their ideological inspiration from crackpots like Ayn Rand. America’s unique brand of ideological anti-statism is historically inseparable (as I recently argued) from the legacy of slavery. Whatever form America’s polyglot majority ultimately takes, it is hard to see the basis for its attraction to an ideology sociologically rooted in white supremacy. . . .

GOPers still can't figure out their message on Obamacare

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/04/23/1294151/-Now-the-Republican-problem-with-Obamacare-is-that-it-doesn-t-cover-enough-nbsp-people
Now the Republican problem with Obamacare is that it doesn't cover enough people?

More: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/wp/2014/04/24/morning-plum-republicans-arent-winning-the-big-argument/

Koch addiction

http://www.salon.com/2014/04/24/karl_rove_on_the_koch_brothers_bless_them_for_all_they_do/

This time it looks as if net neutrality really is in trouble

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/04/24/1294375/-We-have-three-weeks-to-save-Net-Neutrality

http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2014/04/net-neutrality-finally-dies-ripe-old-age-of-45

http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2014/04/techies-are-freaking-out-about-net-neutrality.html

http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/not-net-neutrality

Bonus item: The Washington Post's first story about Hillary Clinton

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-fix/wp/2014/04/24/the-first-ever-story-in-the-washington-post-about-hillary-clinton/?wprss=rss_politics&clsrd

***If you enjoy PBD and support what we are doing, you can help by forwarding a copy of this issue to your friends (using the envelope link below) or by sending them a copy of its URL: http://pbd.blogspot.com

I don’t get anything personally out of this project, except the satisfaction of doing it (I don’t run ads, etc.). The credit really all goes to the people whose material I copy and redistribute. But if I do have a “mission,” it is to get this information into the hands of as many people as I can.***

WAR ON THE COURT

http://crooksandliars.com/2014/04/justice-sonia-sotomayor-blasts-john
Justice Sonia Sotomayor Blasts John Roberts Court Over Affirmative Action Ban

More: http://prospect.org/article/justice-sotomayors-powerful-defense-equality

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/emotion
Conservatives are not pleased with Justice Sonia Sotomayor's dissent in yesterday's affirmative action case, even if they reaffirmed the right to ban it. Instead, Sahil Kapur reports they're complaining that she's "legally illiterate" and writing about "emotion." If those aren't codes for her race and gender, I don't know if I know what is.

The Repubs thought that all they had to do was howl "Obamacare! Obamacare!" and they would sweep to victory in the fall. Now that Obamacare is working for people, they don't have any kind of agenda to replace it with

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/04/23/1294067/-With-Obamacare-losing-juice-Senate-Republicans-officially-flailing

More: http://politicalwire.com/archives/2014/04/23/extra_bonus_quote_of_the_day.html
"We can't be against everything. We've got to have a forward-looking program, whether it's immigration, or foreign policy, or education." 
   -- Bob Dole, in an interview with Politico, on the Republican party.

Bush 2016?

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/04/23/1294091/-Crowd-goes-wild-after-Jeb-Bush-announces-he-s-thinking-about-2016
Crowd goes wild after Jeb Bush announces he's 'thinking about' 2016

http://politicalwire.com/archives/2014/04/23/conservatives_dont_want_bush_to_run.html
Conservatives Don't Want Bush to Run

I've never understood why people think Rand Paul is a viable presidential candidate

http://www.salon.com/2014/04/23/new_video_shows_rand_paul_repeatedly_bashing_ronald_reagan/

http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2014/04/rand-paul-apparently-thinks-republicans-controlled-congress-1978

How quickly they forget: Herman Cain fails as a "Jeopardy" answer

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/political-animal-a/2014_04/unraising_cain050034.php 

Koch addiction

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/04/23/1294113/-Here-s-just-how-low-the-Kochs-will-go

Conservatives try to rewrite the history of slavery

http://www.salon.com/2014/04/23/the_insane_lie_about_slavery_that_christian_conservatives_are_spreading_partner/

Love the headline

http://crooksandliars.com/2014/04/secret-recording-dinesh-dsouza-his-lovers
Secret Recording Of Dinesh D'Souza By His Lover's Husband Might Sink Him

Fox World goes too far

http://www.salon.com/2014/04/23/sean_hannity_will_have_blood_on_his_hands_fox_news_promotes_cliven_bundys_war/

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/04/23/1294066/-Hannity-tries-to-change-the-subject-from-his-fomenting-of-nbsp-violence

http://www.salon.com/2014/04/24/fox_news_worst_cliven_bundy_lies_22_right_wing_delusions_about_the_absurd_standoff/

Bonus item: Digby!!!!!

http://crooksandliars.com/2014/04/digby-wins-hillman-award-opinion-and

Her response: http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2014/04/thank-you-for-this-honor-from-bottom-of.html

***If you enjoy PBD and support what we are doing, you can help by forwarding a copy of this issue to your friends (using the envelope link below) or by sending them a copy of its URL: http://pbd.blogspot.com

I don’t get anything personally out of this project, except the satisfaction of doing it (I don’t run ads, etc.). The credit really all goes to the people whose material I copy and redistribute. But if I do have a “mission,” it is to get this information into the hands of as many people as I can.***

WHEN SPECIES DON'T ADAPT . . .

The country as a whole is embracing marriage equality. The Republican party isn't. Where does this leave them?

http://tinyurl.com/kqw839x
A new American Values/Family Research Council survey of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents finds that 82% said they agree that marriage should be confined as being only between a man and a womanA new American Values/Family Research Council survey of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents finds that 82% said they agree that marriage should be confined as being only between a man and a woman . . .

More: http://tinyurl.com/lhzwpzv
Bill O’Reilly: Marriage equality advocates have won because of “threats and demonization” 

Birth control? They're going to fight over birth control?

http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/birth-control-sure-popular

How demographics are killing the GOP

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-fix/wp/2014/04/22/the-republican-demographic-problem-is-just-going-to-keep-getting-worse/?wprss=rss_politics&clsrd
In 2012, roughly nine in every ten people who voted for Mitt Romney were white -- even as the white vote continued its steady decline as a percentage of the overall electorate. He got crushed among Hispanics and African American voters. . . .

The Republican party's internal struggles

http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2014/04/the-class-war-inside-the-republican-party/360970/
The Class War Inside the Republican Party

http://crooksandliars.com/2014/04/republican-party-immigration-fight
Republican Party Immigration Fight Highlights White Nationalism In Conservative Movement

How the GOPers think about climate change (or don't think about it)

http://fdlaction.firedoglake.com/2014/04/22/climate-change-skepticism-is-a-defining-characteristic-for-the-gop/

More: http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2014/04/quote-day-heres-how-gop-shows-its-enviro-cred

If there are no more swing voters, then the key to winning is turnout, turnout, turnout -- or blocking the votes of your opponent

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/23/upshot/the-myth-of-swing-voters-in-midterm-elections.html?rref=upshot

http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2014/04/most-independent-voters-arent-really

The GOP has a plan to jimmy the electoral college, keeping winner take all in the states they are likely to win, and splitting the electoral votes in the states where they aren't. A direct popular vote would blow up that plan -- therefore, it must be opposed

http://crooksandliars.com/2014/04/foxs-kelly-and-stirewalt-fearmonger-over

Could both Republican congressional leaders lose their own re-elections?

http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/tea-party-attacks-boehner-at-home/2014/04/22/f0724228-c96f-11e3-95f7-7ecdde72d2ea_story.html?wprss=rss_politics

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/03/26/is-mitch-mcconnell-trying-to-lose.html

Your daily Christie

http://politicalwire.com/archives/2014/04/22/another_bridge_scandal_in_new_jersey_pops_up.html

Another Bridge Scandal in New Jersey Pops Up

The Supreme Court affirmative action decision, and what it means

http://www.vox.com/cards/affirmative-action/the-supreme-court-ruled-today-that-state-voters-can-ban-affirmative

More: http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/political-animal-a/2014_04/latest_from_scotus_on_racebase050005.php
The decision does not modify existing precedents on the constitutional permissibility of race-based college admissions policies, but simply makes it clear voters can ban them via state constitutional amendments . . .

Theocracy watch

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/04/22/1293784/-Louisiana-lawmaker-withdraws-bill-to-make-the-Bible-the-official-state-book
Louisiana lawmaker withdraws bill to make the Bible the official state book

The main network Sunday talk shows have stopped being much about news, and more about detecting the trends of inside-the beltway conventional wisdom and its topical obsessions. But some shows are still much better than others

http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2014/04/nobody-cares-about-david-and-cokie.html 

Bonus item: Big Data as a civil rights issue

http://prospect.org/article/how-big-data-could-undo-our-civil-rights-laws

Extra bonus item: A Guide to Spotting Bad Science

http://www.vox.com/2014/4/22/5636960/a-rough-guide-to-spotting-bad-science

***If you enjoy PBD and support what we are doing, you can help by forwarding a copy of this issue to your friends (using the envelope link below) or by sending them a copy of its URL: http://pbd.blogspot.com

I don’t get anything personally out of this project, except the satisfaction of doing it (I don’t run ads, etc.). The credit really all goes to the people whose material I copy and redistribute. But if I do have a “mission,” it is to get this information into the hands of as many people as I can.***