World Cup, Sports Corruption; Europe, Asia; MH370; Religion; Media and Transparency, Political Partisanship, Obamanation; Vote Machinations, Campaign Finance Deform; Grand Ol' Tea Party; Immigration, Race and Racism; Your Government Inaction

World Cup

• Iran arrests 2 over World Cup video—"Iran's official IRNA news agency says police have arrested two people who appeared in an online video of young people singing and dancing in support of the country's World Cup football team."
• Defying ban, Iranian women watch World Cup with men in public
• Neo-Nazi Banners, Blackface, and Homophobic Chants: World Cup Fans Behaving Badly
• Suarez World Cup bite sets off Twitter meme frenzy—"Harkening Mike Tyson's famous gnawing of Evander Holyfield's ear, the soccer star is pictured wearing a dog cone, with fangs, as Hannibal, and more."
• Miguel Herrera Is the Most GIF-Worthy Man at the World Cup, Perhaps on Earth
• Cristiano Ronaldo, James Milner, Mario Balotelli, Olivier Giroud: The hottest soccer players at the World Cup
• Bravery of young security officer prevents massacre in Beirut—"Hunch by security officer prevents potential massacre as scores of people were watching World Cup match, but it also costs his own life."

Sports Corruption

• Football match-fixing: Ghana deal casts cloud over World Cup finals in Brazil—Is this what the $3 million is for?
• Fifa Bosses 'Secretly Doubled Their Salaries'—"Football chiefs are accused of upping their pay to £118,000 to compensate for lucrative bonuses that have now been axed."
• U.S. Senator Calls On FIFA To Relocate 2022 World Cup Out Of Qatar
• Nobody Wants To Host The 2022 Olympics—"The next Olympics to be awarded, a little more than a year from now, will be the 2022 Winter Games. Rather than going to the strongest bid, the games may end up going to the last city standing--a long list of potential hosts have given up on their Olympic dreams because the whole thing is one huge, useless waste of money."
• Banks Wary of Construction Companies After Olympic Debacle

Europe

• Polish foreign minister says country's alliance with US worthless—"According to a transcript of recordings obtained by Wprost, Radislaw Sikorski said 'we gave the US a blow job.'"
• Polish MPs ridicule Cameron's 'stupid propaganda' aimed at Eurosceptics—"Secretly taped expletive-laden conversation reveals EU fallout from prime minister's plans to curb migrants' benefits access."
• Italy arrests 95 in mafia dragnet, solves century-old murder
• Roma boy left unconscious after being savagely beaten and tortured during vigilante attack in Paris suburb
• Tens of thousands march in London against coalition's austerity measures—"An estimated 50,000 people in London addressed by speakers, including Russell Brand, after People's Assembly march."

Asia

• China jails 'New Citizens' Movement' activists—"China has handed down lengthy jail terms to three anti-corruption activists who had called for officials to disclose their personal wealth."
• Chinese police shoot dead 13 attackers in restive Xinjiang
• In Hong Kong, an Unofficial Election Draws Beijing's Ire NYT
• Chinese warships to join US in drills off Hawaii for first time
• Japan failed to report 640 kg of nuclear fuel to IAEA
• North Korea blasts film featuring James Franco and Seth Rogen plotting assassination of Kim Jong Un—This means war.
• Google removes Singapore hate blog against Filipinos

MH370

• 'A bungled inquiry': 100 days after MH370 went missing it is clear Malaysia officials hiding information National Post
• Malaysian Jet Was in Controlled Flight After Contact Was Lost, Officials Suspect NYT
• Australia: Waiting for Malaysians before announcing new MH370 search area

Religion

• Festival of Dangerous Ideas: 'Honour killings are morally justified' talk cancelled
• Christian woman freed after death sentence ruled 'faulty' in Sudan—NISS says, not so fast.
• Malaysian court to Christians: You can't say 'Allah'

Media and Transparency

• The media's moral center: How John Oliver became the sheriff of cable news' wild west—"The 'Last Week Tonight' host digs deeper and pushes his audience harder than either Jon Stewart or Stephen Colbert." Salon
• Jon Stewart Is A More Trusted News Source Than MSNBC, Study Says
• Lawmakers unveil major changes to FOIA—"Reform legislation emerges from Senate committee that would overhaul Freedom of Information Act, increase transparency."
• Wal-Mart 'edits' a New York Times op-ed—The fact check fudges facts.
• Hacking trial: Coulson guilty, Brooks cleared of charges

Political Partisanship

• Americans Have Less Confidence In Congress Than Just About Anything, Ever
• Let's Stop Kidding Ourselves: 90 Percent of Congressional Incumbents Will Win Re-election—"All signs tell us that incumbents should be grabbed by their lapels and shoved to the curb—but most won't be."
• Americans have not become more politically polarized—Maybe, maybe not. WaPo

Obamanation

• Jindal: People Ready For 'Hostile Takeover' Of DC
• South Dakota Republican Party Passes Resolution Calling For Obama's Impeachment
• New report destroys Gov. Sam Brownback's bid to blame President Obama for Kansas budget crisis

Vote Machinations

• Want to Suppress the Vote? Stress People Out—"The latest science-of-politics study suggests that GOP voter intimidation tactics may be more effective than liberals have feared—for biological reasons."
• Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand plans to introduce legislation to allow voters to register online—"Under Gillibrand's proposal, states with existing online access would expand their system beyond those with state-issued IDs to let more young people, seniors, minorities and the poor to access and update their own voter records online."
• GOP's voter fraud humiliation: Turns out Wisconsin's worst case is a Republican—"Maybe the real reason Scott Walker and Reince Preibus think their state needs tougher laws is a guilty conscience." Hypocrites. Salon
• Racist tactic emerges in GOP primary fight—"Rachel Maddow reports on how Mississippi Republican candidate Thad Cochran's appeal for African-American votes is being met by conservative supporters of his tea party opponent, Chris McDaniel, with 'poll watchers,' to discourage black voters."
• Wilson precinct official removed—Woman who wasn't able to vote: "I am not rich — just a mom who wanted to vote. And I did ask for a provisional ballot. But I didn't get it."
• Fifty Years After Freedom Summer, the Voting Rights Act Is Needed More Than Ever

Campaign Finance Deform

• Calif. lawmakers seek constitutional convention on Citizens United
• 4 Key Takeaways About Scott Walker's Alleged "Criminal Scheme"—"Here's what you need to know about the probe targeting the Wisconsin governor and two of his aides."
• Senate Democrats Re-up Their Dark-Money Disclosure Bill—and Dare GOPers to Block It
• Mayday PAC: The Super PAC Built to Destroy Super PACs

Grand Ol' Tea Party

• Thad Cochran Defeats the Tea Party -- And So Does Everyone Else
• Losing Tea Party Candidate Refuses to Concede in Mississippi Runoff
• The staggering price of crushing the tea party Politico
• Tea Party's embarrassing irony: How its ideal nation rejects basic American beliefs Salon
• In a Do-Nothing Congress, Blake Farenthold is Enjoying the View—"Blake Farenthold, the tea party congressman from Corpus Christi, has settled into a routine where distraction is just part of the job."
• Tea party, police clash in western Wisconsin town—Also: Wisconsin Police Chief and Tea Party Battle Over Bridge Signs and Gay Dating Websites
• Darrell Issa's flailing search for his white whale
• GOP Rep's Chief Of Staff Resigns After Porn Star Tweets Photo Of His Penis

Immigration

• Obama tells Mexico: Illegal-immigrant children won't get to stay
• Limbaugh Floats Theory That Obama Planned Influx Of Undocumented Minors At Border
• Honduras to ask U.S. not to deport Honduran kids
• Few immediate consequences for child immigrants
• Mass migrant graves unearthed in Texas—"Researchers discover mass graves near US-Mexico border containing bodies of unidentified migrants in body bags."

Race and Racism

• Prominent Republican Lawyer Says Ted Cruz Sounds Like A Racist
• Texas Commissioners Unintentionally Vote In Favor Of Slavery Reparations
• Arizona GOPer: 'We All Need To Stomp Out' Spanish TV Stations, Newspapers—¡Ay caramba!
• If Affirmative Action Is Doomed, What's Next? NYT
• Redditor's discovery leads to white supremacist investigation at Army base
• Joe Dorsey's Big Fight: How An Unknown Boxer Knocked Out Segregation In Louisiana
• Stunning Portraits of Mixed-Race Families

Your Government Inaction

• You paid a fee for 31 years that went nowhere
• Opponents Barred From Speaking As Cobb County Approves Braves Stadium
• Congress Is Weighing Some Bafflingly Bad Ideas for Fixing Our Crumbling Bridges and Roads
• How many people would be 'out of work' if USPS eliminates Saturday delivery? WaPo
• Why Can't We Simplify Our Tax System? It Turns Out, We Can.

Workers and Wages Slaves, IT Crowd, Minimum Wage; Banks and Wall Street, Class Warfare, Corporatocracy; Tea Party, Obamanation, Politics and Partisanship, Vote Machinations, Campaign Finance Deform, Christie, Hillary; IRS; Redskins

Workers and Wage Slaves

• The Economy May Be Improving. Worker Pay Isn't. NYT
• The Downward Ramp—"The jobs crisis has begun to affect even highly skilled college graduates, who are taking jobs that once went to people with fewer skills." NYT
• I got my Master's, couldn't find a job and lived on food stamps. Now stop calling me a 'welfare queen'
• 5 reasons US workers hate their jobs more than they used to
• Young workers hate their jobs WaPo
• It's Official: The Boomerang Kids Won't Leave—"One in five young adults lives with his or her parents. It might be a recessionary blip — or the dawn of a whole new economic age." NYT
• Elizabeth Warren on creating jobs: 'This isn't magic, we actually know how to do this'

IT Crowd

• This IT worker had to train an H-1B replacement—"U.S. workers protested job losses to foreign workers by displaying American flags in their cubicles."
• Should tech workers settle "no-poach" case for $324M? Judge has real doubts—"One plaintiff says the deal isn't fair to workers, and the judge is listening."
• Robot doctors, online lawyers and automated architects: the future of the professions?—"Advances in technology have long been recognised as a threat to manual labour. Now highly skilled, knowledge-based jobs that were once regarded as safe could be at risk. How will they adapt to the digital age?"

Minimum Wage

• IMF urges U.S. to raise minimum wage
• Massachusetts approves $11 minimum wage
• Obamas Want Daughters To Get Taste Of Life On Minimum Wage
• 'Subminimum wage' for disabled workers called exploitative—"Critics of program that pays disabled workers 'subminimum wage' say it should be abolished. Others say it's an important tool to provide training and employment."

Banks and Wall Street

• Wikileaks: Secret Trade in Services Agreement (TISA) - Financial Services Annex—"Despite the failures in financial regulation evident during the 2007-2008 Global Financial Crisis and calls for improvement of relevant regulatory structures, proponents of TISA aim to further deregulate global financial services markets."
• City of Miami sues JPMorgan, claims mortgage discrimination
• Ex-Goldman director goes to prison, still owes $13.9 million fine
• Senate hearing examines flaws in stock markets
• Why a guy making $100,000 a year can't get a bank account WaPo
• Greenpeace suffers $5.2-million loss after rogue employee's currency investment flops
• Master Currency Counterfeiter Prints Millions, Says 'Screw You' to US

Class Warfare

• Class in America: The Fault Lines
• Reich: Real Business Leaders Want to Save Capitalism
• Arizona GOPer Went Birther, Compared Poor To 'Lazy Pigs' In Anonymous Blog Comments
• No, The Poor Aren't Poor Because They Refuse To Work
• America's Dying Factories Are Widening Income Inequality
• Justice Sotomayor: Inequality Could Trigger 'Unrest' In U.S.
• U.S. appeals court overturns L.A. ban on homeless living in vehicles
• British public wrongly believe rich face highest tax burden, new research shows—"Study shows poorest 10% pay eight percentage points more of their income, prompting calls for more progressive system."
• Australia's richest 1% own as much as bottom 60%, says Oxfam—"Income inequality has risen since mid-1990s and nine richest people now have greater net worth than poorest 4.54 million."

Corporatocracy

• How America became uncompetitive and unequal—"How corporate mergers contribute to economic inequality." WaPo
• The Corporate Daddy: Walmart, Starbucks, and the Fight Against Inequality—"Walmart, the world's largest public corporation, is a big part of the income-gap problem. It could be a big part of the solution." NYT
• The True Cost of Hidden Money—"A Piketty Protégé's Theory on Tax Havens." NYT
• Medtronic Is Biggest Yet to Renounce U.S. Tax Citizenship
• Legislation Introduced to Stop American Corporations from Pretending to Be Foreign Companies
• EU launches attack against corporate tax avoidance—"The EU has taken steps to curb tax avoidance by global corporations. In recent months, criticism in the budget-strapped bloc has mounted over tax loopholes exploited by companies such as Apple, Google and others."
• Thrown Out of Court—"How corporations became people you can't sue."
• Halliburton Ruling Could Be A Big Win For Big Pharma, Wall Street

Tea Party

• Eugene Robinson: Overdosing on tea—"The Republican Party's reliance on tea party support is like an addict's dependence on a dangerous drug: It may feel good at first, but eventually it eats you alive." WaPo
• Teatopia—"What would actually happen if Tea Partiers controlled Congress and Rand Paul was president?"
• Unwitting tea party folk do the bidding of big business LA Times
• David Brat's Success Due to 19,000 new primary voters
• Reince Priebus After Eric Cantor Loss: I Don't Think GOP Is Divided
• Muslim reporter describes being ridiculed at the Texas GOP convention—"Republican chairman: 'Would the state party ever condone that? Absolutely not.'

Obamanation

• Krugman: Yes He Could—"Health Care and Climate: President Obama's Big Deals" NYT
• GOP Rep: Obama Impeachment 'Probably Could' Pass The House
• Conservatives Uncover Obama Plot to Destroy Phil Mickelson—"According to the latest conspiracy theory, Obama sent the FBI and SEC to investigate the pro golfer because he once complained about high tax rates."
• Here's every presidential executive order going back to George Washington

Politics and Partisanship

• Poll: Congress historic midterm low Politico
• America prepares to reelect the Congress it loathes WaPo
• Congress is making a lot of history! (By being so unpopular) WaPo
• The shocking numbers: Americans are dangerously ignorant on politics—"The scary thing about the man who upset Eric Cantor last week is how familiar his brand of ignorance is." Salon
• Time to Stand Up and Fight for a More Perfect Union—"The irony of American politics is that the right is far weaker than it appears and the left far stronger than it asserts."

Vote Machinations

• End Polarization. Make Everyone Vote.
• Middle Class Squeeze: As incomes slide, voters check out
• AZ Candidate Who Changed His Name To 'Cesar Chavez' Thrown Off Ballot
• Fox News paid Scott Brown $136,000
• Alaska's Don Young violated US House ethics—"The House Ethics Committee has found that U.S. Rep. Don Young of Alaska violated House rules by using campaign funds for personal trips and accepting improper gifts."
• Shadowy Obama Megadonor Indicted On Fraud And Manslaughter Charges
• SCOTUS Rules For Anti-Abortion Group In Case About Campaign Lies

Campaign Finance Deform

• Prosecutors: Walker's Campaign 'Tacitly Admitted' Breaking The Law
• Gov. Scott Walker's Campaign Violations—"There clearly is plenty to fear from independent spending groups that raise unlimited dollars." NYT
• The Koch brothers may spend $290 million on this election. That's how much 5,270 American households make in a year. WaPo
• Campaign-Finance Reform Has to Be Cross-Partisan—"Democrats love to talk about cutting the influence of money in politics, but are they actually any more eager to fix it than Republicans?"
• After Lindsey Graham met billionaire, supportive super PAC secured donation an hour later
• Cronies, corruption and cash: Lawrence Lessig on why we need a super PAC to end all super PACs Salon

Christie

• Despite budget gap, Christie holding firm that business tax cuts are off-limits
• Chris Christie to GOP donors on bridge scandal: 'You'll get over it' LA Times
• Prosecutor Is Closing In on Gov. Christie—"Indictments against four cronies are near certain, sources say. Only question is if David Samson, Christie's longtime mentor, will flip."

Hillary

• The GOP's weapon against Hillary? A giant squirrel
• Clinton: Matt Drudge, Karl Rove Planting 'False Information'
• Man who beat NSA in T-shirt parody case wins against Ready for Hillary

IRS

• Lawmakers fume over lost emails in IRS probe
• Congressman asks NSA to provide metadata for "lost" IRS e-mails
• Attkisson On Missing IRS Documents: If The Emails Really Are Lost, 'That's Quite A Story In Itself'
• IRS Commissioner To Testify About Lois Lerner's Lost Emails
• Republicans, at Hearing on Lost Emails, Accuse I.R.S. Chief of Lying NYT
• Drum: Yet Another IRS Scandal That Isn't

Redskins

• Federal agency cancels Redskins trademark registration, says name is disparaging WaPo
• Retired Native American Chief Would Be Offended If Redskins Did Change Name
• What About the Celtics?
• The Onion: Redskins' Name Only Offensive If You Think About What It Means
• The Onion: Redskins' Kike Owner Refuses To Change Team's Offensive Name
• The Onion: Washington Redskins Change Their Name To The D.C. Redskins
• The Onion: Washington Redskins Ease Tensions With Native Americans By Adding Bottle Of Booze To Logo
• Last Week Tonight with John Oliver: The Washington Redskins
• The Daily Show: Thursday Night Law

Iraq'd, ISIS, Benghazi; Ukraine and Russia, China; Corruption; Bad Sports, Sterling; Church and State, Trojan Horse, Educamation, Extermists

Iraq'd

• The Case for Doing Nothing in Iraq—"The same people who got us into this mess want America to 'do something.' Ignore them." Politico
• Neocons promised Iraq would be Model of Democracy, Left US Holding the Bag
• FLASHBACK: Remember When Paul Wolfowitz Said Not to Worry About Sectarian Violence in Iraq?—"The former Bush administration official is perhaps the worst person to give advice about the current crisis in Iraq—but that hasn't stopped him from speaking out."
• Media Malpractice: Iraq War Blunderers Keep Getting Invited to Criticize Obama
• Americans poorly served by media on Iraq, Benghazi
• Cheneys reach the bottom of the barrel, drill deeper
• Jay Carney Had The Perfect Response To Dick Cheney On Iraq
• Sorry, George W. Bush, but this whole mess is still your fault—"GOP wants to pin Iraq on Barack Obama. Perhaps they need a simple refresher in the real history of the last decade." Salon
• How the Top Iraqi Terrorist Was Helped by a Bush-Signed Agreement—"Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, who heads the jihadists threatening Baghdad, was freed from prison under a deal W. struck with Iraq. "
• Gunmen Attack North of Baghdad as Obama Weighs Options for Iraq
• Iraq formally asks US to launch air strikes against rebels
• 5,000 Iranians volunteer to defend Iraq holy sites from ISIL militants
• Saudis give apparent warning to Iran: don't meddle in Iraq
• Jon Stewart blasts John McCain over Iraq foreign policy Salon
• Glenn Beck admits: Liberals got Iraq right Politico

ISIS

• ISIS storms across Iraq: What would a jihadist state look like?
• The rules in ISIS' new state: Amputations for stealing and women to stay indoors.
• The ISIS Extremists Causing Havoc in Iraq Are Getting Funds and Recruits From Southeast Asia
• ISIS's Savage Strategy in Iraq—"The brutality currently on display, initiated by the Islamic State in Iraq and al-Sham, is more than a carnival of revenge."
• Someone Is Spilling ISIS's Secrets on Twitter

Benghazi

• Obama Administration Won't Send Benghazi Suspect To Gitmo
• Benghazi Suspect Said He Was Moved To Take Revenge For American-Made Video
• Hiding in plain sight: Captured Benghazi suspect an enigma
• Abu Khattala was an unlikely leader before Benghazi attacks — and a loner afterward WaPo
• Harry Reid Slams 'Disgusting,' 'Pathetic' GOP Response To Benghazi Arrest
• 7 Republicans Who Said Obama Wasn't Trying Hard Enough to Bring the Benghazi Attacker to Justice
• GOP's Benghazi humiliation: Capture of suspect upends deranged agenda—"With alleged ringleader now in custody, the Benghazi Select Committee just lost a prized grandstanding opportunity." Salon

Ukraine and Russia

• Tanks and gas politics in eastern Ukraine: The crisis heats up again while the world is distracted by Iraq
• Russia cuts natural gas supply to Ukraine
• Ukraine Says Mysterious Pipeline Explosion Is Not So Mysterious
• Ukraine's Poroshenko 'to order unilateral ceasefire'
• Russia 'using words to destroy meaning', say writers—"Group of authors including two Nobel laureates condemns Russian Federation's 'waves of propaganda' against free expression."

China

• To bolster its claims, China plants islands in disputed waters
• Chinese Hackers Are Practicing How To Blow Up US Pipelines And Shut Down Power Plants
• German security firm finds spyware on Chinese-made smartphone

Corruption

• How Corrupt Is the U.S.? Just Watch 'House of Cards,' China Party Arm Says
• Mayor of Venice resigns after corruption inquiry
• Russia's Former Top Anti-Corruption Cop Commits Suicide During Questioning

Bad Sports

• The Brazil World Cup Could Be The Last True Sports Mega-Event
• World Cup Produces Arrest of Mexican Drug Lord Going to Game
• France cries foul at World Cup "spy drone"—"Quadrocopter buzzed French practice facilities near Sao Paulo, Brazil."
• The Odds of a World Cup in Qatar in 2022 Are Falling
• "Open Wide for Some Soccer!": The Simpsons' Brilliant Parody of the Beautiful Game

Sterling

• Donald Sterling pulls support from Clippers sale, suing NBA again
• Donald Sterling hires 4 private investigators to dig up dirt on NBA heads, owners
• Donald Sterling, New Black Girlfriend Vacation In Palm Springs Following Racism Allegations Against NBA

Church and State

• S. Korean PM Nominee: Japan's Occupation Was 'God's Will'—"A leaked video shows Park's prime minister nominee saying that Japan's occupation and Korea's division were 'God's will.'"
• GOP lawmaker: I'm like Paul the Apostle because God told me to run for Congress
• GOP State Legislator Asks Why America Can't Be More Like Saudi Arabia—"A Republican state legislator miffed about an Arkansas judge's ruling that struck down the state's same-sex marriage ban suggested on a conservative radio show that politicians should emulate Saudi Arabia by basing laws off Christian doctrine...."
• Spain to Deport Pakistani Refugee for Criticizing Islam
• New Facebook Group to Block 'Offensive' Posts Against Religious Figures—Say no to sectarian censorship. FSM forever!

Trojan Horse

• UK PM 'concerned' over Muslim schools row—"Remarks come as education minister prepares to submit report on alleged Birmingham plot by 'Islamic extremists.'"
• Dossier of Trojan horse evidence finally laid bare after leaks and allegations
• Books 'promoting stoning' found at Olive Tree Primary School

Educamation

• Christian homeschoolers accused of running 'concentration camp'
• Allegations of racism surface in Israel's ultra-Orthodox schools
• Tony Abbott spends millions to push God in schools—"The prime minister has allocated $226 million for more chaplains, all while slashing his country's education budget." Salon

Extremists

• Nigerian army arrests 486 alleged Boko Haram members—"Boko Haram, which has killed more than 1,500 people in Nigeria this year, is also the group responsible for abducting more than 200 schoolgirls."
• Saudi minister says beheading, lashings 'cannot be changed'
• Mob torches Christian shops in Egypt ahead of trial
• Alleged kidnappings, murder and a female Christ: The banned religious group that has China worried
• Woman in Sudan sentenced to death for apostasy forced to give birth 'with her legs chained'
• Muslim convert to Christianity sues Tulsa church—"The Tulsa County resident, identified only as John Doe in court papers for his own safety, alleges that because the news of his conversion appeared on the Internet, he was kidnapped on a trip to his native Syria by radical Muslims seeking to enforce Shariah law."
• Provocative Islamic sign that says 'Do not walk your dog here! Muslims don't like dogs' investigated by police

Flag Day; Iraq'd; Politics, Cantor; Vote Machinations, Campaign Finance Deform; Immigration, Race and Racism; Economy; Workers and Wage Slaves, Occupational Hazards, Minimum Wage, On the Job; Homeless; Banks and Wall Street

Flag Day

• Why Are Flags So Cheap? -- Red White and Screwed: How Wal-Mart is Killing the American Flag Business—"The American flag-making business is dying. But those cheap, Chinese-made stars and stripes? They're not to blame."
• Pennsylvania Flag Desecration Case Heads to Court
• 'The Star-Spangled Banner' in a Minor Key Is More Dramatic Than Ever

Iraq'd

• Obama says no combat troops to Iraq; U.S. weighs airstrikes
• Wait, McCain was wrong on Iraq? Yup.
• Fareed Zakaria: Who lost Iraq? The Iraqis did, with an assist from George W. Bush WaPo
• Shep Smith: The Same People Who Were Wrong About Iraq Now Want Us To Go Back
• Opinion: Bush's toxic legacy in Iraq
• Jon Stewart Wonders 'What The F*ck Is Going On' In Iraq?

Politics

• We Hate Each Other, We Really Hate Each Other—This is why you can't have nice things [WaPo], America
• The 3 Things Republicans and Democrats Agree On—"Voters are more split along partisan lines than ever—but there's something like consensus on immigration, national security, and gay rights."
• Conservatives Are So Conservative They Think the Congressional GOP Are Moderate Squishes
• Rand Paul: Moderates aren't GOP's future Politico
• Tea party candidates have lost five times as much as they've won WaPo
• For tea party Republicans, House leadership hopes turn into disappointment—Democrats say, GOP leadership can't get worse. WaPo
• The tea party in Congress: Talking loud, doing nothing WaPo
• Seriously Out of Touch: GOP Uses Live Elephants As Party Props In Downtown Dallas

Cantor

• Eric Cantor's Legacy Is One Of Economic Destruction—"From day one — literally, the night of President Obama's first inauguration — Cantor was leading the charge to not just oppose Obama, but to delegitimize him — denying him the conciliatory, bipartisan policy style he campaigned on, and turning even policy successes into the kind of grueling partisan battles that voters dislike."
• Real lesson in Eric Cantor's loss: Beware conventional wisdom
  
• Krugman: The Fix Isn't In—"The surprise primary defeat of Eric Cantor is the unraveling of an ideological movement."
• The New Nihilism Threatens GOP's Growth—"Cantor's defeat signals deep problems for a party being pushed further to the right by the antigovernment wing."
• Eric Cantor's Loss Was a Fluke, But It Still Reshapes 2014
• Everybody Hates Eric Cantor: A Roundup
• Blast from the Past: Bullet That Hit Eric Cantor's Office From Random Gunfire —He allegedly lied about being shot at, probably to garner sympathy and instill fear.

Vote Machinations

• Alabama GOP struggles to find voter fraud despite $1,000 reward
• A federal judge reminds Ohio Republicans that fettering the right to vote violates the Constitution
• Bill Clinton stresses voter turnout at annual Ohio Democrats' dinner

Campaign Finance Deform

• Krugman: The Koch Cycle of Endless Cash—"The wealthiest Americans are using their fortunes to lobby Congress against any limits on their ability to buy elections." NYT
• Unlimited Dark Campaign Money Is 'The American Way,' Says Terri Lynn Land
• Billionaire's Campaign Contribution Among Biggest In Recent History—Griffin, well known for saying the very wealthy have an 'insufficient influence' in politics, is the richest man in Illinois...."
• The Dark Money Machine That Beat Eric Cantor
• Cuomo Has Raised Millions Through Loophole He Pledged to Close—"The governor has called for closing a gap in the state's campaign finance laws, but he's taken far more through the loophole than his predecessors, much of it from real estate developers."

Immigration

• Cantor Loss Hurts 2016 Republicans Seeking Hispanic Votes
• Immigration Does Matter in GOP Primaries, But It's Not Clear Why
• Influx of minors across Texas border driven by belief that they will be allowed to stay in U.S. WaPo
• Palin: Immigration Debate 'Just About Driving Me To Renounce My Republican Ties'

Race and Racism

• White People Think One Black Person's Success Proves Racism Is Over
• Inside The KKK's Plan For Expansion—"A group of Ku Klux Klan members says it is planning military style combat training for the first time in KKK history."
• A Library of White-Supremacist Hand Gestures—"The Anti-Defamation League has published an online catalog of the symbols, flags, and slogans used by hate groups. Is this an educational tool or a portal for perverse curiosity?"
• Ku Klux Klan hood-wearer to get $215,000 from Los Angeles—"Black resident wore KKK hood and T-shirt emblazoned with racial slur to protest city during 2011 parks commission meeting."
• Ditch 'Old Hickory' and Put Martin Luther King on the $20 Bill—"The civil-rights leader helped America to realize its founding ideals as surely as any president, and ending the run of exclusively white faces on bank notes is long overdue."

Economy

• Recession 'led to 10,000 suicides'
• House GOP approves more tax breaks without paying for them
• America's middle class: Poorer than you think
• Then and now photos of Detroit reveal the real frontline of the Global Financial Crisis
• Rich got 14.6% richer in 2013—"Number of Chinese millionaires jumps as Asia-Pacific region leads growth."

Workers and Wage Slaves

• Why Newport restaurant has 'no tipping' policy—"Packhouse servers earn $10 per hour or 20 percent of their individual food sales per shift, whichever is larger – almost always the 20 percent. And servers have to meet certain goals – sales and service targets, for example – to get their 20 percent."
• Waffle House denies NC waitress a $1,000 tip from 'angel'
• La Porchetta owner who paid young workers in pizza fined $335k

Occupational Hazards

• US: NY firm made workers pray, say 'I love you'—"A federal agency says a New York healthcare firm forced employees to join prayer circles, thank God for having jobs and say 'I love you' to co-workers and managers."
• The Dangers for Women Who Negotiate—"Contrary to the advice of “Lean In,” for women, asserting a strong position in negotiations can backfire."
• Noncompete Clauses Increasingly Pop Up in Array of Jobs—"Once largely limited to the technology and sales sectors, the agreements are entering a range of fields; even camp counselors and hairstylists are being required to sign." NYT
• Facing massive strikes, mining corporations may soon use weaponized drones to control workers
• Amazon warehouses under scrutiny after worker deaths
• Revealed: Asian slave labour producing prawns for supermarkets in US, UK
• India steel plant gas leak kills six in Bhilai

Minimum Wage

• Obama Moves On Minimum Wage Without Congress
• Vermont To Raise Minimum Wage To $10.50
• Seattle: Business adds 'living wage surcharge' after minimum wage hike—"A locally-owned parking business is adding an unusual charge that customers are just starting to notice."
• Industry Group Files Lawsuit Seeking To Kill Seattle's Minimum Wage, Claiming It Violates Their Free Speech
• Why Are Rhode Island Democrats Blocking Minimum-Wage Increases?—"With friends like this, who needs Republicans."

On the Job

• Why You Hate Work—"Excessive demands are leading to burnout everywhere." NYT
• Google Has Started Hiring More People Who Didn't Go To College—Shades of Silicon Valley?
• European court: Death doesn't end holiday benefits—"Dying for a holiday, but can't fit one in? Not to worry — a new European court ruling says vacation benefits are still valid after death." WaPo
• The Onion: More Office Workers Switching To Fetal Position Desks
• PVP Online: Workaholics

Homeless

• Boris Johnson calls for removal of anti-homeless spikes
• More US Cities Are Cracking Down on Feeding the Homeless
• Sarasota leaders help homeless veterans

Banks and Wall Street

• NYC Settles With 14 Occupy Protesters for $583K
• Cop who punched Occupy Wall Street protester gets tax-free disability pension—"Deputy Inspector Johnny Cardona has been granted three-quarters tax free disability pension of roughly $120,000 a year for injuries suffered during his violent encounter with Felix Rivera-Pitre n the Financial District in October 2011."
• How House Democrats Are Caving On Key Mortgage Rules
• U.S. to Sue Citigroup Over Faulty Mortgage Bonds: Sources—"The U.S. Department of Justice is preparing to sue Citigroup Inc on charges that the bank defrauded investors on billions of dollars worth of mortgage securities in the run-up to the financial crisis, after talks to resolve the probe broke down, people familiar with the matter said on Friday." NYT
• Judge considers dismissing U.S. fraud case against Bank of America—"DOJ may not have the evidence to try this as a fraud case."
• Senator to SEC: Stop granting waivers to law-breaking companies
• Australia: Government grabs $360 million from idle household bank accounts

Comply! Zero Tolerance, Bullying, Racism, School Shootings, Sexual Assaults, Law and Disorder, Juvenile Deliquence; Educamation, Teachers, That's Un-Possible! Parenting

Comply!

• Parents say middle school students suspended over FB post—"A group of Spalding County middle school students is facing suspension over a Facebook post about the school dress code."
• Student's awesome non-apology for wearing leggings
• North Carolina Senior Stripped of Diploma After He Strips at Graduation
• Running Coach Fired For Running Boston Marathon—He went on his personal day, and the athletic director goes on a power trip.
• Oakland High guard charged in abuse of student in wheelchair
• Campus cop fires gun at teens he caught making out in car parked at OK school
• Georgetown officer suspended 40 days after tripping incident
• Dad Arrested For Picking Up Kids At School By Foot

Zero Tolerance

• New Report on Zero Tolerance: Stop Expelling Kids for Ridiculous Nonsense
• Dad: NJ threatens to take away son after pencil-twirling incident—"A simple pencil-twirling incident landed Ethan Chaplin in hot water with his school, which threatened to suspend him after a classmate claimed he was spinning the writing utensil like a gun."
• School mum over dad's gun—Dad flashed his gun permit to the school principal during an argument "over a picture his son drew in art class of Gru, the main character in the movie 'Despicable Me,' 'shooting ping-pong balls at his minions,' which school officials thought was sexual in nature." School administration stupidty at work again.
• Boy, 7, may be expelled after telling teacher he accidentally brought toy gun to school
• Parent wants NEISD to reconsider sunscreen policy—"Girl, 10, not allowed to bring sunscreen on field trip due to 'toxic' nature."
• When your high school gets you arrested for a science project—"Last year Kiera Wilmot was busted for simulating a volcano with toilet cleaner and foil. Her record still lists felony arrest."

Bullying

• Was Rainier HS student suspended for reporting online bullying?
• Maryland girl pleads 'responsible' for bullying boy with autism—"A 17-year-old Maryland girl accused of assaulting an autistic boy pleaded 'responsible' to two misdemeanor charges after her case was transferred from adult to juvenile court."
• Torrence Collier: Westport parents insist town is not racist—"Parents in the tiny Newfoundland community of Westport say suggestions that their community is racist are wrong, with one saying that Torrence Collier, the 11-year-old black boy whose allegations of racially motivated bullying have made national headlines, is a bully himself."
• CPS investigating allegations of anti-Semitic bullying
• It's time to outlaw bullying

Racism

• Mich. teacher suspended over blackface lesson plan—"A community is outraged after a Michigan public school teacher was removed from the classroom for showing a video of white entertainers in blackface." Updated: The teacher has been reinstated. The administrator should be kicked out.
• UCI student council penalizes frat over themed party—"Critics say Phi Gamma Delta's annual Fiji Islander event is a slap because of how the nation was treated during colonial times."
• Hylton officials file complaint about racism following soccer game

School Shootings

• Seattle student credited with stopping campus gunman has wedding registry, honeymoon paid for by strangers
• Oregon school shooting leaves student, gunman dead
• The Daily Banter's Investigation Helps Catch Sandy Hook Memorial Thief

Sexual Assaults

• Brown University Student Speaks Out on What It's Like to Be Accused of Rape—"In April, Daniel Kopin was publicly accused of sexually assaulting his classmate. For the first time, he tells his side of the story."
• Judge Blocks Expulsion of Duke Student Accused of Sexual Misconduct WSJ
• More college men are fighting back against sexual misconduct cases
• Stanford won't expel student in sexual assault case
• Stanford sexual-assault case: Did the university do enough to punish a student it found responsible for sexual misconduct?
• Teacher charged with raping student flipped out over prom date
• Dad hits teacher with baseball bat after 'inappropriate' texts surface with teen daughter

Law and Disorder

• 14 charged in Wilmington College hazing incident at the Gamma Phi Gamma house
• Woman sentenced to 2 days for truancy fines dies in jail; judge says it was his only option
• 20 students taken to hospital after first grader brings heroin to school

Juvenile Deliquence

• Girls Charged in Stabbing Allegedly Tried to Kill for 'Slender Man'
• 13-year-old Ohio girl stabs mother in 2nd 'Slenderman' attack
• Teenager calls in hoax bomb threat so brother can finish Burger King shift early
• Man jumped in Patterson Park by teenagers who were filming attack

Educamation

• Obama Plans Steps to Ease Student Debt—"Borrowers' debt load is growing and retarding the ability to buy homes, start businesses or otherwise spend to spur the economy, economists say." NYT
• Bill To Allow Refinancing Of Student Loans Dies In Senate
• Cafeteria worker tosses child's lunch when he's 26 cents short
• Public Schools Are Hurting More in the Recovery Than in the Recession
• Half of college grads still relying on parents' money
• How Medicaid lowers high school dropout rates and leads to more college grads WaPo

Teachers

• Williamsburg students stage walkout to protest mistreatment of teachers
• North Carolina: Judge rules revocation of teacher tenure, 25% contracts unconstitutional
• Judge Strikes Down California Teacher Tenure—"A judge struck down tenure and other job protections for California's public school teachers as unconstitutional Tuesday, saying such laws harm students — especially poor and minority ones — by saddling them with bad teachers who are almost impossible to fire."

That's Un-Possible!

• UNC's McCants: 'Just show up, play'—"Former North Carolina basketball star Rashad McCants told Outside the Lines that he could have been academically ineligible to play during the 2004-05 national championship season had he not been provided fraudulent academic assistance."
• School cancels reading program rather than promote "hacker culture"—"Boing Boing editor responds, offers 200 free copies to the school's students."
• This Made Us LOL—South Carolina takes a stand.

Parenting

• The day I left my son in the car—"I made a split-second decision to run into the store. I had no idea it would consume the next years of my life." Salon
• Stop helicopter-parenting other people's kids—"We've reached the point where parenting "mistakes" are being reported to the cops."
• Hawaii Man Gets Probation for Making Kid Walk Mile—He was sentenced to probation, but he shouldn't have been charged in the first place.
• Dad charged for forcing teen to carry landscape stone
• Brooklyn pub bans kids after being swamped by families—"The Hot Bird in Clinton Hill posted a sign reading 'Children are not allowed,' after hip parents kept taking their babies to the bar."

Box Office, Talking Pictures, Film History, Racism, Actors, Fun at the Movies, Superhero Flicks; Television; Miyazaki, Animation; Hermione and Ron, Books; Art, Music; Advertising

Box Office

• Why Frozen Crossing $1 Billion Matters For Future Movies—With an impressive record-breaking global take.
• Movies That Weren't Expected To Do Well But Smashed The Box Office
• Number of Frequent Young Moviegoers Plummets in 2013
• MPAA 2013 numbers: Women buy half of all movie tickets, but that won't mean more female characters on screen.
• Theaters May Cut Movie Prices to Lure Customers Back
• Joss Whedon releases new film on demand
• Jeffrey Katzenberg Predicts 3-Week Theatrical Window in Future
• No budget? No stars? No problem! How to REALLY sell a film at Cannes

Talking Pictures

• The Hobbit: Dwarfed Edition (10-minute preview)—"This is the first two parts of a long-term project to edit all three Hobbit movies down to one movie, taking out all the stuff added for the movie and making it just a straight adaptation of The Hobbit."
• I Went to the Oscars and Nobody Cared—"The world watched as my date grabbed my neck while falling on the red carpet. But backstage that night, I had a blast feeding Kerry Washington and sniffing Brad Pitt."
• How to Do Visual Comedy

Film History

• How the year 1999 changed cinema forever
• An Oral History Of 'The Mighty Ducks' Trilogy
• 'Ghostbusters' gets the call for theatrical re-release
• RoboCop (1987) Is an Almost Perfectly Symmetrical Film
• Ten film quotes we all get wrong

Racism

• Let's Stop With The African-American Actress Fade To Black
• Oscar-nominated actress cast as 'Annie' is black — and Twitter racists go nuts
• Taye Diggs Says Hollywood Holds Black Movies To "Frustrating" Double Standard

Actors

• Wham! Bam! Thank You, Liam!—"Since Taken, Liam Neeson has morphed from much-admired actor to pulp-movie badass. As his body count rises, Neeson’s hulking presence and anchoring calm make him the surprise successor to another vengeful giant, John Wayne."
• When Will Hollywood Give Paul Bettany the Role He Deserves?
• How Captain America's Chris Evans Finally Got Tired of Being Famous
• Adam Sandler confirms that his movies are just paid vacations
• Kevin Costner Talks Mike Binder's BLACK AND WHITE, His Ambitious Plan to Make a Western Trilogy, THE EXPLORERS, MAN OF STEEL, and More

Fun at the Movies

• Kevin Bacon cuts "Footloose": Recreates entire iconic dance sequence on Jimmy Fallon, 30 years later Salon
• Doc Brown finally admits Funny or Die hoverboard video is fake—"In an apology titled, 'Funny Or Die is Sorry for Lying about Hoverboards,' actor Christopher Lloyd owns up to the ruse that went on a day too long."
• Giant Transformers exhibit opens in Macau
• Movie poster mash-ups—Here are some more.
• This Is What Modern Movies Would Look Like With Classic Movie
• Movie Title Break-up

Superhero Flicks

• DC finished? They're coming out fighting
• Eccleston reveals some Thor: The Dark World scenes that didn't make the cut
• Michael Douglas: Edgar Wright Ant-Man departure 'very disappointing'
• Dark Knight villain artwork by Jock—Would make for great T-shirts.
• Watercolored Superheroes

Television

• How "Breaking Bad" and "House of Cards" killed the Oscars—"It's not that Hollywood can't make great movies -- but all the talent and energy is migrating to HBO and Netflix." Salon
• Judd Apatow: Everything He's Done Is Revenge for Canceling 'Freaks and Geeks'
• Maryland makes 'House of Cards' threat—"Maryland lawmakers threaten to seize the property of 'House of Cards' if the show leaves the state."
• Frank Underwood invades Westeros in 'House of Thrones'
• Medieval Land Fun-Time World

Miyazaki

• Ghibli's Hayao Miyazaki says the anime industry's problem is that it's full of anime fans
• Miyazaki's haunting farewell: A dreamer who made warplanes—"A Japanese legend bids farewell with a subtle, meditative epic about war, guilt and art." Salon
• Pixelated Ghibli

Animation

• The Secret Identity of Andy's Mom in Toy Story
• Simpsons: McBain the Movie
• Badass Childhood—By Tohad.

Hermione and Ron

• J.K. Rowling questions Ron and Hermione's relationship
• Okay, okay, I'm going to tell you what Hermione sees in Ron.
• Regrets over Ron/Hermione pairing?! An open letter to J.K. Rowling

Books

• "Reading Rainbow" Is Trying to Raise $1 Million on Kickstarter to Bring the Show to the Web—They hit the goal in less than 12 hours and doubled it the next day.
• Syracuse district to give 10 books to every elementary student for summer reading
• What every writer needs to succeed—"Sure, practice and research are important. But there's something else that might matter even more: Luck." Salon
• How Mark Twain became Mark Twain: The amazing story of the lectures that made him a superstar Salon
• Feminism, Meet Fiction—"In an age where sexism is more subtle, novels tackle it best. A review of The Blazing World."
• To Kill a Mockingbird and Mice and Men axed as Gove orders more Brit lit

Art

• The Andy Warhol Museum announces newly discovered Amiga experiments
• Lost Vincent van Gogh painting found in bank safe
• Just don't drop it. Man finds egg worth $33.3 million
• Cleaner throws out 'rubbish' Sala Murat artwork
• Miami artist destroys $1 million Ai Weiwei vase in protest—"He told an officer that his act was a protest against the gallery's decision to only display international art."
• Italy: Michelangelo's David at risk from weak ankles

Music

• Elite Violinists Fail to Distinguish Legendary Violins From Modern Fiddles
• Pono: only a man pays for music quality that he can't hear—"Neil Young's Pono: 192kHz 24-bit music player produces sound quality that is wasted on human hearing. So why pay the extra for it?"
• How Earbuds Have Changed The Sound (And Business) Of Pop
• Satire: David Guetta World Tour Cancelled After Losing USB Containing His Entire Set

Advertising

• Activision, Documentaries Are Not Ads: An Open Letter
• Everything You Hate About Advertising in One Fake Video That's Almost Too Real
• Agency apologizes for offensive ad depicting Malala Yousafzai getting shot by Taliban Salon
• Kevin Bacon’s brother Michael Bacon stars in ad for turkey bacon Salon
• Anti-advertising campaign replaces 360 ads with art in 10 UK cities
• Jon Lajoie: Please Use This Song