In the News

Here is some stuff in the news today!

NBC News Investigations published what it clearly feels is a BIG STORY about how the Obama administration knew that millions of people would not be able to keep their health insurance once the Affordable Care Act rolled out. Over at Think Progress, Igor details what's wrong with that story. What's really at issue is not so much that some people will lose their current health coverage (generally for better health coverage), but that Obama sold the plan with the lie (and, ahem, some people pointed out it was a lie at the time) that anyone who loved their health coverage would definitely be able to keep it. The truth is, as Jon puts it so well here: "The scandal is not that reform will change people's insurance. After all, the point of any 'reform' is to change things. The scandal is that Obama lied the whole time and kept lying even after his administration set the rules making sure this impossible promise would never be kept."

The NSA is in hot water, now that Congressional Republicans are pretending to care about surveillance since they calculate it might hurt President Obama. I'd prefer it if they were concerned about it because they have integrity and decency, but we'll have to settle for the principle of Whatever Hurts the Democratic President!

[Content Note: Guns] Sybrina Fulton, Trayvon Martin's mom, is an amazing woman. Today, she will testify before the US Senate Judiciary Committee as part of a hearing on clarifying "Stand Your Ground Laws." Fulton will have to speak in front of Senators who defend these heinous laws. In prepared testimony, she will tell them that Stand Your Ground "in its current form is far to open to abuse."

Fingers crossed: "As lawmakers gather in Honolulu for a special session to consider marriage equality legislation, Hawaiian news outlets are reporting that both chambers have secured the votes necessary for passage."

John McCain definitely thinks Hillary Clinton will run for president and win, because he's already angling for a spot in her cabinet. He's also throwing a bone to Biden, just in case.

This is not good: "Scientists said Monday they have for the first time documented that an Asian carp species has successfully reproduced within the Great Lakes watershed, an ominous development in the struggle to slam the door on the hungry invaders that could threaten native fish."

A Golden Girls Lego Set. WANT.