Monday DL links

Hi all,

Happy Monday, everybody. We had a small but lively gathering last week, and look forward to another good get-together this Tuesday. If you’re interested, here are a few links to peruse with your morning coffee:

Paul Krugman shines a spotlight on ALEC, the unelected conservative lobbying group that calls the shots in Pierre and in other Republican-dominated state legislatures. http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/26/opinion/krugman-lobbyists-guns-and-mon...

A reminder in case people are still being taken in by the snake-oil salesman: The Paul Ryan budget “plan” isn’t much of a plan. It creates huge policy messes and makes the budget worse, and Paul Ryan can’t be bothered to know any details about how it would allegedly work. Very Serious People like him can’t be bothered with such things, you know. http://maddowblog.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/03/26/10867058-ryan-debt-plan...

If there’s anything the Very Serious People can agree on, it’s that austerity is always good. As soon as the little people suffer enough, the financial gods will be appeased. Only, you know, it doesn’t actually work—just like treating a hemorrhaging patient by applying more leeches tends not to work either. http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2012/mar/30/spain-budget-cuts-austeri...

Charlie Pierce writes about the Trayvon Martin murder: http://www.esquire.com/blogs/politics/trayvon-martin-news-7552519 Another commenter noted that usually in cases like this the NRA is on the scene claiming that if everyone were armed, the incident could have been avoided. The NRA hasn’t said a peep like that in this case. I don’t suppose the victim’s race has something to do with that?

Also, more proof that “it’s totally not about race.” http://www.esquire.com/blogs/politics/trayvon-martin-backlash-7650171 More here: http://www.esquire.com/blogs/politics/bobby-rush-hoodie-7675181 The Rude Pundit weighs in as well: http://rudepundit.blogspot.com/2012/03/niggering-of-trayvon-martin-we-se...

Are pesticides causing mass bee die-offs? It would appear so. http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2012/03/yes-pesticides-are-killing-bees.h...

Eran Ben-Joseph in the NY Times discusses how parking lots could be designed better to improve usefulness, aesthetics, and lessen their environmental impact. http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/26/opinion/when-a-parking-lot-is-so-much-...

Charlie Pierce dismantles Ross Douthat's twaddle masquerading as a “column” about Tim Tebow. For some inexplicable reason, the NY Times continues to employ Douthat as a columnist.
http://www.esquire.com/blogs/politics/ross-douthat-tim-tebow-7625291

A study says that working more than 40 hours per week runs up against the Law of Diminishing Returns. Apparently this used to be an accepted fact as proven by countless studies, but we’ve fallen away from it in the past few decades. http://smallbusiness.yahoo.com/advisor/why-working-more-40-hours-1200158...

Brazen lying is now apparently an acceptable campaign tactic for conservatives. Wasn’t this supposed to be the so-called Party of Values™? I guess the only value that matters to them is “Anything To Get Ahead.” http://maddowblog.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/03/26/10873421-still-creating...

Olympia Snowe is (still) a preening, self-important hack. How will the Senate survive without her august presence in it? http://www.salon.com/2012/03/27/olympia_snowe_gives_obama_an_f_in_paying...

Do Americans’ speaking accents follow their political leanings? http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2012/03/if-they-talk-like-duck-accents-an...

Digby has an excerpt from Chris Hayes’ new book, Twilight of the Elites: http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2012/03/twilight-of-elites-chrislhayes-ho...

That’s all for now. Have a great week, and we hope to see you this Tuesday for Drinking Liberally!

What: Drinking Liberally
When: 7–9pm every Tuesday
Where: Ben's Brewing Company, downtown Yankton

—Chris