Hi all,

Monday is here again, and there are lots of links for you to pick and choose among. Enjoy!

ABC was fed bogus “scandal” information by political operatives, yet doesn’t burn its source. http://www.esquire.com/blogs/politics/Source_Pollution CBS reports that Republicans were the source of the inaccurate Benghazi e-mails. http://www.dailykos.com/story/2013/05/17/1209759/-CBS-Republicans-were-s...

In the New York Times, Joseph Stiglitz writes about student debt and the crushing of the American dream. http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/05/12/student-debt-and-the-cru...

Perhaps having armed “sentinels” in schools isn’t such a good idea. Witness what happened in Colorado. http://www.esquire.com/blogs/politics/The_Logic_Of_Guns_In_Schools

As a follow-up, David Waldman presents another weekly edition of GunFAIL. http://www.dailykos.com/story/2013/05/11/1206909/-GunFAIL-XVII?showAll=y...

The right-wing martyr brigade is busy soaking up the IRS scandal, ridiculously making it All About Them. http://whiskeyfire.typepad.com/whiskey_fire/2013/05/every-wingnut-who-fu...

Politico (or, as Charlie Pierce calls it, Tiger Beat on the Potomac) reminds us what a stunted little junior-high village Washington really is. http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2013/05/the-villagers-will-not-be-ignored...

As Atrios notes, there are plenty of actual scandals the courtier press could be covering, but that would be less fun than talking about Shark Week and Village gossip. http://www.eschatonblog.com/2013/05/what-are-they-hiding.html

Charlie Pierce takes apart the latest navel-gazing by the vapid Beltway press. Yes, again. It never seems to get better. http://www.esquire.com/blogs/politics/The__Leadership_Secrets_Of_Sociopa...

Speaking of which, Michael Kinsley earns Atrios’s prestigious Wanker Of The Day award for his pro-austerity desire to make other people suffer. http://www.salon.com/2013/05/17/kinsley_loves_austerity_because_it_is_sp... But wait, there’s more! Kinsley has opinions on marriage equality too. http://www.lawyersgunsmoneyblog.com/2013/05/did-michael-kinsley-invent-t...

For fun (and ridicule): Our Lady of the Magic Dolphins, Peggy Noonan, staggers unsteadily into the bar somewhat before happy hour and beings banging out her latest column on the Underwood. The stolid Underwood, for the record, questions what it ever did to deserve such a fate. http://www.esquire.com/blogs/politics/Nooners_Goes_Long

Byproducts of the Canadian tar sands: A three-story mound of unusable petroleum coke covering a full city block overlooking the Detroit River. http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/18/business/energy-environment/mountain-o...

At the Madville Times, Cory marks the installation of the Pettigrew statue in Sioux Falls, and notes some populist ideas held by the old boy back in the day. http://madvilletimes.com/2013/05/sioux-falls-honors-lenin-favorite-petti...

Cable news diversity is about as terrible as you’d expect in an industry run by old, white men. http://mediamatters.org/research/2013/05/13/report-diversity-on-evening-...

For a satirical, abbreviated version of the Sunday Newz Shows, check out the Bobblespeak Translations. http://moonshinepatriot.blogspot.com/2013/05/meet-press-may-12-2013.html

Comix Corner: This Modern World presents Tom Friedman, private eye. http://www.dailykos.com/story/2013/05/13/1207960/-Thomas-Friedman-privat...

That’s all for now. Have a good week, and come join us for this week’s Drinking Liberally!

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

—Chris

Hi all,

It’s a beautiful Monday, we have lots of links for you to peruse this fine day, should you be so inclined.

Digby notes why we shouldn’t listen to the Deficit Scolds about Medicaid insolvency: They’re always wrong. (As a corollary, I would argue that we shouldn’t listen to them about anything else either.) http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2013/05/the-medicare-crystal-ball.html

Denny Daugaard has an idea about how to lure workers to South Dakota: Spend an hour hawking jobs at a Mall of America kiosk, alongside the guy with the condo timeshares and the lady selling outdated calendars. http://www.sddp.org/2013/05/daugaard-says-lets-go-to-the-mall/ More here: http://www.argusleader.com/viewart/20130506/UPDATES/130506019/Gov-Daugaa... And excellent satire here: http://www.sddp.org/2013/05/governor-daugaards-workforce-development-str...

Cory at the Madville Times has more about Denny’s Excellent Adventure here: http://madvilletimes.com/2013/05/can-inefficient-mall-rat-marketing-beat...

Sadly, No! discusses at length the libertarian reaction to NBA athlete Jason Collins coming out. Not surprisingly, the defenders of personal liberty are pretty much garden-variety social conservatives, just with different branding. http://www.sadlyno.com/archives/38764.html

Speaking of Libertarianism, Texas lacks zoning and fire codes. Libertarian paradise! Unless a horrible accident occurs, of course. http://maddowblog.msnbc.com/_news/2013/05/10/18172306-that-is-the-texas-...

Kevin Drum provides a Benghazi timeline that can be helpful when the right-wing flying monkeys come screeching “BENGHAZI!” http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2013/05/very-brief-benghazi-recap

Gin & Tacos has a rant about the bad consequences of our shift from pensions to Defined Contribution plans, and a few other things along the way. http://www.ginandtacos.com/2013/05/06/but-its-cheaper-right/

Once again, Politifact commits an egregious crime against both Truth and the English language. Rachel Maddow delivers a righteous smackdown. http://video.msnbc.msn.com/the-rachel-maddow-show/51812111

Hunter at DailyKos has a righteous rant about the moronic congresscritters whining about the very cuts they inflicted. Because, the government doesn’t do anything, of course. Also too, Cut Waste in addition moreover. (The previous pidgin English is essentially several grade levels above the congresscritter quoted.) http://www.dailykos.com/story/2013/05/07/1207545/-We-are-governed-by-out...

On the cultural front, Elspeth Reeve lambastes Time Magazine for its latest lazy installment in the millenia-old series, “Kids Today Are Rotten, Not Like When We Were Young.” (Presumably the follow-up article is entitled “Get Off My Lawn.”) http://www.theatlanticwire.com/national/2013/05/me-generation-time/65054...

Cory at the Madville Times warns us that constant online activity can mess up your long-term memory. http://madvilletimes.com/2013/05/pay-attention-constant-online-activity-...

That’s all for now. Have a good week, and come join us for this week’s Drinking Liberally!

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

—Chris

Hi all,

It’s Monday again, and here are some links for your perusal, should you be so inclined.

On May Day, Greeks strike against pointless, harmful austerity. http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/02/world/europe/greeks-stage-general-stri...

Possibly the best comment I’ve read about education in quite a while, courtesy one of the amazing commenters at Alicublog, of course (read the original to get the backstory, if necessary): http://alicublog.blogspot.com/2013/05/against-reason.html#comment-881909...

At TPM, Sahil Kapur writes about how Sandra O’Connor’s vote in Bush v. Gore helped unravel her own legacy. http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2013/04/sandra-day-oconnor-bush-gore-... Southern Beale of First Draft chimes in: http://www.first-draft.com/2013/04/there-are-no-do-overs-in-supreme-cour...

Charlie Pierce offers us the quote of the day regarding Kentucky, children, and firearms. http://www.esquire.com/blogs/politics/kentucky-rifles-for-children-05021...

The incoming president of the NRA is a conspiracy theorist who refers to the Civil War as the “War of Northern Aggression.” (h/t Maddowblog) http://mediamatters.org/blog/2013/05/02/five-things-to-know-about-the-nr... More about the NRA’s new paranoid insurrectionist leader here: http://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/nras-new-president-wants-to-lead-the-c...

David Waldman compiles This Week in GunFAIL: http://www.dailykos.com/story/2013/05/04/1205265/-GunFAIL-XVI

The Rude Pundit presents what would be a more realistic George W. Bush Presidentin’ Lieberry: http://rudepundit.blogspot.com/2013/04/a-more-realistic-bush-museum-high...

Comix Corner: The Sequester and You! http://www.dailykos.com/story/2013/05/02/1206137/-The-sequester-and-YOU?...

That’s all for now. Have a good week, and come join us for this week’s Drinking Liberally!

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

—Chris

Hi all,

It’s Monday again, and we’ve got lots of links for you to peruse, should you be so inclined. It’s a little later in the day than usual, but hopefully you’ll still find one or two of them useful.

South Dakotans are still working on improving our state’s woefully inadequate animal cruelty laws. http://madvilletimes.com/2013/04/state-veterinarian-to-meet-with-activis...

South Dakota is also looking to eliminate the speech requirement for high school graduation. After all, why would public speaking ever be important to anybody? Just make sure there’s more time for constant standardized testing! http://madvilletimes.com/2013/04/another-bad-idea-sd-considers-ending-sp...

Meanwhile, the South Dakota GOP is spending taxpayer money to send themselves to ALEC conferences. Public money spent to send members to right-wing lobbyist schmooze-a-thons? How is this legal? http://madvilletimes.com/2013/04/gop-spends-tax-dollars-on-alec-propagan...

Right-wing pundits take cheap shots at Gabrielle Giffords. http://maddowblog.msnbc.com/_news/2013/04/23/17876574-from-newtown-famil...

Meanwhile, many of those same pundits apply the chapstick, don the kneepads, and make ridiculous excuses for the Cheney-Bush presidency. Charlie Pierce refers to it as “The Great Mulligan.” http://www.esquire.com/blogs/politics/the-great-mulligan-042413

Roy at Alicublog provides another great (read: execrable) example of the right-wing reaction to the Boston violence. As always, the comments to his article are priceless. http://alicublog.blogspot.com/2013/04/kill-us-all-let-god-sort-us-out.ht...

Erik Loomis writes about holding corporations responsible for workplace deaths. http://www.lawyersgunsmoneyblog.com/2013/04/holding-corporations-respons...

Congress moves to fix the mindless “sequester” -- kind of -- for air travel (because that inconveniences business travelers and congresscritters). All the other people still hurt by this terrible, self-inflicted policy can continue to suck it. http://maddowblog.msnbc.com/_news/2013/04/26/17927905-senate-easily-appr...

What Digby Said: Consistency literally means nothing to some politicians. You can’t (rightly) call them hypocrites and shame them into doing the right thing, any more than you can shame a prostitute or a carnival barker. http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2013/04/no-consistency-does-not-matter.ht...

Also, another edition of What Atrios Said: http://www.eschatonblog.com/2013/04/villager-priorities.html

The Rude Pundit takes a look at the country’s newest presidentin’ lyeberry down there in Texas. http://rudepundit.blogspot.com/2013/04/george-w.html

For fun: Highbrow meets Lowbrow in the Mad Magazine movie parodies retrospective. http://filmcomment.com/article/mad-magazine-movie-parodies

That’s all for now. Have a good week, and come join us for this week’s Drinking Liberally!

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

—Chris

Hi all,

It’s Monday again, and we’ve got lots of links for you to peruse, should you be so inclined.

Boston knows how to do patriotism. At the first Bruins hockey game after the Boston Marathon bombing, the entire crowd sings the national anthem. http://talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/2013/04/boston_bruins_national_ant... And after the second suspect was caught, a spontaneous parade breaks out along the streets at night. http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/04/19/17823265-we-got-him-boston-bo...

For excellent first-hand reporting of the events in Boston, check out Charlie Pierce’s blog. For example: http://www.esquire.com/blogs/politics/night-in-watertown-cemetery-042013

Earlier in the week, Charlie ruminated upon the violence we live with: http://www.esquire.com/blogs/politics/our-violent-country-041813

Chris Hayes puts our national safety priorities in context: http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2013/04/chris-hayes-nails-it-again-chrisl...

Sadly, No! demolishes at great length the latest conservative excuses made for the illegal prison at Guantanamo. http://www.sadlyno.com/archives/38700.html

On a similar topic: Senator, lawyer, former JAG officer, staunch upholder of the Rule of Law, and delicate magnolia flower Lindsey Graham (R-SC) doesn’t think we need to follow that stupid old Constitution for scary people he doesn’t like. http://maddowblog.msnbc.com/_news/2013/04/20/17838811-the-legal-process-... More here: http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2013/04/why-the-fbi-doesnt-think-it-n... And here: http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2013/04/did-we-learn-anything-from-bush.h...

LGM presents “Today in Sports Owner Grift”: http://www.lawyersgunsmoneyblog.com/2013/04/today-in-the-sports-owner-gr...

Also, LGM briefly notes why “big government” in the form of zoning requirements is generally a good thing. http://www.lawyersgunsmoneyblog.com/2013/04/extremely-complicated-concep...

TBogg graciously provides us with the musings of Peggy Noonan (a.k.a. Our Lady of the Dolphins) on Margaret Thatcher’s funeral. The juxtaposition of her quote with an actual photo from Edinburgh is priceless. http://tbogg.firedoglake.com/2013/04/18/every-picture-tells-a-story-dont...

David Waldman presents this week’s GunFAIL, compiling a list of gun accidents and fatalities among those who supposedly know what they’re doing with firearms. http://www.dailykos.com/story/2013/04/19/1201367/-GunFAIL-XIV?detail=hid...

The kids are all right: A student in West Virginia, who will be attending Wellesley this fall, refuses to attend an assembly featuring a misogynist speaker. http://www.balloon-juice.com/2013/04/20/early-morning-open-thread-gold-s...

Comix Corner: The Gentrification Cycle. Be sure to see the link to the NYT article about gentrification in Belgravia, London, as well. http://www.dailykos.com/story/2013/04/17/1202254/-The-gentrification-cyc...

That’s all for now. Have a good week, and come join us for this week’s Drinking Liberally!

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

—Chris