No Help There

House Republicans appear to be coalescing around an attempt to kill immigration reform. But they’re not getting any help from this CBO study, requested by arch-immigration reform foe Sen. Jeff Sessions. It shows that rather than ballooning the deficit the current Senate bill would reduce the deficit by almost $200 billion over the next decade.

Issa’s Latest Racket Unravels

House Oversight Committee Chair Darrell Issa (R-CA) says he is ”deeply disappointed” that Ranking Member Elijah Cummings (D-MD) decided to release the full unedited interviews from the IRS investigation.

These supplement the bits and pieces selectively leaked to the press by Issa’s staff.

The Day In 100 Seconds

Wondering if the NSA is monitoring America’s phone calls? The agency’s chief supplied an answer, over and over again.

Full-size version.

Is That How It Works?

Shorter WSJ columnist: Let’s be honest, it takes two to have a sexual assault.

Could Change Everything

Don’t look now but medical costs may actually be starting to go down.

Nate Silver Responds

Silver: Politico cofounders lack “curiosity for the world outside of the bubble.”

The Future of Advertising

The future of advertising is definitely creating ads like this that are so awesome that people like me are are mind-controlled into posting them in my blog even when the big corporation isn’t paying anything for posting it.

If you’re a Trek fan you have to watch …

How Could This Have Gone Wrong?

A fashion spread featuring models posing as famous women writers … at the moment of each woman’s notorious suicide … gets Vice in hot water.

Don’t Copernicize Me, Bro!

Politico cofounder lashes out at Nate Silver for trying to prove things with math.

Today In Outreach

Immigration reform appears to be swirling down the drain in the House which is preparing to vote later today to ban abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy.

Good Point

In commenting on our story this morning about the Senate intelligence committee invoking a non-disclosure agreement to prevent a former staffer from talking to us about the way congressional oversight of the intelligence community works – or doesn’t work – Steven Aftergood raises an additional point: “One problematic aspect of congressional oversight of intelligence that is not often addressed is the heavy, disproportionate representation of former intelligence community employees … among the professional staff of the oversight committees.”

McConnell Straight Up Trolls Democrats

Mitch McConnell: You want to go nuclear on filibuster reform – then look out on Obamacare, Keystone, ANWR and the estate tax.