Yesterday conservative outside funding groups lit up the “fire Boehner” siren, but now Republicans are saying those emails were just a cynical, money-grubbing move. Is it part of an overall effort to crush the nuisance that is the tea party?
Authors of The Second Machine Age Andrew McAfee and Erik Brynjolfsson ponder America’s economic future: “We can’t foresee if it’s going to be more like Star Trek, where no one worries about a paycheck and people are freed up to explore new worlds, or more like Elysium, where a small elite works hard to separate itself from the miserable masses.”
As you know, one of the final desperate legal maneuvers to derail Obamacare is wending its way through the courts. This one is predicated on one badly worded piece of the law that conservative opponents argue means no tax credits should be available to anyone who obtains health insurance through the federal exchange, the effect of which would be to unwind the most important provisions of the law.
The argument is absurd on its face. If you read the Affordable Care Act as whole, it’s clear that subsidies were not just intended for consumers who obtain insurance through the state-based exchanges. But what do those who were at the drafting table when the bill was compiled recall about this provision and what Congress intended? We talked to two key players who were in the room. Here’s what they have to say.
Pascal Tessier, left, who is believed to be the first openly gay Boy Scout to achieve Eagle Scout status, receives his Eagle Scout badge from Troop 52 Scoutmaster Don Beckham, Monday, Feb. 10, 2014, in Chevy Chase, Md.
Here’s the full story about Pascal’s achievement and the year of activism, advocating for a change in Scout policy, that led up to it.
More pictures of the big day after the jump …
Store owner tells TPM that employee wore banana suit to look “less alarming” while while carrying an AK-47 while the store’s grand opening this weekend.
As I’ve discussed before, our TPMPrime subscriptions are $50 a year. That’s a manageable sum for the vast majority of our readers if TPM is an important part of your information diet. But for some of our readers that’s more money than they can easily part with. And to the extent we’re able, we don’t want to exclude people from this core part of the TPM community because of financial need. That’s why we came up with our subscription credit program. Readers purchase subscription credit which we’ll assign to other readers who lack financial means. For a further description of why we’re doing this, who benefits and why we think it’s important, see this earlier post. My point in writing tonight is to say we now have our first batch of credits. So if you’re interested in applying for one, join me after the jump to find out how.
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This gives a bizarrely comic new meaning to government transparency and good government generally. Open records requests, FOIAs and the like are meant to keep those in power accountable and allow citizens to know what governments are doing in their name. There’s always a balance between legitimate secrecy and the people’s right to know; almost all people in power want to keep information tight. But things take a bizarre new turn when the most powerful elected officials use open records requests to find out what people and the press know about them. (Think about that for a second.) The private legal team representing the office of Chris Christie has in recent days been making open records requests to city officials in Fort Lee and Hoboken, New Jersey to find out what they’ve been telling and what documents they’ve been giving to members of the press, among other things. Eric Lach has the full story.
Republicans gear up new Benghazi-oriented Swift Boat group to dog Hillary Clinton’s incipient presidential campaign.
What is the GOP doing to crush the Tea Party? Here’s a good walk through.