Even setting aside the mania about different electoral prediction models, it seems clear something significant has happened in the last ten days or so, perhaps ephemeral but significant nonetheless. And that something is a clear shift of Senate fortunes in favor of Republicans. The main drivers are the races in Alaska, Iowa and Colorado.
In each case, there are internal reasons put forward to explain the change … a debate, a major gaffe, previously thin poll data. But there’s a separate factor; and I wonder whether it’s playing a roll buoying Republican candidates. That is, the return of terror politics.
Sea level rise is only one effect of climate warming. But it’s one of the most linear and easiest to grasp. On Conrad Hackett’s Twitter feed (a must follow, imo) I saw this study which was produced by Climate Central and then visualized by The Upshot. The upshot is that when it comes to the direct effects of rising sea levels – submersion and regular flooding – all countries are not equal. The impact is heavily weighted toward East and especially Southeast Asia.
Anti-Gay Bakers dare LGBTs: Take this warm moist cake from my cold dead hands.
Pennsylvania Attorney General decides to hold an impromptu press review of the hardcore porn emails they found in the Governor’s staff’s inboxes while they were investigating the Jerry Sandusky case.
Texas Lt. Gov embraces conspiracy theory of ISIS infiltration on the Mexican border over supposed ‘Muslim prayer rugs’ that was actually an Adidas shirt.
If your Yankees-hating or Jeter-skepticism overwhelms your ability to appreciate Jeter’s game-winning, opposite-field, walk-off single in his final home game last night, you might consider re-examining your soul.
Sit back and watch this and allow yourself to be swept up in the moment. Come on. It’s good for you.
Winning: “Devin James was hired to represent the city of Ferguson and help officials rebuild the city’s image, but he was fired after officials say they learned he was a convicted killer.”
A few days ago we and other news outlets reported on the ‘Wisconsin Poll Watcher Militia’, a seeming harmonic convergence of two great TPM obsessions, voter harassment and militia. Caitlin MacNeal dives a little deeper to find out just what this group is about. A threat? A Prank? “One or two morons who apparently have access to the Internet”? By the end the distinction between the three options seem less and less distinct.
The horrifying South Carolina police shooting video reminds me of this new course the St Louis Police Academy is offering on how win the media controversy after you shoot a civilian.