Politics
California
Tracing the source of dark money, from shadowy group to shadowy group. "Investigators with California's election watchdog and attorney general's office are hot on the trail of the true source of millions in dark money spent to defeat two hard-fought ballot propositions last fall. The wide-ranging probe has conservatives worried that a network of nonprofit groups used to move secret money around the country could be in for some unwanted exposure." Andy Kroll in Mother Jones.
Climate Change
The Economy
Elections
Joe Miller, 2014? "Joe Miller, who surprised political observers by beating Lisa Murkowski in the Alaska Republican primary only to lose what turned into a three-way race when Murkowski mounted a write-in campaign, is considering running next year against Alaska's other Senator." Doug Mataconis at Outside the Beltway.
What 'balancing the budget' really means. "The outcome is that cutting deficits—in the abstract, without any content at all, much less specific spending cuts or tax increases—tends to be very popular. And that may actually help to produce real deficit cutting even when it’s terrible economic policy..." Jonathan Bernstein in the American Prospect.
GOP hypocrisy on payroll taxes. "Payroll taxes, which are used to fund social security and Medicare, are the taxes that every American pays out of his or her salary. ... for three out of every four households, they represent a larger portion of their tax responsibility than dreaded, hated income taxes. Funny, you don't hear Republicans complain much about those taxes. There's a good reason for that – working-class and middle-class Americans bear the greatest burden from payroll taxes. Income taxes, on the other hand ... take a bigger hit out of wealthy Americans." Michael Cohen in the Guardian.
Five charts that will make you feel better about paying your taxes. Ezra Klein at Wonkblog.
It's not just taxes. It's the paperwork. "How many millions of hours do you think Americans spend on government paperwork every year? The answer is staggering. It is measured not in the millions of hours, but in the billions — 9.14 of them, to be exact." Cass Sunstein in the New York Times.
Venezuela election recap. "On 14 April 2013, Venezuelans returned to the voting booth for the third time in seven months. ... As it stands, Venezuela decided that Chávez’s chosen heir, Nicolás Maduro, would continue the job that Chávez left behind." Joshua Tucker at the Monkey Cage.
Should you get a PhD? "I wish you the very best of luck in making your decision about pursuing a doctorate. The process can be rewarding for the mentally tough and soul-crushing for everyone else. And to paraphrase The Princess Bride, anyone who tells you that it will get easier for Ph.D.s in the future is selling you something." Daniel Drezner in Foreign Policy.
Judicial integrity. "A Michigan judge whose smartphone disrupted a hearing in his own courtroom has held himself in contempt and paid $25 for the infraction." AP.
Fiscal Fights
Guns
When Republicans supported gun control. "Overall, 10 Republicans voted for the assault-weapons ban back then, almost a quarter of the GOP caucus. Today, by contrast, not a single Republican senator supports such a ban. ... Today, in fact, most Senate Republicans don’t merely oppose new gun-control legislation; they oppose even holding a vote." Peter Beinart in the Daily Beast.
Guns and partisanship. "Democrats who are facing re-election next year in conservative states have already said they will not vote for the background check measure offered by Senators Patrick J. Toomey... and Joe Manchin III ... forcing Democrats to look desperately across the aisle to fill the gaps. Republicans, in the meantime, are bitterly torn between moderates who feel pressure to respond to polls showing a majority of Americans in support of some new gun regulations and conservatives who are deeply opposed to them." Jennifer Steinhauer and Jonathan Weisman in the New York Times.
Tax Day
Inequality, inequality, inequality. "About 6 in 10 of us believe that the tax system is unfair — and they’re right: put simply, the very rich don’t pay their fair share. The richest 400 individual taxpayers, with an average income of more than $200 million, pay less than 20 percent of their income in taxes ... And in 2009, 116 of the top 400 earners — almost a third — paid less than 15 percent of their income in taxes." Joseph Stiglitz in the New York Times.
Five charts that will make you feel better about paying your taxes. Ezra Klein at Wonkblog.
It's not just taxes. It's the paperwork. "How many millions of hours do you think Americans spend on government paperwork every year? The answer is staggering. It is measured not in the millions of hours, but in the billions — 9.14 of them, to be exact." Cass Sunstein in the New York Times.
International
Europe
Germany looking to buy weaponized drones. "Germany is in talks with Israel to buy weaponized drones for its military..." AFP
Middle East
We're sending food to the Syrians, but don't tell anybody. "Almost none of the Syrians who receive the help are aware of its American origins. Out of concern for the safety of the recipients and the delivery staff, who could be targeted by the government if their affiliation to the United States were known, the Obama administration and the aid workers have chosen not to advertise the assistance." Liz Sly in the Washington Post.
South America
Military
Thinking weapons are closer than you think. "'Rather than move information from memory to processor, like conventional computers, this device processes information in a totally new way.' Moving past the surface mimicking of physical shape and function, SyNAPSE will mimic living organisms’ basic way of processing information." Matthew Hipple in USNI News.
Miscellaneous
Enduring rivalries: neighbors and political science. Brian Rathbun at the Duck of Minerva.
Judicial integrity. "A Michigan judge whose smartphone disrupted a hearing in his own courtroom has held himself in contempt and paid $25 for the infraction." AP.
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