Monday: 5/19/14

Politics

Abortion

Access to abortion by state, in maps.  Allison McCann at Five Thirty Eight.

Benghazi

Everything you need to know about Benghazi.  Zack Beauchamp at Vox.

Benghazi-mania is still stupid.  But it's better than risking the nation's fiscal health.  "The Obama-era GOP ... Rather than harass the White House with nonsense inquiries, they've repeatedly focused on questions of substance — frequently by demanding large public policy concessions as the price to be paid to avoid creating a situation of mass financial chaos by refusing to raise the statutory debt ceiling ... Coincidentally enough the mainstreaming of Benghazimania ... has come just as John Boehner has largely stopped trying to extort policy concessions through high stakes bluffing. Scandalmongering, in other words, is filling the militancy void."  Matthew Yglesias at Vox.

Civil Rights

Why we don't remember Eisenhower as a civil rights hero.  "In two terms as president, Eisenhower combined what was, at the time, the strongest record on civil rights since Reconstruction with a baffling rhetorical deference to white supremacists and a cold relationship with civil rights leaders ... Eisenhower opposed discrimination but seemed to sympathize far more with the white southerners ... He was an incrementalist skeptical of federal power who often repeated the ideological belief that laws could not shape culture, despite pursuing laws that would extend–albeit modestly compared to Johnson-era efforts–federal authority to protect Americans’ civil rights."  Adam Serwer at MSNBC.

Congress

When Congress can't fix its own rules because it doesn't understand them.  "Representatives Paul Gosar (R-Arizona), Raul Ruiz (D-California), Walter Jones (R-North Carolina), and John Barrow (D-Georgia) have a new bill out featuring the can't-lose populist title 'If Our Military Has to Fly Coach Then so Should Congress Act of 2014' … Except as far as grandstanding goes, this is a pretty useless piece of legislation. It would prohibit members of Congress from using taxpayer funds to fly first class, but wouldn't actually save any money. … The first-class travel ban would leave members with the exact same amount to spend, but would prohibit using it to pay for upgrades to non-coach travel."  Matthew Yglesias at Vox.

DOJ

Credit Suisse pled guilty in a Justice Department lawsuit to helping US taxpayers conceal their assets and reduce their IRS bill.  "Credit Suisse AG's guilty plea and $2.6 billion payment in a high-profile case brought by the Justice Department are being held out as a warning to foreign banks believed to be helping U.S. taxpayers conceal assets. Culminating a yearslong criminal investigation, Switzerland's second-largest bank pleaded guilty Monday to helping wealthy Americans avoid paying taxes through secret offshore accounts. Credit Suisse was the largest bank to plead guilty in more than 20 years."  Associated Press.

The Economy

Fixing income inequality will require the wealthy to sacrifice some wealth.  "It’s tempting to think — and hope — that attacking inequality doesn’t mean we have to hurt those at the top … But it doesn’t exist … There are three reliable ways to help or 'lift' the bottom: subsidies that increase the poor’s economic security today; investment in their future productivity; and targeted job opportunities at decent wages … None of these three approaches are free."  Jared Bernstein at the Upshot.

The difference between the housing and dot-com bubbles.  "Despite seeing similar nominal dollar losses, the housing crash led to the Great Recession, while the dot-com crash led to a mild recession. Part of this difference can be seen in consumer spending. The housing crash killed retail spending, which collapsed 8 percent ... The bursting of the tech bubble ... had almost no effect at all ... What explains these different outcomes? ... It was the distribution of losses ... The sharp decline in home prices ... concentrated losses on ... poor homeowners who then stopped spending ... In 2001, stocks were held almost exclusively by the rich ... but the rich ... didn’t need to cut back their spending."  Amir Sufi and Atif Mian at FiveThirtyEight.

Inheritance can help explain the racial wealth gap.  "How's this for a shocking statistic: Almost 40 percent of African-Americans and more than one-third of Latinos have no financial assets at all. No money in the bank, no retirement savings, no stock-market investments—nothing. Whites are more likely to possess (and possess more of) every kind of asset, including homes. French economist Thomas Piketty recently made headlines by arguing that inherited wealth will drive inequality over the long term. A new report from the Center for Global Policy Solutions ... finds that inheritance also explains much of the racial wealth gap."  Sophie Quinton at the National Journal.

Everything you need to know about the affordable housing debate.  Matthew Yglesias at Vox.

Education

The conservative backlash to Common Core is crazy.  Like, really crazy.  "Even for a Republican Party prone to hysteria, Common Core has sent grassroots conservatives into an accelerated tailspin. Right Wing Watch has a roundup of some of the most exaggerated reactions, including an Alabama Tea Party leader saying a vote for Common Core will damn lawmakers to hell, the American Family Association warning that children won’t 'survive' Common Core, Eagle Forum saying it will promote homosexuality, Rep. Jim Bridenstine (R-OK) calling it 'socialism,' and WorldNetDaily saying it will turn America into Nazi Germany."  Scott Keyes at Think Progress.

Elections

No, recent Obamacare polls don't prove the Democrats are doomed.  "'At the same time that the health care law is plainly a political anchor for Democrats, the poll signals that fully killing the ACA may not be a slam-dunk as a political proposition and could be a more complicated issue for a GOP presidential ticket to negotiate in 2016.' ... We should be able to keep two ideas in our heads at the same time: First, the law is probably going to remain a net negative for Dems, and second, repeal — the position of every GOP Senate candidate — may also be problematic.'  Greg Sargent at the Plum Line.

The GOP's Asian-American problem.  "Asian-Americans make up the racial or ethnic group that has shifted most strongly toward the Democratic Party since 2000. They are also the country’s fastest-growing racial or ethnic group by percentage. Researchers at Gallup think part of the shift stems from many Asian-Americans’ affinity for President Obama … But Gallup says the move toward Democrats also reflects many Asian-Americans’ opposition to core tenets of the Republican party — which suggests major challenges for Republicans in winning over the group."  Megan Thee-Brenan at the Upshot.

Hillary 2016 - the strategy preview.  "There's an interesting dilemma that Hillary Clinton faces as she positions herself for a potential presidential run. The Democratic Party and its base are overwhelmingly focused on … the economy and income inequality . Yet the main thing Clinton has done since 2008 is serve as Obama's Secretary of State, a foreign policy job … How does she turn her State Department experience into a case for her candidacy? … Clinton is positioning herself as a kind of global crusader against income inequality, urging corrupt and wealthy elites to do something about this challenge."  Andrew Prokop at Vox.

The northeast, despite being solidly liberal, has yet to elect female governors.  "The industrial Northeast enjoys a reputation as a cradle of liberalism ... But there is a notable gap: The Democratic Party has yet to elect a female governor in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island or Massachusetts ... The Democratic Party in each state is rooted in urban machine politics and unions, both of which have been traditionally male dominated. And there have been fewer opportunities in those states for women to acquire executive experience in the state and local offices that are traditional steppingstones to running for governor, or to hold the levers of power in political organizations."  Jonathan Martin at the New York Times.

Energy and the Environment

Sea levels are rising.  Thank climate change.  "A large section of the mighty West Antarctica ice sheet has begun falling apart and its continued melting now appears to be unstoppable, two groups of scientists reported ... The melting could destabilize neighboring parts of the ice sheet and a rise in sea level of 10 feet or more may be unavoidable in coming centuries ... Research published in 2012 found that a rise of less than four feet would inundate land on which some 3.7 million Americans live today. Miami, New Orleans, New York and Boston are all highly vulnerable." Justin Gillis and Kenneth Chang + Videos at the New York Times.

Why the US is so unprepared for wildfire season.  "The broad view among experts is that wildfires in the western United States will keep getting more destructive in the years ahead. That's partly because global warming will make the fire season worse, and partly because more people are living in fire-prone areas. Yet every year Congress seems totally unprepared ... The first key fact to note here is that US wildfires have gotten much bigger over the past three decades ... Second, the cost to the federal government of fighting wildfires keeps going up ... Put it all together, and many experts and politicians have argued that the way Congress plans for wildfires has become obsolete and counterproductive."  Brad Plumer at Vox.

5 maps of America's drought problem.  Brad Plumer at Vox.

Foreign Policy

This is different.  "A grand jury in the Western District of Pennsylvania ... indicted five Chinese military hackers for computer hacking, economic espionage and other offenses directed at six American victims in the U.S. nuclear power, metals and solar products industries. The indictment alleges that the defendants conspired to hack into American entities, to maintain unauthorized access to their computers and to steal information from those entities that would be useful to their competitors in China … 'This is a case alleging economic espionage by members of the Chinese military and represents the first ever charges against a state actor for this type of hacking,' U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder said."  Department of Justice.

China wasn't pleased.  Wonder why?  "The criminal charges provoked a response from Beijing, which said Monday that it was suspending high-level cyber talks with the United States ... China has summoned the U.S. ambassador ... to complain that U.S. authorities published their indictment ignoring the strong protests by Chinese authorities. 'Given the lack of sincerity by the United States for cooperation to solve cyber security problems through dialogue, China has decided to suspend the activities of the Sino-U.S. Cyber Working Group,' Foreign Ministry Spokesman Qin Gang said."  Ellen Nakashima and William Wan at the Washington Post.

The CIA says it won't run any more fake vaccination campaigns.  Here's why that matters.  "The revelation in 2011 that the CIA used a fake Hepatitis B vaccination program as part of its hunt for Osama bin Laden has often been cited as one reason that governments and parents are refusing vaccines in parts of Pakistan and Afghanistan. Now the Obama administration has promised never to run a fake CIA vaccination campaign again … The fate of polio hinges largely on Pakistan. And recent increase of polio cases in the region ... led the World Health Organization to declare polio a public health emergency ... The CIA rumors were one obstacle here — though far from the only one."  Susannah Locke at Vox.

GOP

New GOP, same as the old GOP.  "If a document drafted this week by party leaders is any indication, they aren't exactly giving their views a makeover … Their goals are virtually identical to Conservative Classic … Lower taxes, a stronger military, fighting abortion, and opposing same-sex marriage—how new, exactly, are these tenets of the Republican Party? If the GOP were a soda company, its slogan might be: 'Great new look, same great taste!'"  Emma Roller at the National Journal.

GOP: The anti-abortion climate skeptic party. "Perhaps inadvertently, Rubio created a useful template here for classifying a number of today’s Republican candidates for Senate — and, more broadly, for gauging the party’s current approach to science. It turns out multiple GOP Senate candidates are both climate skeptics or deniersand onetime supporters of Personhood measures, which have declared that full human rights begin at the moment of fertilization."  Greg Sargent at the Plum Line.

Health

How we could improve cost sharing.  "Most health care plans ask that you spend some money out of your pocket whenever you use the health care system. This is known as cost-sharing ... One way we use cost-sharing poorly, though, is that we apply it to all insurance beneficiaries ... no matter how sick or healthy they are ... It doesn’t have to be this way. In France, co-pays are set by levels of sickness. Those who have chronic conditions have all of their co-pays waived. Even Singapore, beloved among conservative health care wonks because of its reliance on cost-sharing, makes exceptions for many with chronic illnesses ... to encourage them to seek care."  Aaron E. Carroll at the Upshot. 

Everything you need to know about the Affordable Care Act (updated).  Sarah Kliff at Vox.

What you need to know about the MERS virus.  Susannah Locke at Vox.

Immigration

Everything you need to know about immigration reform (updated).  Dara Lind at Vox.

August is the last month for immigration reform before 2015 - and it's all up to Speaker Boehner. "It’s up to Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio). Republican and Democratic advocates see one final, long-shot chance to pass immigration reform this summer, and its fate rests with a Speaker stuck between his party’s resistance and his search for a career-defining legacy. House lawmakers writing immigration proposals say Republican leaders haven’t told them if they plan to hold a vote on immigration legislation before the August recess, which both sides see as the deadline for action in this Congress."  Russell Berman at the Hill.

Republicans won't even give green cards to undocumented veterans.  "Rep. Jeff Denham (R-Calif.) has sponsored a proposal called the ENLIST Act, which seems like the sort of bill that could garner broad support: under the plan, young, undocumented immigrants who entered the United States before they turned 15 would be able to join the U.S. military. After their service, so long as they’re honorably discharged, these immigrants would become legal permanent residents and be eligible to apply for citizenship ... House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) killed the bipartisan proposal ... Boehner’s spokesperson said the GOP leadership is on the same page."  Steve Benen at Maddowblog.

Kansas

LGBT Rights

Everything you need to know about same-sex marriage.  German Lopez at Vox.

Oregon's ban on same-sex marriage has been struck down.  "U.S. District Judge Michael McShane has ruled in favor of the plaintiffs ... challenging Oregon’s ban on marriage equality ... Citing the U.S. Constitution's Fourteenth Amendment, Judge McShane wrote, 'Expanding the embrace of civil marriage to gay and lesbian couples will not burden any legitimate state interest…The laws assess a couple's fitness for civil marriage based on their sexual orientation: opposite-gender couples pass; same-gender couples do not. No legitimate state purpose justifies the preclusion of gay and lesbian couples from civil marriage.'"  Human Rights Campaign.

Gay marriage is winning in the states.  "An openly gay judge has struck down Oregon’s same-sex marriage ban, which no one with legal standing defended in federal court, following a slew of similar decisions in nearly ten states ... He joins federal judges who have struck down similar bans in Idaho, Oklahoma, Virginia, Michigan, Texas and Utah, as well as judges who have ordered state officials to recognize same-sex marriages in Kentucky, Ohio, and Tennessee. Earlier this month, a circuit court judge also struck down Arkansas’ ban on same-sex marriage, though his decision was suspended on Friday by the state Supreme Court."  Emma Margolin at MSNBC.

Marriage equality victories in the states, in one gif.  German Lopez at Vox.

The VA takes a new step on the road to equality.  "The Department of Veterans Affairs has agreed to provide survivor benefits to the first-known same-sex war widow, marking a breakthrough for the gay-rights community, according to an advocacy group. Tracy Dice Johnson, a staff sergeant with the Army National Guard, announced Sunday that the VA would recognize her marriage to the late Donna Johnson, who died in a suicide bombing attack about eight months before last year’s Supreme Court decision that guaranteed equal federal benefits for all legally married couples."  Josh Hicks at the Federal Eye.

NSA

The NSA, one year on.  "With the approach of the first anniversary of the most copious and sensational leakage of intelligence secrets in history ... America's diplomacy has been hobbled, its image abroad tarnished, its alliances strained, its government's standing in the eyes of its own people damaged, its policies challenged in court and, in some cases, already undergoing major revision at the behest of the White House."  Stuart Taylor Jr. + Interactive Graphics at Brookings.

Voting Rights

House GOP drags its heels on passing a legislative remedy to Shelby.  "The Republican lawmaker in a key position to help bolster the Voting Rights Act ... isn’t convinced new legislation is needed, and wants more evidence that current laws aren’t strong enough to stop racial discrimination in voting ... Virginia Rep. Bob Goodlatte’s go-slow approach—which comes as efforts to pass the bipartisan measure before this fall’s midterm elections enter a critical phase—is causing frustration among voting-rights advocates." Zachary Roth at MSNBC.

War on Drugs

The deadliest drugs in America are totally legal.  This seems like a rather large problem with the 'war on drugs' approach.  German Lopez at Vox.

Everything you need to know about marijuana legalization (updated).  German Lopez at Vox.

War on Terror

The next NDAA might include restrictions on targeted killing.  "Inside the National Defense Authorization Act, the congressional bill that grants the Department of Defense the ability to spend money alloted to it, lie a host of amendments ... This year's bill, H.R. 4435, already has three submitted amendments governing the use of drones ... Amendment 99, wants to clarify how the casualties of drone strikes are labeled ... Amendment 218 wants to make sure no drone strike ever kills another American. Amendment 234 wants to transfer drone authority away from intelligence agencies and into the hands of uniformed military personnel."  Kelsey D. Atherton at Popular Science.

International

Global

Infant mortality is lower than ever!  "By many measures, this is one of the best times to be alive in human history. And one key metric here is infant mortality, which has been dropping significantly for the past few decades ... In 1970, 17.6 million children under the age of five died worldwide annually — about 143 infant and childhood deaths per 1000 children born. In 2013, that total figure was cut to 6.3 million — a number that works out to just 44 deaths per thousands of children born."  Joseph Stromberg at Vox.

LGBT rights, globally - in charts.  The Guardian.

UN study finds that peacekeepers rarely use force to protect civilians.  "United Nations peacekeeping missions routinely avoid using force to protect civilians who are under attack, intervening in only 20 percent of cases despite being authorized to do so by the U.N. Security Council, an internal U.N. study found ... Presented this week to the U.N. General Assembly Fifth Committee, which deals with the U.N. budget, the report focused on eight of 10 U.N. peacekeeping missions with a Security Council mandate to protect civilians: Lebanon, Liberia, Ivory Coast, Haiti, Democratic Republic of Congo, Darfur, Abyei and South Sudan."  Michelle Nichols at Reuters.

Western powers push the UN to include Boko Haram as a terrorist organization.  "Western powers are pressing the United Nations to designate Boko Haram a terrorist organization as early as next week, senior U.S. officials said Saturday, in an effort to turn up pressure on the insurgent group behind the kidnapping of hundreds of school girls in Nigeria. Western powers are in the final stages of submitting a draft resolution to the United Nations Security Council that would include Boko Haram on a list of terrorist groups subject to sanctions such as asset freezes and travel bans."  Stacy Meichtry at the Wall Street Journal.

Aquaculture lets us grow the global supply of fish, without having to catch more.  "The world is eating more fish than ever before. But we're not really catching many more wild fish than we did in the mid-1990s. How is that possible? Fish farming. Basically all of the increase in the world's fish production over the past two decades has come from aquaculture — including fish farms, shrimp farms, oyster farms, and so on. That's according to a new report on fisheries and aquaculture from the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization."  Brad Plumer at Vox.

Africa

Everything you need to know about Nigeria's kidnapped girls.  Zack Beauchamp at Vox.

Africa's growth prospects are shining brighter.  "Growth in African economies is set to accelerate to 4.8 percent on average this year while financial flows into the continent will top $200 billion, or quadruple levels seen in 2000, the African Development Bank said on Monday. 'Africa's medium-term growth prospects have improved on the back of broader political and social stability at home and recovering economic conditions abroad,' the bank (AfDB) said in its annual African Economic Outlook report. It forecast economic growth across the continent would reach 5.7 percent on average in 2015. That would compare with 3.9 percent last year."  Reuters.

Those who revolt against revolutionaries. "Militias allied with a former Libyan general staged a brazen attack on Libya’s parliament on Sunday and declared it dissolved, in some of the worst fighting the capital has seen since the 2011 revolution. By Sunday night, those forces announced that the elected General National Congress was being replaced by an existing constitutional drafting committee. It was far from certain that the order would be observed. But the power grab threatened to send Libya hurtling into a full-blown civil war."  Hassan Morajea and Abigail Hauslohner at the Washington Post.

Asia

Thailand's 'not a coup' coup.  Maybe martial law means something different these days?  "Thailand's powerful army declared martial law before dawn Tuesday, deploying troops into the heart of Bangkok in a dramatic move it said was aimed at stabilizing the Southeast Asian country after six months of turbulent political unrest. The military, however, insisted a coup d'etat was not underway. The surprise operation, which places the army in charge of public security nationwide, came amid deepening uncertainty over the nation's fate and one day after the caretaker prime minister refused to step down in the face of long-running anti-government protests."  Thanyarat Doksone and Todd Pitman at the Associated Press.

Four ways that Modi's election may have changed Indian politics.  Raj M. Desai at Brookings.

And four reasons that the importance of this election might be overstated.  Adam Ziegfeld at the Monkey Cage.

Unanswered questions on Indian foreign policy.  "Modi has recently commented on each of these three relationships. On Pakistan, he’s put the ball in Islamabad’s court, stressing it needs to take action on the counter-terrorism front to build trust with India. However, he’s also identified a shared goal—fighting poverty and unemployment. On China, he has stated that it is possible for the two countries to resolve their differences ... On the U.S., Modi has asserted that he will take the relationship—one that involves 'natural allies' and mutual interest—forward. We will have to wait and see whether Modi’s foreign policy actions matches his recent rhetoric." Tanvi Madan at Brookings.

Doesn't this sound nice and friendly?  "Sri Lanka’s government on Sunday marked the fifth anniversary of its victory over Tamil insurgents with a military parade in the south and a broad crackdown on journalists, opposition politicians and students in the once-restive north and east … The measures ... were part of a crackdown in Tamil-dominated areas intended to prevent open demonstrations of grief for the tens of thousands killed during the country’s 26-year civil war."  Gardiner Harris and Dharisha Bastians at the New York Times.

Europe

European Parliament's elections are soon.  The real winner could be Putin.  "Far-right parties, many of which are deeply skeptical of the EU itself, are expected to significantly increase their representation in the body, which now enjoys significantly more power ... One of the major beneficiaries could be ... Vladimir Putin ... 'The result could deliver a fresh blow to what has already been a foundering European effort to take a tough and united line against Russia.' ... Putin’s appeal to these parties is fairly obvious. He combines cultural conservatism with a strong belief in state sovereignty and, perhaps most importantly, he’s a perennial thorn in the side of the EU."  Joshua Keating at Slate.

Putin is supposed to be pulling troops away from Ukraine.  Except there's no proof that he is. "President Vladimir Putin ordered Russian troops involved in exercises near the Ukrainian border to return to base—again … The North Atlantic Treaty Organization and the Obama administration were skeptical, however, saying they have yet to see evidence of any drawdown of Russian troops despite a series of similar claims from the Kremlin. Russia has been conducting military exercises on and off for the past few months, intensifying tensions with both Kiev and the West, and has sent conflicting signals about its troop presence at the border."  Olga Razumovskaya at the Wall Street Journal.

Mo' flooding, mo' landmines.  Pretty terrible situation.  "Serbia ordered the evacuation Monday of this town and 11 others along the raging Sava River ... The worst rainfall in more than a century has flooded large swathes of Bosnia and Serbia, threatening Serbia's main power plant and unleashing landslides that have swept away homes and unearthed land mines left over from the region's war, along with warning signs pinpointing their locations."  Jovana Gec and Dusan Stojanovic at the Associated Press.

Middle East

Unresolved disputes plague Iranian nuclear talks.  "This is a tough, possibly intractable, dispute ... Tehran's stated aspirations for ... enrichment activities are totally inconsistent with the levels that U.S. and other international officials have suggested may be considered … The Arak heavy water reactor, the Fordow underground enrichment facility, the unresolved questions about the past military dimensions of Iran's nuclear activities, and a thousand other issues must be hashed out ... This is a huge lift — harmonizing a specific, sequenced framework for Iranian concessions on the nuclear program and Western relaxation of economic penalties will entail tortuous trade-offs."  Suzanne Maloney at Brookings.

Pakistani peace talks aren't going much better.  "Pakistan's efforts for a peace settlement with its homegrown Taliban militants have reached a deadlock amid government indecision and splits within the insurgent movement ... The negotiations are aimed at a comprehensive agreement with the Pakistan Taliban ... While that goal remains elusive, the talks could succeed in breaking off one major faction of the group, the officials said. A commander known as Sajna looks poised to agree to terms with the government that would take his faction out of terrorist activities within Pakistan, thus dividing the TTP, some officials said."  Saeed Shah at the Wall Street Journal.

Economics

Explaining disruption.  "Disruptive products tend to combine new technologies, cheaper production, and — crucially — worse products. That last bit is the key: it's the poor quality and low profit margins of the new product that prevent the incumbent business from recognizing the threat. But as the competitors experiment with the new production technologies they become better able to produce high-quality, high-profit products than the incumbents, and they eventually move up the value chain and disrupt the incumbent's core business."  Ezra Klein + (NYT) Graphic at Vox.

Polisci

Reforming primaries won't get more moderates elected.  "I too would like less partisan warfare. But political science suggests that reforming primaries isn’t likely to work … Why don’t these reforms appear to work? There are a variety of reasons. Perhaps there aren’t enough true independents voting to make open primaries a means of reducing polarization. Voters may lack the necessary information or aptitude to distinguish among more moderate and more extreme candidates. Or party elites and donors may ensure that only extreme candidates end up deciding to run."  John Sides at the Monkey Cage.

Why Supreme Court justices don't retire early.  "Why don’t justices hasten retirement? One possible answer comes from prospect theory, which argues that people tend to avoid risk when considering gains and to seek risk when considering losses. Hastening retirement likely seems like a loss to justices: retire and accept the certainty that you will lose desired time on the Court, or do not retire and accept the risk that your successor will be chosen by a president from the opposite party ... Moreover, hastening retirement could appear to be the wrong choice if a justice remains healthy in retirement."  L.J. Zigerell at the Monkey Cage.

Science

Scientists can convert light to matter.  So awesome!  "Eighty years ago, physicists Gregory Breit and John Wheeler calculated that if you smashed pure photons of light together, you could theoretically convert them into tangible matter ... In a new article in the journal Nature Photonics, scientists at Imperial College London ... propose a practical way of accomplishing this ... Their 'photon-photon collider' would serve as yet another demonstration of Einstein's famous E = mc2 equation ... It would reverse the process of nuclear fission — smashing light photons together to create particles of matter, instead of splitting matter apart to release energy."  Joseph Stromberg at Vox.

Why airplane food leaves much to be desired.  "Today’s planes ... are pressurized so you only feel like you’re about 6,000 to 8,000 feet above sea level. This ... numbs your taste buds, making food taste blander ... Other aspects of the airplane environment make it less than gastronomically ideal—cabin humidity is typically lower than 20 percent ... which can dry out your nose, weakening your sense of smell. And smell is inextricably linked to taste ... Also, the air in the cabin is recycled about every two to three minutes. That, plus air conditioning, can dry up and cool down food very quickly."  Julie Beck at the Atlantic.

Miscellaneous

All graduation speakers should get to speak, even if students disagree with their views.  "There is no better way to expose fools than through their own words. It's an idea that deserves consideration from the college students and faculty unhappy with their schools' choice in commencement speakers ... It's understandable that students might prefer not to share their big day with someone who has said or done things that they find grossly objectionable. But forcing them out or driving them away is the wrong response ... The best response to allegedly villainous speakers is not to turn them into martyrs by denying them a forum. The best response is to let them speak and make them wish they hadn't."  Steve Chapman at Reason.

In defense of tie-in fiction.  Paul S. Kemp.

In defense of nuking Godzilla. (*Spoiler alert*) Zack Beauchamp at Vox.

Why Storm is one of Marvel's most important superheroes.  "In the comic books, she's anything but peripheral ... Storm has assumed a leadership role on the X-Men, become headmaster at the Jean Grey School for Higher Learning, and commanded an all-female X-Men strike force. And ... will be given her own solo comic series ... Marvel, for the past couple of years, has built up a notably diverse cast of heroes, and started to get serious about featuring its female leads. But arguably the most iconic non-white character the company has introduced to date is Storm, aka Ororo Munroe, who was first introduced in 1975 ... Storm was startling, beautiful, and something readers had never seen before."  Alex Abad-Santos at Vox.

New Guardians of the Galaxy trailer.  Alex Abad-Santos + Video at Vox.

The "best" new political song/campaign advertisement.  Ed Kilgore + Video at the Washington Monthly.