Documenting A Christian Conservative’s Meltdown

The Article: Inside The Meltdown At America’s Most Conservative, Most Christian Political Consulting Firm by McKay Coppins in Buzzfeed.

The Text: About 30 miles north of Columbus, down the road from a Walmart and across the street from a Walmart-sized Baptist church, a brick-faced Victorian estate stands alone in a meadow of persimmons. The building blends nicely into the landscape, except for two features: the fleet of black Bentleys parked outside, and the entirely unnecessary all-caps red sign over the parking spot closest to the front door:

“RESERVED PARKING FOR REX ELSASS. UNAUTHORIZED VEHICLES TOWED AWAY.”

This is the headquarters of the largest, most combative, and perhaps most controversial band of messaging warriors in Republican politics. Their blandly named company, Strategy Group for Media, has spent more than a decade developing a slashing formula for turning the party’s right-wing rejects into members of Congress. Now there are at least 40 Republicans in Congress who have worked with the Strategy Group, which serves as a campaign and strategy clearing house for the uncompromisingly conservative wing of the congressional caucus that has been at the center of American politics since 2010.

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Hillary Clinton On Her Fave Designers

Good for you, Hill.

Six Ways The US Tax Code Is Made For The Rich

The Article: Six Charts That Prove The Tax Code Was Written For The Rich by Walter Hickey in Business Insider.

The Text: There’s an outstanding new report from the Congressional Budget Office analyzing which income sectors receive the most benefits from tax expenditures.
One thing is completely obvious after the report: The U.S. tax code is designed to turn the screws on the middle class, while granting huge tax breaks to the rich and and tax credits to the lowest income quintile.

The CBO calls these “tax expenditures” because “they resemble federal spending by providing financial assistance to specific activities, entities, or groups of people. Tax expenditures, like traditional forms of federal spending, contribute to the federal budget deficit.”

The report looked at four kinds of tax expenditures:

Exclusions from taxable income – Roughly evenly distributed among the quintiles.

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Whistleblower Edward Snowden On The NSA’s Capabilities

When an individual believes they are being watched, their life is indubitably affected. Their choices are different, their behaviors inauthentic and calculated. Americans shouldn’t have to live this way as a result of sweeping governmental overreach.

Ole Miss Shows Its Southern Backwardness Courtesy Of Sexist Governor

The Article: Mississippi governor: Educational troubles began when ‘mom is in the workplace’ by Valerie Strauss in The Washington Post.

The Text: Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant (R) said Tuesday that America’s educational troubles began when women began working outside the home in large numbers.
Bryant was participating in a Washington Post Live event focused on the importance of ensuring that children read well by the end of third grade. In response to a question about how America became “so mediocre” in regard to educational outcomes, he said:

I think both parents started working. And the mom is in the work place.

Bryant immediately recognized how controversial his remark would be and said he knew he would start to get e-mails. He then expanded on his answer, saying that “both parents are so pressured” in families today. He also noted that America seemed to be losing ground internationally in regards to educational outcomes because other nations began to invest more in their own school systems and make progress.

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