Clearing out some bookmarks

The Inequality Matters job looks at analysis showing white-collar, wealthier elected officials tend to vote with business and upper-class interests, and what we can do about that.
•And while we’re talking about the upper class, Matt Taibbi shows how the super-banks that mauled the economy earlier in this century are now heavily invested in oil, metals, shipment of metals, warehousing of metals and how it enables them to squeeze more money out of everyone.
•Of course it doesn’t help when lobbyists write the bills. The infamous Kansas anti-gay bill was reportedly written by a conservative activist group.
•Or when conservatives insist that eliminating worker rights to one day off a week is a great step forward for freedom! Or a corporation responsible for a massive oil spill whines about paying a settlement.
•Speaking of Kansas and the flurry of right-to-discriminate bills, here’s a response. And apparently the support for freedom (as I noted in my And column) only works one way: a Republican lobbyist wants gay players banned from the NFL. Here’s a great dissection of the It’s About Religious Freedom argument.
•Daily Beast points out that a lot of people who say Christians shouldn’t support gay weddings also insist that they needn’t worry about weddings involving adultery, premarital fornication, divorce and remarriage. Just gays. The article also adds (and I think it’s a good point) that the whole idea that catering or providing flowers endorses the wedding is pretty nuts—I certainly don’t think Eden State Gardens endorsed my wedding just because we paid for it as the site.
•Digby looks at how the US government targets people overseas for drone strikes, relying heavily on electronic technology which is reliable for aiming them, but not necessarily for identifying the right target. And that some of the same tech is (surprise!) migrating inside US borders).
•Here’s a bit of good news: Kellogg’s commits to buying only environmentally-friendly palm oil (not from plantations that deforest the rain forest).
•Consumerist reports that even a net neutrality law won’t fix the problems with Netflix having to pay more for extra streaming speed. The FCC is pushing ahead on net neutrality, sort-of. And here’s a look at what happens when there’s real cable/internet competition.
•A court in Utah has banned the Aero Internet video service.
•LGM suggests the problem with Stand Your Ground letting people get off with murder is only a symptom of deeper problems. Dahlia Lithwick wonders if it’s creating a fundamental change: if people assume any argument cold turn into violence, will more of us buy guns for safety? And that it’s definitely a fundamental change in the law, by excusing a resort to gunplay. Here’s one example.
•Arkansas is participating in the federal Medicaid expansion which has 87,000 people covered. Republicans want to end that.
•It seems some for-profit colleges are less than ethical: they take money whether or not you have a hope of being licensed. Another example.
•While I have sometimes pointed out that Reagan and Nixon’s policies were well to the left of the current Republicans, it’s also true they were not liberals. As Erik Loomis points out at the link, a lot of their accomplishments were in response to public pressure more than any personal desire.
•A pastor says the problem with the Bible is that it’s written for the oppressed (Israelites in exile for instance) but America insists on thinking the rich and powerful are the Israelites (“I use it as a reminder that I’m a rich man and Lazarus lies at my door. I don’t use the conquest narratives of Joshua to justify Manifest Destiny. Instead I see myself as a Rahab who needs to welcome newcomers.”)
•A CNN “expert” turns out to be a white supremacist. Meawhile, a white supremacist who isn’t on TV advocates for the murder of Jews
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