Midday open thread

Barack Obama holding iPad with incorrect CNN headline,

Barack Obama looking at CNN on his iPad. (@garyhe)
  • Gary He wins the internet this week. Oh yeah, the Affordable Care Act was mostly affirmed by the Supreme Court, no matter what CNN and Fox News told you. Hilarity ensued, and the Los Angeles Times makes a BFD over Democrat’s salty language. Pass the soap, time to wash out some DFH mouths.
  • Chief Justice John Roberts is now public enemy number one to the right, and Michael Savage makes the case Roberts’ epilepsy has rendered him mentally incompetent. Nice.
  • Roberts jokes he needs a hideout, and says he hopes the court will be remembered for “protecting equal justice under the law.” With the First Circuit Defense of Marriage act constitutional challenge moving swiftly his way, let’s hope he means it.
  • The Nation on what the latest SCOTUS rulings mean with regard to mitigating the damage of the Citizens United ruling:

    But the recognition of where the Court is at, and where it is headed, will in all likelihood lead to a deeper understanding of the need for a constitutional amendment.

  • But what really peaked America’s curiosity this week? Top Google Searches: nora ephron, colorado springs fire, alan turing, wimbledon, obamacare, supreme court, nba draft 2012, ufc, today show, ann curry, jerry sandusky, jenny mccarthy, sandusky, brave, magic mike
  • The Atlantic’s collection of Colorado wild fires pictures is worth a look.
  • Dismal premiere ratings for Bristol Palin’s reality TV show spur Lifetime network to bump it from 10 pm to 11, and swap Dance Moms reruns into primetime. Can the kids do a number set to Avenue Q’s Schadenfreude?
  • The Invisible War opened Friday in select theaters in New York, Los Angeles, Washington, San Francisco and Boston. The well-received documentary by Kirby Dick examines the issue of sexual assault in the military and is averaging a very solid $ 4,125 per screen take. I saw it at Netroots. You should too.
  • Lisa Miller writes in the Washington Post: “the president is loathed by the folks in Washington formerly known as the religious right.” Her solution? Drop the “secular ‘all or nothing’ strategy” and reach out more, of course. What’s a little theocracy gonna hurt?
  • Mississippi’s only abortion clinic files suit in Federal Court to challenge a state law that would close the clinic, which was totally not the intent of the law. Except it totally was.
  • Presidential candidate Fred Karger
  • Fred Karger ends his bid for the Republican nomination, prompting the most news interest the campaign has ever generated.
  • Texas Republican Party opposes “critical thinking.” Officially. It’s in the party platform now. They should just stick to producing textbooks there. Oh, wait …
  • Reports of Charles Rangel’s (D-NY13) primary victory Tuesday night, may have been exaggerations. There are some disturbing disclosures surfacing, New York State Supreme Court will look into them Monday.
  • Your ALEC at work:

    South Carolina has become the latest state in the union to pass a state-level bill that effectively makes it difficult, if not impossible, for municipalities to create their own publicly owned Internet service provider that could compete with private corporations.

    Thanks for saving us all from becoming Chattanooga, TN, ALEC. They’re socialists there.

  • Violent thunderstorms Friday night leave two million in Washington, DC and surrounding area without power.
  • Meanwhile, in New York contract negotiations broke down between unions and power provider Con Ed, locking out 8,500 workers. Untrained managers are caring for electricity during peak demand. What could go wrong?
  • Virtual infrastructure fails too: Amazon’s cloud crashes, taking NetFlix, Instagram, Pinterest and a handful of other services with it.
  • Staten Island, NY under “Zombie Alert” on Tuesday. No reports of casualties. Meanwhile, The National Geographic Channel helped delivery Twitter messages to space aliens Friday night. And Federal Appeals Court denies a Texas inmate’s request to practice his faith: Vampirism.
  • Cool—legitimate—news from outer space.
  • President Obama’s Kenyan Ambassador tenders resignation. Cue birther conspiracies in 3 … 2 … 1 …
  • Nationwide vigils were held this weekend to commemorate Mollie Judith Olgin’s short life and pray for Mary Kristene Chapa’s recovery. (DC pics here.) The teenage, lesbian girlfriends were shot in the head execution-style last Friday in Texas. Chapa’s family has no health insurance.




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