By Eliot Nelson and Arthur Delaney
President Obama introduced the next White House press secretary, meaning Jay Carney will NEVER get back to you about that. Eric Shinseki resigned, prompting the heavens to open and let forth a flock of weeping angels who shed magical tears on every VA complex, completely fixing everything forever. And the House moved to block the DEA from prosecuting medical marijuana -- no longer will Virginia Foxx have to stuff the goods in a can of coffee grounds and stash it in Sandy Levin's sock drawer. This is HUFFPOST HILL for Friday, May 30th, 2014:
JAY CARNEY STEPS DOWN, JOSH EARNEST NEW WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY - Like all unemployed flacks, Carney will now change his Twitter bio to "Democratic comms guru" and spend his time scratching and clawing for MSNBC hits and invites to Washington Life parties. Katherine Fung and Paige Lavender: "Jay Carney is leaving his post as White House press secretary, President Barack Obama announced on Friday. Obama delivered the news to reporters in the White House briefing room, after his remarks on Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki's resignation earlier in the day. 'I'm going to miss him a lot,' Obama said about Carney. Obama said Carney 'has become one of my closest friends' and is a 'great advisor' with a 'great heart.' Carney did not specify his last day or plans after the White House, but said that he will be leaving in mid-June. Deputy press secretary Josh Earnest will take his place. 'It's been an amazing experience,' Carney said of his time as press secretary. 'In mid-life you don't often make a whole new set of friends.'" [HuffPost]
The importance of being Earnest: "Earnest, 39, is a longtime Obama staffer, joining Obama's first presidential campaign as Iowa communications director in 2007. Earnest came to Washington when Obama took office. Earnest grew up near Kansas City, Mo. His mother is a psychologist and father the athletic director of a private school in Kansas City... The political bug bit, and Earnest worked on the campaign of former Houston mayor Lee Brown after graduating from Rice. Earnest went on to New York, where he served as an aide on former mayor Michael Bloomberg's first campaign, and became spokesman at the Democratic National Committee. Earnest married Natalie Wyeth, now assistant secretary for public affairs at the Department of the Treasury, in 2012. The couple is expecting a child. Earnest proposed to Wyeth in Hawaii during one of Obama's annual trips. Earnest is well-regarded among the White House press corps, and his name has long been floated as a replacement for Carney." [WaPo]
Read Dave Jamieson's dispatch from Kentucky about the War on Coal Miners and the return of black lung.
DAILY DELANEY DOWNER - Raw, unedited, and PASTED: The Email of the Jobless: "To be or not to be iv been out of work for more then nine months i will soon be out on the street my life savings is almost gone.why dont they care about americans. I know i am not alone.snap feeds us but how do you pay oil bills,rent,docter bills.i cant afford to die i dont know any landlords who will wait for a vote for their rent do you." Not any that would wait five months, no. [Hang in there!]
Does somebody keep forwarding you this newsletter? Get your own copy. It's free! Sign up here. Send tips/stories/photos/events/fundraisers/job movement/juicy miscellanea to huffposthill@huffingtonpost.com. Follow us on Twitter - @HuffPostHill
AMERICA'S LONG NIGHTMARE OF KNOWING THE VA SECRETARY'S NAME IS FINALLY OVER - God willing, the secretaries of commerce, transportation and labor will keep their affairs in order. Dave Wood: "In the 38 years that he served in the United States Army, Eric Shinseki believed in a military culture where truth-telling, no matter how painful, was not just accepted: Brutal honesty was demanded. In Ric Shinseki's army, no one got punished for telling the truth. And commanders could rely absolutely on their subordinates' word. Now, with the facts about systemic dishonesty, cheating and dysfunction within the VA exploding out into public, it seems clear that within the largely civilian Department of Veterans Affairs, telling the truth was not just frowned upon -- it was punished by mid-level managers. Horror stories about veterans waiting for months to receive care at the VA Medical Center in Phoenix were just the beginning. And Shinseki, a man widely known as deeply honorable and passionate about serving fellow veterans, has found himself in deep trouble, in part because he trusted. President Barack Obama announced Friday that he had accepted Shinseki's resignation as VA secretary, something that at least 100 lawmakers on Capitol Hill had called for. In a speech Friday morning to the National Coalition for Homeless Veterans, prior to the president's announcement, Shinseki made no mention of the growing furor. But as he concluded, he urged the audience to continue fighting to keep veterans off the streets. 'Now is not the time to let up," he told them. 'Let's get on with it. It is the Lord's work.'" [HuffPost]
Cool Glenn Thrush story on the misery of being a cabinet official.
New guy: "VA Deputy Secretary Sloan Gibson [will] serve as interim head of the department as [Obama] chooses a permanent replacement for Shinseki. Gibson, who was confirmed for his role by the Senate in February, previously led the United Services Organizations, which supports troops and their families. He is a graduate of the United States Military Academy who served as an infantry officer in the Army." [WaPo]
John Boehner echoing the general GOP response: "Until the president outlines a vision and an effective plan,' Boehner told reporters today, "today's announcement really changes nothing." He continued, 'One personnel change cannot be used as an excuse to paper over a systemic problem." [HuffPost's Igor Bobic]
ISSA EXCUSES KERRY FROM BENGHAZI HEARING - Igor Bobic: "The House Oversight Committee chairman on Friday released Secretary of State John Kerry from his subpoena to testify on the Sept. 12, 2012 terrorist attacks in Benghazi, Libya, saying Kerry was using the summons to 'shield against' appearing before a select committee also set up to investigate the matter. 'It's been disappointing to watch a long serving former senator, like Secretary Kerry, squirm his way to what I'm doing today -- releasing him from the upcoming hearing commitment he made only after we issued him a subpoena,' Issa said in a statement. Kerry had offered to testify before Issa's committee on June 12. The State Departmentargued last week that the appearance would 'remove any need for the Secretary to appear before the Select Committee to answer additional questions.' Issa accepted the offer and agreed to drop a previous subpoena he issued for May 29. But on Friday, Issa said that, after consulting House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio), he made the decision to drop the hearing because he felt two separate inquiries would embolden Democrats seeking to stymie the investigation." [HuffPost]
MEDICARE BAN ON SEX-CHANGE SURGERY LIFTED - This administration needs to stop hiding behind gender dysphoria and give Americans the Benghazi answers they deserve. AP: "Transgender people receiving Medicare may no longer be automatically denied coverage for sex reassignment surgeries, a U.S. Department of Health and Services review board ruled Friday in a groundbreaking decision that recognizes the procedures as a medically necessary and effective treatment for individuals who do not identify with their biological sex. Ruling in favor of a 74-year-old Army veteran whose request to have Medicare pay for her genital reconstruction was denied two years ago, the agency's Departmental Appeals Board ruled that a three-decade-old HHS rule excluding such surgeries from the procedures covered by the national health program for the elderly and disabled was unjustified...Jennifer Levi, a lawyer who directs the Transgender Rights Project of Gay & Lesbian Advocates and Defenders in Boston, said the ruling does not mean Medicare recipients are necessarily entitled to have sex reassignment surgery paid for by the government. Instead, the lifting of the coverage ban means they now will be able to seek authorization by submitting documentation from a doctor and mental health professionals stating that surgery is medically indicated in their individual case, Levi said." [Time]
HOUSE BLOCKS DEA FROM TARGETING MEDICAL MARIJUANA - Which might explain why Jared Polis draped transparent red fabric over all the Democratic cloakroom's lights and turned the TV to "Planet Earth" with the volume down. Ryan Reilly and Matt Ferner: "An appropriations amendment offered by Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-Calif.) prohibiting the DEA from spending funds to arrest state-licensed medical marijuana patients and providers passed 219-189. The Senate will likely consider its own appropriations bill for the DEA, and the House amendment would have to survive a joint conference before it could go into effect. Rohrabacher said on the House floor that the amendment 'should be a no-brainer' for conservatives who support states' rights and argued passionately against allowing the federal government to interfere with a doctor-patient relationship. 'Some people are suffering, and if a doctor feels that he needs to prescribe something to alleviate that suffering, it is immoral for this government to get in the way,' Rohrabacher said, his voice rising. 'And that's what's happening.' The debate pitted three House Republicans who also are doctors against one another. Rep. Andy Harris (R-Md.) and Rep. John Fleming (R-La.) opposed the amendment, while Rep. Paul Broun (R-Ga.) supported it. Harris insisted that there were no medical benefits to marijuana and that medical marijuana laws were a step toward legalizing recreational pot." [HuffPost]
Even longtime pot advocates were surprised by that one.
HOUSE VOTES DOWN WAGE THEFT BILL - Late night last night! Dave Jamieson: "Early Friday morning, House Republicans voted down a measure that would have discouraged the government from giving contracts to companies that have committed wage theft. The Democratic-sponsored amendment to a funding bill would have denied taxpayer money to firms with documented wage violations while under government contract. The idea, championed by members of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, was to make sure public dollars don't go to companies with low-road labor practices. The amendment, proposed for the commerce, justice and science appropriations bill, failed by a vote of 196-211. All Democrats who cast votes supported it, while 10 Republicans crossed the aisle to join them. On the House floor before the vote, Rep. Frank Wolf (R-Va.), chairman of the subcommittee handling the bill, suggested he was surprised by the amendment's introduction late Thursday and urged his colleagues to vote it down out of caution. 'No one knows what the amendment does. If you know what this amendment does, you should vote for it, because nobody else seems to know. That's one of the problems [that] these things come rolling in at 10:15.'" [HuffPost]
GOP SENATE CANDIDATE CALLS UCSB SHOOTINGS AN 'ACCIDENT' - Either Joni Ernst needs to spend less time on Reddit's "mens' rights" boards or she needs to choose her words way more carefully. Igor Bobic: "At a GOP primary debate Thursday, Iowa Senate candidate Joni Ernst referred to the recent shooting near the University of California Santa Barbara as an 'unfortunate accident.' Ernst, an Iowa state senator, was asked about the negative implications of an ad she released of her at a shooting range, symbolically taking aim at Obamacare. 'What happened in that shooting and that stabbing is an absolute tragedy,' she said. 'However, I remain firm in my commitment to the 2nd amendment –- I have been endorsed by the NRA in this race and again, just because of a horrible, horrible tragedy, I don't believe we should be infringing upon peoples' 2nd amendment rights.' When one of the debate moderators pressed her a second time, Ernst responded by saying, 'This unfortunate accident happened after the ad but it does highlight that I want to get rid of, repeal and replace Bruce Braley's Obamacare, and it also shows that I am a strong supporter of the 2nd amendment -- that is a fundamental right.'" [HuffPost]
AMERICANS SUPPORT GUN RESTRICTIONS FOR MENTALLY ILL - Meaning Republicans will soon pass a bill mandating John Birch Society members go from bridge underpass to bridge underpass and put a Bushmaster Predator in the hands of every homeless person they find. Emily Swanson: "Last week's killing spree in Santa Barbara, California, has had little impact on Americans' overall support for stricter gun laws, a new HuffPost/YouGov poll has found. But most continue to support universal background checks, as well as new measures, to keep guns out of the hands of mentally ill people. According to the new poll, 49 percent of Americans want gun laws made more strict, while 27 percent want no change and 18 percent want them to be less strict. Support for stricter gun laws peaked at 60 percent in January of 2013, shortly after the Newtown school shooting. That support fell back toward 50 percent by the end of the year and has remained steady at that level since then, with other mass shootings having made little difference in Americans' support for tightening restrictions." [HuffPost]
The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward guys named Chase in J. McLaughlin shirts: "In defense of old white men: Yes, white men are a historically privileged group. That doesn't make us all demons." [The Week]
@daveweigel: Allen West on inequality: "LeBron James is 6'6''. Allen West is 5'9''. Is it a fair world? No."
BECAUSE YOU'VE READ THIS FAR - Here's a baby laughing for the first time
SOUTH CAROLINA'S TOTALLY LEVEL HEADED ELECTORATE GETS JUST THE THING IT NEEDS - Booze! Politico: "Voters in South Carolina will soon be able to hit the bars after they hit the voting booths. South Carolina state senate members voted 41-1 to repeal a 1882 law that bans restaurants, stores and bars throughout the state from selling alcohol on election days. 'Election Day is about sorrow or joy. You should be able to buy a drink,' state Rep. Bakari Sellers (D) said to USA TODAY. Sellers helped sponsor the bill and has been working on overturning the legislation for eight years. South Carolina is the last state to ban Election Day alcohol sales statewide, according to the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States. Similar laws still exist in Massachusetts and Alaska, but bans in these states allow for local governments to choose otherwise." [Politico]
COMFORT FOOD
- "The Walking Dead" as an 80s sitcom. [http://huff.to/1nL0Tsw]
- The internet's best spoofs of Lance Stephenson blowing in LeBron James' ear. [http://huff.to/1kpBG11]
- How to make the perfect cheeseburger. [http://bit.ly/Sk8W3r]
- Get Tyrion Lannister drunk in this throwback "Game of Thrones" video game. [http://vult.re/1myKPY4]
- A Keurig for tortillas is more impressive than any 3D printing development we've learned about. [http://bit.ly/1oRT8jX]
- Dog can't not photobomb this baby. [http://huff.to/1rpvDmV]
- The Chilean miners -- remember the Chilean miners? -- filmed a promotional video for Chile's World Cup squad. [http://bit.ly/1kdjp6X]
TWITTERAMA
@JoseCanseco: Or we could talk about Russia ambassador opening if that's a better fit @BarackObama #yeswecanseco
@KagroX: I haven't seen the evidence that the VA problems were caused by human activity.
@dceiver: I just ran an electric current through a dead vole and damn if he didn't write a pretty good "WH Press Room shakeup" piece for Jim VandeHei
Got something to add? Send tips/quotes/stories/photos/events/fundraisers/job movement/juicy miscellanea to Eliot Nelson (eliot@huffingtonpost.com), Ryan Grim (ryan@huffingtonpost.com) or Arthur Delaney (arthur@huffingtonpost.com). Follow us on Twitter @HuffPostHill (twitter.com/HuffPostHill). Sign up here: http://huff.to/an2k2e
JAY CARNEY STEPS DOWN, JOSH EARNEST NEW WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY - Like all unemployed flacks, Carney will now change his Twitter bio to "Democratic comms guru" and spend his time scratching and clawing for MSNBC hits and invites to Washington Life parties. Katherine Fung and Paige Lavender: "Jay Carney is leaving his post as White House press secretary, President Barack Obama announced on Friday. Obama delivered the news to reporters in the White House briefing room, after his remarks on Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki's resignation earlier in the day. 'I'm going to miss him a lot,' Obama said about Carney. Obama said Carney 'has become one of my closest friends' and is a 'great advisor' with a 'great heart.' Carney did not specify his last day or plans after the White House, but said that he will be leaving in mid-June. Deputy press secretary Josh Earnest will take his place. 'It's been an amazing experience,' Carney said of his time as press secretary. 'In mid-life you don't often make a whole new set of friends.'" [HuffPost]
The importance of being Earnest: "Earnest, 39, is a longtime Obama staffer, joining Obama's first presidential campaign as Iowa communications director in 2007. Earnest came to Washington when Obama took office. Earnest grew up near Kansas City, Mo. His mother is a psychologist and father the athletic director of a private school in Kansas City... The political bug bit, and Earnest worked on the campaign of former Houston mayor Lee Brown after graduating from Rice. Earnest went on to New York, where he served as an aide on former mayor Michael Bloomberg's first campaign, and became spokesman at the Democratic National Committee. Earnest married Natalie Wyeth, now assistant secretary for public affairs at the Department of the Treasury, in 2012. The couple is expecting a child. Earnest proposed to Wyeth in Hawaii during one of Obama's annual trips. Earnest is well-regarded among the White House press corps, and his name has long been floated as a replacement for Carney." [WaPo]
Read Dave Jamieson's dispatch from Kentucky about the War on Coal Miners and the return of black lung.
DAILY DELANEY DOWNER - Raw, unedited, and PASTED: The Email of the Jobless: "To be or not to be iv been out of work for more then nine months i will soon be out on the street my life savings is almost gone.why dont they care about americans. I know i am not alone.snap feeds us but how do you pay oil bills,rent,docter bills.i cant afford to die i dont know any landlords who will wait for a vote for their rent do you." Not any that would wait five months, no. [Hang in there!]
Does somebody keep forwarding you this newsletter? Get your own copy. It's free! Sign up here. Send tips/stories/photos/events/fundraisers/job movement/juicy miscellanea to huffposthill@huffingtonpost.com. Follow us on Twitter - @HuffPostHill
AMERICA'S LONG NIGHTMARE OF KNOWING THE VA SECRETARY'S NAME IS FINALLY OVER - God willing, the secretaries of commerce, transportation and labor will keep their affairs in order. Dave Wood: "In the 38 years that he served in the United States Army, Eric Shinseki believed in a military culture where truth-telling, no matter how painful, was not just accepted: Brutal honesty was demanded. In Ric Shinseki's army, no one got punished for telling the truth. And commanders could rely absolutely on their subordinates' word. Now, with the facts about systemic dishonesty, cheating and dysfunction within the VA exploding out into public, it seems clear that within the largely civilian Department of Veterans Affairs, telling the truth was not just frowned upon -- it was punished by mid-level managers. Horror stories about veterans waiting for months to receive care at the VA Medical Center in Phoenix were just the beginning. And Shinseki, a man widely known as deeply honorable and passionate about serving fellow veterans, has found himself in deep trouble, in part because he trusted. President Barack Obama announced Friday that he had accepted Shinseki's resignation as VA secretary, something that at least 100 lawmakers on Capitol Hill had called for. In a speech Friday morning to the National Coalition for Homeless Veterans, prior to the president's announcement, Shinseki made no mention of the growing furor. But as he concluded, he urged the audience to continue fighting to keep veterans off the streets. 'Now is not the time to let up," he told them. 'Let's get on with it. It is the Lord's work.'" [HuffPost]
Cool Glenn Thrush story on the misery of being a cabinet official.
New guy: "VA Deputy Secretary Sloan Gibson [will] serve as interim head of the department as [Obama] chooses a permanent replacement for Shinseki. Gibson, who was confirmed for his role by the Senate in February, previously led the United Services Organizations, which supports troops and their families. He is a graduate of the United States Military Academy who served as an infantry officer in the Army." [WaPo]
John Boehner echoing the general GOP response: "Until the president outlines a vision and an effective plan,' Boehner told reporters today, "today's announcement really changes nothing." He continued, 'One personnel change cannot be used as an excuse to paper over a systemic problem." [HuffPost's Igor Bobic]
ISSA EXCUSES KERRY FROM BENGHAZI HEARING - Igor Bobic: "The House Oversight Committee chairman on Friday released Secretary of State John Kerry from his subpoena to testify on the Sept. 12, 2012 terrorist attacks in Benghazi, Libya, saying Kerry was using the summons to 'shield against' appearing before a select committee also set up to investigate the matter. 'It's been disappointing to watch a long serving former senator, like Secretary Kerry, squirm his way to what I'm doing today -- releasing him from the upcoming hearing commitment he made only after we issued him a subpoena,' Issa said in a statement. Kerry had offered to testify before Issa's committee on June 12. The State Departmentargued last week that the appearance would 'remove any need for the Secretary to appear before the Select Committee to answer additional questions.' Issa accepted the offer and agreed to drop a previous subpoena he issued for May 29. But on Friday, Issa said that, after consulting House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio), he made the decision to drop the hearing because he felt two separate inquiries would embolden Democrats seeking to stymie the investigation." [HuffPost]
MEDICARE BAN ON SEX-CHANGE SURGERY LIFTED - This administration needs to stop hiding behind gender dysphoria and give Americans the Benghazi answers they deserve. AP: "Transgender people receiving Medicare may no longer be automatically denied coverage for sex reassignment surgeries, a U.S. Department of Health and Services review board ruled Friday in a groundbreaking decision that recognizes the procedures as a medically necessary and effective treatment for individuals who do not identify with their biological sex. Ruling in favor of a 74-year-old Army veteran whose request to have Medicare pay for her genital reconstruction was denied two years ago, the agency's Departmental Appeals Board ruled that a three-decade-old HHS rule excluding such surgeries from the procedures covered by the national health program for the elderly and disabled was unjustified...Jennifer Levi, a lawyer who directs the Transgender Rights Project of Gay & Lesbian Advocates and Defenders in Boston, said the ruling does not mean Medicare recipients are necessarily entitled to have sex reassignment surgery paid for by the government. Instead, the lifting of the coverage ban means they now will be able to seek authorization by submitting documentation from a doctor and mental health professionals stating that surgery is medically indicated in their individual case, Levi said." [Time]
HOUSE BLOCKS DEA FROM TARGETING MEDICAL MARIJUANA - Which might explain why Jared Polis draped transparent red fabric over all the Democratic cloakroom's lights and turned the TV to "Planet Earth" with the volume down. Ryan Reilly and Matt Ferner: "An appropriations amendment offered by Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-Calif.) prohibiting the DEA from spending funds to arrest state-licensed medical marijuana patients and providers passed 219-189. The Senate will likely consider its own appropriations bill for the DEA, and the House amendment would have to survive a joint conference before it could go into effect. Rohrabacher said on the House floor that the amendment 'should be a no-brainer' for conservatives who support states' rights and argued passionately against allowing the federal government to interfere with a doctor-patient relationship. 'Some people are suffering, and if a doctor feels that he needs to prescribe something to alleviate that suffering, it is immoral for this government to get in the way,' Rohrabacher said, his voice rising. 'And that's what's happening.' The debate pitted three House Republicans who also are doctors against one another. Rep. Andy Harris (R-Md.) and Rep. John Fleming (R-La.) opposed the amendment, while Rep. Paul Broun (R-Ga.) supported it. Harris insisted that there were no medical benefits to marijuana and that medical marijuana laws were a step toward legalizing recreational pot." [HuffPost]
Even longtime pot advocates were surprised by that one.
HOUSE VOTES DOWN WAGE THEFT BILL - Late night last night! Dave Jamieson: "Early Friday morning, House Republicans voted down a measure that would have discouraged the government from giving contracts to companies that have committed wage theft. The Democratic-sponsored amendment to a funding bill would have denied taxpayer money to firms with documented wage violations while under government contract. The idea, championed by members of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, was to make sure public dollars don't go to companies with low-road labor practices. The amendment, proposed for the commerce, justice and science appropriations bill, failed by a vote of 196-211. All Democrats who cast votes supported it, while 10 Republicans crossed the aisle to join them. On the House floor before the vote, Rep. Frank Wolf (R-Va.), chairman of the subcommittee handling the bill, suggested he was surprised by the amendment's introduction late Thursday and urged his colleagues to vote it down out of caution. 'No one knows what the amendment does. If you know what this amendment does, you should vote for it, because nobody else seems to know. That's one of the problems [that] these things come rolling in at 10:15.'" [HuffPost]
GOP SENATE CANDIDATE CALLS UCSB SHOOTINGS AN 'ACCIDENT' - Either Joni Ernst needs to spend less time on Reddit's "mens' rights" boards or she needs to choose her words way more carefully. Igor Bobic: "At a GOP primary debate Thursday, Iowa Senate candidate Joni Ernst referred to the recent shooting near the University of California Santa Barbara as an 'unfortunate accident.' Ernst, an Iowa state senator, was asked about the negative implications of an ad she released of her at a shooting range, symbolically taking aim at Obamacare. 'What happened in that shooting and that stabbing is an absolute tragedy,' she said. 'However, I remain firm in my commitment to the 2nd amendment –- I have been endorsed by the NRA in this race and again, just because of a horrible, horrible tragedy, I don't believe we should be infringing upon peoples' 2nd amendment rights.' When one of the debate moderators pressed her a second time, Ernst responded by saying, 'This unfortunate accident happened after the ad but it does highlight that I want to get rid of, repeal and replace Bruce Braley's Obamacare, and it also shows that I am a strong supporter of the 2nd amendment -- that is a fundamental right.'" [HuffPost]
AMERICANS SUPPORT GUN RESTRICTIONS FOR MENTALLY ILL - Meaning Republicans will soon pass a bill mandating John Birch Society members go from bridge underpass to bridge underpass and put a Bushmaster Predator in the hands of every homeless person they find. Emily Swanson: "Last week's killing spree in Santa Barbara, California, has had little impact on Americans' overall support for stricter gun laws, a new HuffPost/YouGov poll has found. But most continue to support universal background checks, as well as new measures, to keep guns out of the hands of mentally ill people. According to the new poll, 49 percent of Americans want gun laws made more strict, while 27 percent want no change and 18 percent want them to be less strict. Support for stricter gun laws peaked at 60 percent in January of 2013, shortly after the Newtown school shooting. That support fell back toward 50 percent by the end of the year and has remained steady at that level since then, with other mass shootings having made little difference in Americans' support for tightening restrictions." [HuffPost]
The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward guys named Chase in J. McLaughlin shirts: "In defense of old white men: Yes, white men are a historically privileged group. That doesn't make us all demons." [The Week]
@daveweigel: Allen West on inequality: "LeBron James is 6'6''. Allen West is 5'9''. Is it a fair world? No."
BECAUSE YOU'VE READ THIS FAR - Here's a baby laughing for the first time
SOUTH CAROLINA'S TOTALLY LEVEL HEADED ELECTORATE GETS JUST THE THING IT NEEDS - Booze! Politico: "Voters in South Carolina will soon be able to hit the bars after they hit the voting booths. South Carolina state senate members voted 41-1 to repeal a 1882 law that bans restaurants, stores and bars throughout the state from selling alcohol on election days. 'Election Day is about sorrow or joy. You should be able to buy a drink,' state Rep. Bakari Sellers (D) said to USA TODAY. Sellers helped sponsor the bill and has been working on overturning the legislation for eight years. South Carolina is the last state to ban Election Day alcohol sales statewide, according to the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States. Similar laws still exist in Massachusetts and Alaska, but bans in these states allow for local governments to choose otherwise." [Politico]
COMFORT FOOD
- "The Walking Dead" as an 80s sitcom. [http://huff.to/1nL0Tsw]
- The internet's best spoofs of Lance Stephenson blowing in LeBron James' ear. [http://huff.to/1kpBG11]
- How to make the perfect cheeseburger. [http://bit.ly/Sk8W3r]
- Get Tyrion Lannister drunk in this throwback "Game of Thrones" video game. [http://vult.re/1myKPY4]
- A Keurig for tortillas is more impressive than any 3D printing development we've learned about. [http://bit.ly/1oRT8jX]
- Dog can't not photobomb this baby. [http://huff.to/1rpvDmV]
- The Chilean miners -- remember the Chilean miners? -- filmed a promotional video for Chile's World Cup squad. [http://bit.ly/1kdjp6X]
TWITTERAMA
@JoseCanseco: Or we could talk about Russia ambassador opening if that's a better fit @BarackObama #yeswecanseco
@KagroX: I haven't seen the evidence that the VA problems were caused by human activity.
@dceiver: I just ran an electric current through a dead vole and damn if he didn't write a pretty good "WH Press Room shakeup" piece for Jim VandeHei
Got something to add? Send tips/quotes/stories/photos/events/fundraisers/job movement/juicy miscellanea to Eliot Nelson (eliot@huffingtonpost.com), Ryan Grim (ryan@huffingtonpost.com) or Arthur Delaney (arthur@huffingtonpost.com). Follow us on Twitter @HuffPostHill (twitter.com/HuffPostHill). Sign up here: http://huff.to/an2k2e
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