National

A former ally of New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) admitted Friday that he directed lane closures on the George Washington Bridge to punish a local politician for refusing to endorse the governor's 2013 re-election bid.

“I respect the courts, but the Supreme Court is only that — the supreme of the courts. It is not the supreme being. It cannot overrule God.” — Mike Huckabee, quoted by CNN, on the pending same-sex marriage ruling. Mike, the Supreme Court is the last word on constitutional rights bestowed upon American citizens by the Constitution and its Amendments. The case before the Supreme Court right now concerns the constitutional right of individuals to marry, which is currently being denied by a number of states. The case before the Supreme Court does not concern any rights bestowed in the Bible, or by heavenly decree. Mike, I am concerned about your intelligence. You seem to confuse man made law and Biblical law all the time. Indeed, I almost think you think they are, or should be, one and the same, much like Church and Government should be one and the same. Thankfully, much smarter people than you established a separation between Church and State many centuries ago during the Founding of our great nation.

The evidence points to - yes. Not from The Onion:

Texas Republican Gov. Greg Abbott on Tuesday asked the State Guard to monitor a U.S. military training exercise dubbed “Jade Helm 15″ amid suspicions that the war simulation is really a hostile military takeover.

My sense is that as the Democratic Party has become ever more conservative and indistinguishable from moderate Republicans over the years, there is a desperation among Republican partisans to distinguish themselves as LEGIT conservatives in ways that would have been viewed as coo-coo a mere 5 years ago.

It is rare, in the history of economic thought, for debates to get resolved this decisively. The austerian ideology that dominated elite discourse five years ago has collapsed, to the point where hardly anyone still believes it.

Hardly anyone, that is, except the Tom Carper and John Carney. When Tom Carper and John Carney say that there is a "budget crisis" and that "austerity" is needed to grow the economy, they are lying. Yes. It is that simple.

The Los Angeles Times reports that Hillary Clinton will call for far-reaching reforms in the criminal justice system that would “end the era of mass incarceration,”

“The speech will mark the unveiling of Clinton’s first major policy proposal as a presidential hopeful, coming as candidates are under pressure to confront the unrest in Baltimore. The city erupted in rioting Monday night, following the funeral of Freddie Gray, an African American man who was mortally injured while in police custody.”

Man, this Hillary campaign is really trying to win me over big time (and she is succeeding).

From a Salon interview. Please note what your Delaware Congressional delegation is pushing for:

I’ve talked to the health negotiators around the world. I’ve talked to people who’ve been involved in the arbitration process as part of the investment agreements. Even people who are arbitrators say the whole system is corrupt, that it’s a very expensive system, that therefore creates an un-even playing field with big corporations with big, deep pockets can get access to have recourse, whereas smaller firms can’t. That American firms can re-locate or do their investments in the United States as a subsidiary sue the U.S. government in ways that they could not if we didn’t have that trade agreement.

Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders will announce his plans to seek the Democratic nomination for president on Thursday, presenting a liberal challenge to Hillary Rodham Clinton.