During a brief break this afternoon I did a radio interview where I was asked twelve complex questions about safety net politics. Didn’t resort to anecdotes about school lunch bags even once.
Here are some remains of the day:
* Kirsten Gillibrand’s bill to remove military sexual assault cases from the chain of command fails to overcome filibuster as 10 Democrats join with 35 Republicans to kill it. To give devils their due, Cruz, Paul and McConnell backed Gillibrand.
* Tabloidish conservative outlet Newsmax announces plans for new cable channel to challenge Fox on Right.
* TNR’s Alec MacGillis reports that Chris Christie’s biggest applause line at CPAC was a shout-out to Scott Walker. Tells you everything you need to know about the deflating balloon of Christie ’16.
* At Ten Miles Square, Jamie Malanowski responds to Rush Limbaugh’s claim that the word “slave” in the title guaranteed 12 Years a Slave an Oscar with a very, very long list of slave-titled movies that somehow eluded the award.
* At College Guide Robert Kelchen Kelchen notes very small request of funds for development of a college rating system won’t necessarily kill progress on this Obama administration initiative, but it’s not the best sign of the priority assigned to it.
And in non-political news:
* Oscar Mayer offers Bacon Alarm app. 47 lucky people will get app that not only emulates sound of sizzling bacon, but emits smell of bacon, too.
That’s it for Thursday. We’ll close with one more fine picking and singing tune from Rev. Gary Davis, “If I Had My Way” (a.k.a. “Samson and Delilah”).
Selah.
