MID-WEEK READING (June 4, 2014)

Want to know how much you would be making if wages had kept pace with productivity? Check this out (Upworthy).

Thousands of Manta Rays congregate, with some taking to the air (Distractify).

With stocks at record highs, what could go wrong? Pretty much everything (Wall Street Journal).

The 10 dumbest and smartest states in America (The Street).

For the PETA crowd ... Madrid bullfight canceled after all three matadors are gored (El Pais).


ECONOMIC THOUGHT(S)
Mainstream economics is a cult (Washington Blog).

A short, simple, and insightful, introduction to Adam Smith, John Maynard Keynes and Hyman Minsky (Bloomberg View).


WELCOME TO THE GUN SHOW
Gun activists flaunting assault rifles get booted from Chili's and Sonic (Mother Jones).

NRA scolds 'weird' people brandishing guns in coffee shops (Bloomberg Businessweek).

Maybe store owners can solve our 'gun nut' problem (Slate).

Guns allowed everywhere, except near politicians (Bloomberg Businessweek).


SIGNS THE APOCALYPSE IS UPON US? 
U.S. Senate hearings asks, "Which groups are we at war with?" The Department of Defense responds with "That's classified" (Barry Ritholtz).

We discussed this nonsense almost 5 months ago ... Cases of measles in the U.S. is at a 20-year high, thanks to anti-vaxxers (Mother Jones).

We're learning more from Stephen Colbert than from the actual news (Huffington Post).

Four southern states are now embracing Obamacare (NY Times).


BUDGET DEFICIT DISORDER(S)
National debt graph ... by president (zfacts).

U.S. debt by president ... Why the winner is George W. Bush (U.S. Economy).


IT DOESN'T JUST RAIN IN SPAIN
After 39 years, the king of Spain steps down (Bloomberg).

Racist gesture at a soccer game cost employee her job ... in Barcelona, Spain (El Pais).

Spanish government asks state attorney to crack down on Twitter hate speech (El Pais).


MISCELLANEOUS
Republican answer to made up VA "scandal" ... let's privatize (Daily Kos).

How corporations get away with wage theft (Salon).

Why English eggs are different from those in the U.S. (Huffington Post).

50 amusing photos from the past (Distractify).

- Mark