MID-WEEK READING (1-14-15)

20 quotes that make it clear that the U.S. was not founded as a Christian nation (Examiner).

Warren takes swipe at Reagan, trickle-down economics (Politico).

Krugman ridicules GOP for believing "facts have a liberal bias" (Salon).

The right-wing domestic terror plot you didn't hear about this week (Raw Story).


STRANGE / INTERESTING STORIES
You can be king: The incredible story of Sealand, the nation-state (Ozy).

Atomic deserts: A survey of the world's radioactive no-go zones (Der Speigel)

Rising oceans swallowing up small islands? Let 'em sink (Ozy).

Inside the luxury Doomsday condos where the rich plan to ride out the apocalypse (Raw Story).


FOR THE GUN NUTS
Man practicing "open carry" law robbed of brand new gun, at gunpoint (KOIN6).

Woman mistakenly shoots husband who brought home surprise breakfast (TPM).

A gun is now more likely to kill you than a car is (The Economist).


MEASLES DON'T KILL PEOPLE ... 
Disneyland measles outbreak, another lesson in how stupidity can kill (Blue Nation Review).

The rich and their anti-vaccine quacks (National Memo).


BASIC FACTS ABOUT WELFARE EVERYONE SHOULD KNOW
Everything you need to know about the war on poverty (Washington Post).

Fact checking Paul Ryan's claim that $15 trillion has been spent on the war on poverty (Washington Post).

Jesse Ventura: Walmart and the Walton family are the real 'welfare queens' (Examiner).


FACES OF LAWSUIT ABUSE, 2014
Rescuers sued by man they pulled from flood waters because they didn't get there fast enough (Faces of Lawsuit Abuse).

Baseball fan caught sleeping on camera, sues ESPN for $10 million (Faces of Lawsuit Abuse).

Little League coach sues player over celebratory helmet toss (Faces of Lawsuit Abuse).

Man who filed a personal injury lawsuit for "serious, permanent and debilitating injuries" caught on video pushing huge, historic boulder off its perch (Faces of Lawsuit Abuse).


COLLEGE TALK
Obama proposes plan to make community college free for everyone (National Memo).

Is College the new high school (The New Yorker)?

A university president gave $90,000 a year to give his minimum wage workers a raise (Vox).


WHAT'S WRONG WITH THESE PEOPLE?
Bill Cosby told a rape joke during a show (Blue Nation Review).

GOP Senators: Paris shooting justifies NSA powers (Ozy).

South Carolina Republican calls for mandatory NRA-themed high school gun classes (ATTP).

Conservatives on Facebook go full Nazi, call for genocide against Islam (ATTP).


MISCELLANEOUS
8 shocking things Republicans have said about the poor (Blue Nation Review).

The U.S. has more jails than colleges. Here's an interactive map of where those prisoners live (Washington Post).

JPMorgan is the latest target on Goldman Sachs' hit list (Money Morning).

How California bested Texas (The New Yorker).

- Mark