The House voted to repeal Obamacare for the 40th time, though Republicans were more concerned with preparations for the coming Obamacare repeal golden jubilee. The Labor Department announced a drop in the unemployment rate and the State Department issued a global terror warning, meaning it was a busy day for our false flag/truther Google alert. And someone was arrested in the Capitol for marijuana possession, though it's unclear how a slow-moving, paranoid law-breaker stood out in the halls of Congress. This is HUFFPOST HILL for Friday, August 2nd, 2013:
HOUSE VOTES TO REPEAL OBAMACARE FOR THE 40TH TIME - These votes always remind us of the quixotic boxing scene from "Cool Hand Luke." That, in turn, makes us laugh at the idea of John Boehner eating 50 hard-boiled eggs. Amanda Terkel: "In one of their final votes before heading home for a five-week summer recess, House Republicans voted on Friday to repeal Obamacare. It was their 40th such vote, and like their 39 previous attempts, it will not go any further with the Democratic-controlled Senate or the Democratic president. The Keep the IRS Off Your Health Care Act of 2013, sponsored by Rep. Tom Price (R-Ga.), would block the Internal Revenue Service from enforcing or implementing any portion of President Barack Obama's signature health care reform law. It passed 232 to 185, with all Republicans voting for it and four Democrats -- Reps. John Barrow (Ga.), Jim Matheson (Utah), Mike McIntyre (N.C.) and Collin Peterson (Minn.) -- siding with them. Six Republicans didn't vote. Democrats railed against their Republican colleagues on the House floor for spending valuable time on the vote...Boehner recently said that the House GOP would continue pushing legislation to repeal Obamacare -- even though it has no chance of clearing the president's desk." [HuffPost]
From Jason Linkins: "The 40 Attempts To Repeal Obamacare, Ranked"
SIXTY TROOPS FIRED AFTER MILITARY SEXUAL ASSAULT REVIEW - USA Today: "Sixty troops have been fired as sexual assault counselors, recruiters or drill instructors after the military investigators found they had committed violations ranging from alcohol-related offenses to child abuse and sexual assault, USA TODAY has learned... [A] Pentagon report in May... estimated 26,000 troops had been sexually assaulted in 2012, a 35% increase since 2010, with offenses ranging from groping to rape. Army Gen. Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, has called sexual assault in the military a crisis. The records of at least 35,000 troops have been screened or are under review, according to the services...The Army has suspended 55 soldiers, according to figures compiled through mid-July, said George Wright, an Army spokesman. In all, it is looking at 20,000 recruiters, sexual-assault counselors and drill instructors and expects to have completed its screening by Oct. 1. More suspensions could occur as the review continues." [USA Today]
What to read this weekend: Sasha Belenky curates the week's best longreads.
@jbendery: Louie Gohmert recalling days of "cooking ribs to share in a bipartisan manner." Says Dems don't like his votes, "but they like my ribs." ... LOL: Gohmert says "overzealous" Cap Architect made him stop making ribs at Cap b/c of rules against fires within 10 feet of wood in a bldg.
PARANOID SELF-LOATHING GOP LOBBYIST WATCHING LUKE RUSSERT'S CAREER WITH GREAT INTEREST - HuffPost Hill's Paranoid Self-Loathing GOP Lobbyist, fresh off Airbnb-ing a panic room in Dewey Beach for his upcoming vacation, read TNR's profile of Luke Russert, Washington's most controversial millennial. "Another white MSNBC analyst (Luke Russert) opining on gentrification?" PSLGOPL writes, referencing Russert's observation that "there's a lot more mixing of the races" in D.C. "Inspiring. Please discuss." Happy travels, PSLGOPL!
PSLGOPL adds: "My favorite MSNBC moment is when they pan to the back and it's all white kids." Keep 'em honest, PSLGOPL!
@smithsonian: Despite reports, we are not currently seeking to add Trayvon Martin's hoodie to our collections. @NMAAHC 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
BECAUSE IT'S FRIDAY, HERE'S NEWS ABOUT A POSSIBLE SCOTT WALKER PRESIDENTIAL RUN - BuzzFeed: "Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker let slip his possible interest in running for higher office Friday, saying he wasn't 'involved yet' at a federal level -- an admission he jokingly asked reporters to redact. At the opening press conference for the National Governors Association summer meeting, hosted this year in Walker's home state, Walker responded to a question about Republicans in Congress who threaten to block the federal budget as a way to halt the implementation of President Obama's Affordable Care Act. 'I mean, right now, I've got my hands full being governor,' Walker said, surrounded by a gaggle of about 15 reporters and photographers. 'I'm not real involved yet at the -- strike that last word -- at the federal level, so I'll let them work that out for right now,' he said, smiling." [BuzzFeed]
UNEMPLOYMENT FALLS, AS DOES NATION'S HAPPINESS - Delaney: "The unemployment rate fell to 7.4 percent as 162,000 more Americans had jobs in July, the U.S. Labor Department announced Friday...Temps accounted for nearly 8,000 of the jobs added in July, and along with retail and restaurant workers made up more than half of the employment gains. Low-wage workers have been a big part of overall job growth since the recession officially ended in 2009, a pattern economists say is normal early in an economic recovery but usually doesn't last this long... [In July, there were] 4.2 million long-term unemployed, Americans who have been jobless six months or longer. Their ranks have declined by almost 1 million in the past year, though economists are uncertain about how many of them are finding jobs or just giving up on their search for work... In July, [there were] 8.2 million part-timers who wanted full-time work but couldn't find it." [HuffPost]
TERRY MCAULIFFE'S CAR COMPANY UNDER INVESTIGATION - This Senate race is increasingly reminding us of a Heat-Lakers finals. No one wants anyone to win. WaPo: "An electric-car company co-founded by Virginia gubernatorial candidate Terry McAuliffe (D) is under investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission over its conduct in soliciting foreign investors, according to law-enforcement documents and company officials. The SEC subpoenaed documents in May from GreenTech Automotive and bank records from a sister company, Gulf Coast Funds Management of McLean. The investigation is focused, at least in part, on alleged claims that the company 'guarantees returns' to the investors, according to government documents. GreenTech has sought overseas investors through a federal program that allows foreigners to gain special visas if they contribute at least $500,000 to create U.S. jobs. Gulf Coast, which is run by Anthony Rodham, the brother of former secretary of state Hillary Rodham Clinton, seeks investors for GreenTech and arranges the visas." [WaPo]
North Carolina's new voter ID law could be the worst Southern throwback since jug bands got popular in Brooklyn: "Now, as North Carolina's governor prepares to sign one of the most restrictive election bills in the nation, civil-rights advocates and election officials in the state expect to see a rise in what they call voter intimidation...In addition to boosting the presence of poll observers, the law would require every voter to display specific forms of government-issued identification, which minorities and low-income people disproportionately lack. It would also cut back on the hours allotted for early voting, prohibit people from registering on the same day that they vote, and cancel a popular program to register high-school students -- practices that have boosted electoral participation among young and black voters and may have helped President Barack Obama carry the state in 2008." [HuffPost's Saki Knafo]
Shahien Nasiripour and Jan Diehm explain why Congress' student loan deal is a bad idea.
SEVEN-YEAR-OLD BANNED FROM DISCUSSING FRACKING - What ever happened to boys getting in trouble for wearing South Park tees? HuffPost's Soon-To-Be environmental reporter (!!!) Kate Sheppard: "When a property owner reaches a settlement with an oil or gas driller, it's not unusual for the company to demand that the plaintiffs in the case agree to a gag order that bars them from talking about the agreement. But a recent case in Pennsylvania is unusual. That's because the gag order prohibited the 7- and 10-year-old children of a couple that sued several gas companies not only from talking about their specific settlement, but from mentioning fracking at all. Ever. Chris and Stephanie Hallowich reached a $750,000 settlement with Range Resources Corporation, Williams Gas/Laurel Mountain Midstream, and Markwest Energy related to health and environmental impacts they say they suffered due to natural gas development operations near their farm in Mount Pleasant, Pa. The family used the money to relocate. But in exchange, they had to agree that they could not comment "in any fashion whatsoever about Marcellus Shale/fracking activities." [Mother Jones]
Today in "things that people still have to say, sadly" :"Interior Secretary Sally Jewell wants to get rid of any climate change denial at the agency, telling her employees this week that if they doubt the existence of manmade global warming, they need to visit some federal lands to see the proof. 'I hope there are no climate change deniers in the Department of Interior,' Jewell said Wednesday. E&E News reported that Jewell invited any individuals who still hold such views to see the melting permafrost in Alaska or the disappearing snowpacks in the Sierra Mountains." [HuffPost's Amanda Terkel]
BECAUSE YOU'VE READ THIS FAR - Here is a kitten.
STONER ARRESTED IN CAPITOL - We thought Ryan was on vacation. Arin Greenwood: "Someone may have misunderstood the parameters of D.C.'s medical marijuana program. A 20-year-old tourist, Bethany Joy Adams, was arrested on Thursday inside the Capitol, after police 'discovered what appeared to be a pipe consistent with the use of marijuana in the bag of the Defendant,' a U.S. Capitol Police spokesperson told The Hill newspaper. 'A green leafy substance' was then discovered, the spokesperson explained, saying the substance was tested, and the 'test results were positive for marijuana.' According to CNN, Adams -- who had been on her way to the House of Representatives -- was arrested." [HuffPost]
COMFORT FOOD
- This North Korean tablet is still not as sad as whatever Research In Motion is producing. [http://bit.ly/1456LDg]
- Jimmy Fallon, The Roots and Robin Thicke play "Blurred Lines" with children's instruments. [http://bit.ly/1bRL27I]
- F. Scott Fitzgerald's list of essential reads. Sadly, "Screw Baz Luhrmann" wasn't written in the margins. [http://bit.ly/13oYvhK]
- A video explaining what happens to your, er, droppings after you flush your toilet. [http://bit.ly/13FtLo9]
- A supercut of film and television characters inquiring whether this is or isn't a date. [http://bit.ly/15h8nfh]
- Maps of unused city plans, including Hitler's creepy neoclassical plan for the capital of Germania (it looks like the National Mall but more... National Socialist-y). [http://bit.ly/18OKUB4]
- Bro with a fear of roller coasters rides a virtual reality roller coaster and loses it. [http://bit.ly/11zRn0T]
TWITTERAMA
@daudig: Also curated 1st listicle. RT @NickBaumann: #ff Moses. He has a strong record of leadership.
@repjustinamash: That's *really* modified. "@jbendery: MT @repjustinamash: #ff @jbendery #liberty"
@RosieGray: do WiFi problems on amtrak, too RT @toddzwillich: Serious question: Will you guys find it interesting if I tweet about a bus that's late?
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