A new paper by researchers at the International Monetary Fund appears to debunk a tenet of conservative economic ideology — that taxing the rich to give to the poor is bad for the economy.

The paper by IMF researchers Jonathan Ostry, Andrew Berg and Charalambos Tsangarides will be applauded by politicians and economists who regard high levels of income inequality as not only a moral stain on society but also economically unsound.

via Taxing the rich is good for the economy, IMF says – Business – CBC News.

So we’ll begin at the end with this story, which illustrates why the long game is headed a single direction.

Then we look at why the folks on the short end of the long game are fighting for a place at a smaller table.

After a tumultuous week of party infighting and leadership stumbles, congressional Republicans are focused on calming their divided ranks in the months ahead, mostly by touting proposals that have wide backing within the GOP and shelving any big-ticket legislation for the rest of the year.

Next we get an inside look at the folks who fill the trough that feeds the smaller table.

It was January 2012, and Ross, wearing a tuxedo and purple velvet moccasins embroidered with the fraternity’s Greek letters, was standing at the dais of the St. Regis Hotel ballroom, welcoming a crowd of two hundred wealthy and famous Wall Street figures to the Kappa Beta Phi dinner. Ross, the leader (or “Grand Swipe”) of the fraternity, was preparing to invite 21 new members — “neophytes,” as the group called them — to join its exclusive ranks.

After that we take a look at someone who was busted sucking Koch a couple years back and how that paper trail is coming home to roost.  [Walker busted sucking up to the Koch]

MILWAUKEE — Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, who has had his eye on a 2016 presidential run since his battles with labor unions made him a Republican star, is dealing with the fallout of two criminal investigations at home that could complicate his move to the national stage.

Long, apolitical piece on Asperger’s and DSM V.

Hanging out with racist assholes will surely, at some point, be a negative for Texas politicians.

Republicans renew push to kill Net Neutrality and continue campaign to confuse people about what it is.

And the assault on voting rights in states that were previously covered by the Voting Rights Act continues, as predicted…by the Voting Rights Act.

Venezuela is moving towards Ukranian levels of chaos.

While Uganda’s President is asking Republicans to come and teach him about how evil the gay is.