Daily Meme: Points of Clarification

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  • The modern world is so confusing. Fortunately, there are lots of people out there trying to clarify things for you, so in today's meme, we're seeking and finding clarity on what bedevils us.
  • Are you a Supreme Court justice who doesn't quite understand how different birth control methods work, what with all those confusing ladyparts going on? Salon has a handy guide to help clear up your confusion.
  • Benjy Sarlin has a great story on Georgia Senate candidate Paul Broun, who is a member of the House because he was personally called upon by God to run for Congress. So if you're wondering whom the Big Guy is supporting in that race, it's been clarified for you.
  • Chris Christie has been totally vindicated by a report from a law firm examining the "Bridgegate" affair. We should clarify that the firm was hired by Christie.
  • Nate Silver and Paul Krugman are apparently in an escalating battle over just how much data can clarify the great questions of the day. If Jeff Gillooly hits Krugman in the knee with a baton, you'll know who to blame.
  • In the latest AP poll, President Obama's approval rating is 41 percent. Just to clarify, that's not very good.
  • Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid would like to clarify that the $31,000 his campaign paid his granddaughter was completely justified, because she's "a professional and talented artist who produced gifts for my staff and supporters that had a personal connection to my family and my hometown of Searchlight, Nevada." But he's going to reimburse the campaign out of his own pocket anyway.
  • Representative Bill Cassidy, a Louisiana Republican running for Senate, is probably going to want to clarify some remarks he made about people who don't have health insurance: "They're illiterate. I'm not saying that to be mean. I say that in compassion. They cannot read. The idea they're going to go on the internet and work through a 16-page document to put in their data and sign up does not reflect on understanding of who is having the hardest time in our economy." Yeah, but the law included funds for "navigators," who…oh, never mind.

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