Senate Intelligence Committee Chair Dianne Feinstein accuses the CIA of spying on Congress.---

Top of the Alty World

“11 Jaw-Dropping Lines From Dianne Feinstein's CIA Torture Statement”--Rolling Stone

A study has found private prisons disproportionately house more inmates of color.--NPR

Obamacare could offer a path to healthcare security for struggling musicians.--Houston Press

Wall Street investors as beginning to buy farmland in the United States.--Mother Jones

Top of Alty Utah

Utah Political Capitol recaps the highlights of the last day of the 2014 Legislature.--Utah Political Capitol

A bill was passed to fund pre-school for at-risk youth.--Salt Lake City Weekly

A hefty report on the John Swallow investigation is now available to the public.--Salt Lake City Weekly

Governor Gary Herbert talks about bills he might veto, the Legislature, running for re-election and more.--Utah Policy

Rantosphere

Bryan Schott looks at how House Speaker Becky Lockhart's education plan/swipe at Herbert backfired.

“On day one of the legislative session, House Speaker Becky Lockhart came out swinging against Gov. Gary Herbert in her opening address. She called him an “inaction figure,” pushing the narrative that Herbert was feckless, weak. It was delicious political theater, prefacing a battle that would stretch from now until 2016. That was a lifetime ago in the political arena. Another lifetime ago, Lockhart proposed a plan to put technology in the hands of Utah’s schoolchildren - at a cost of $200 million.

It was a bold political move that bolstered her education bonafides in anticipation of a possible run for Governor in 2016. At the same time, it put Herbert in a box. If the proposal passes, she get the credit. If it failed, she would be able to hammer Herbert for shortchanging Utah’s schoolchildren.It was foolproof...a lifetime ago. Now we stand at the end of the 2014 session, and Lockhart is Utah’s Ozymandius - her grand vision lies in wreckage and ashes.”--Utah Policy

The Long View

The Atlantic takes a look at the campaign of Chris Christie, one a GOP governor and now a Democratic candidate for Governor of Florida.

“In December 2012, at the White House, Crist became a Democrat. In November 2013, in his hometown, St. Petersburg, Crist launched his Democratic campaign against Rick Scott, the current Republican governor. The chutzpah of it! Florida Republicans, who thought they’d permanently excommunicated him from politics, still can’t quite believe this is happening. To them Crist is a joke, a con artist, a pathetic phony still lusting for approbation long past his sell-by date. A thousand Republican knives are out for him, the people he betrayed (or did they betray him first?) lining up to get their revenge: the Tea Party people, the Rubio people, the Jeb Bush people, the well-funded Republican Party of Florida machine Crist once commanded. The Scott campaign is said to be prepared to spend $100 million to defeat Crist. And yet despite it all, and despite a campaign that could generously be described as bare-bones, Crist leads in the polls.”--The Atlantic