WonkPM: Your afternoon update from Wonkblog for July 29, 2013

Catch up on Wonkblog's latest posts. A supplement to your Wonkbook subscription.

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Monday, July 29, 2013

WonkPM: Your afternoon update from Wonkblog

WonkPM is your afternoon update of the latest posts on Wonkblog. WonkPM is a supplement to your morning Wonkbook newsletter. If you'd like to opt-out from receiving WonkPM, please click here.

The government should spend tons of money on travel, says travel industry

The government meetings business is in a tough spot these days. After a 2012 scandal over the General Services Administration spending millions on lavish Las Vegas conferences, and another involving the Internal Revenue Service, the Obama administration passed tough new … Continue reading →

Pope Francis's beautiful take on sins: 'We don't have the right to not forget'

The AP story has perhaps the best dateline ever. “ABOARD THE PAPAL AIRCRAFT.” You don’t get much closer to the pope than that. I mean, perhaps the Popemobile. But that’s it. The headline news from the interview with Pope Francis … Continue reading →

Now your member of Congress can see how you vote

Congress spends too much time fundraising. But it's less time than you think.

Remember this? It’s a snippet from a PowerPoint presentation to incoming freshmen by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee that the Huffington Post got its hands on, and that caused lots of handwringing around Washington. And it is, indeed, a bummer: It … Continue reading →

Don Draper, your antitrust attorney is on line 2

It was probably only a matter of time that the global advertising/public relations/marketing industry would take a stab at more consolidation. Four companies — WPP, Omnicom, Publicis and Interpublic — among them control about two-thirds of the global industry. Now … Continue reading →

Newt Gingrich hangs out with a parrot, records it on Google Glass

Because why not? Here’s some footage from a recent trip to the Peoria Zoo, that largely focuses on an encounter with a parrot named Phoebe. For further reading, I highly recommend this piece on Gingrich’s love of zoos from our … Continue reading →

If you spend $41,500 on a case of wine, you just might be a moral monster

In March 1998, in the Bordeaux region of France, it was uncommonly hot. That was followed by a cold wet April and May, an erratic June, a cool overcast July, and an epic August heat wave. Fifteen years later, some … Continue reading →

In defense of Congress's summer 'vacation'

It’s that time of year again. Congress is preparing for its summer recess. They’ll leave town Friday and they won’t be back till Sept. 9. Between now and then, the rest of Washington will occupy itself by whining about Congress going … Continue reading →

Obamacare Spin 101: How to make premiums seem really cheap – or insanely expensive

Welcome to Health Reform Watch, Sarah Kliff's regular look at how the Affordable Care Act is changing the American health-care system — and being changed by it. You can reach Sarah with questions, comments and suggestions here. Check back every Monday, … Continue reading →