Amy Davidson writes at the New Yorker of the mystery of Abdul-Rahman, or Peter Kassig. In the latest piece of horror from the Islamic State, the video was not as slickly produced and Kassig’s last moments were not shown. Davidson wonders what might have happened that day. What’s clear, she writes, is that it was not ISIS’s goal to make Kassig a Muslim. They wanted to murder an American, and they did.
Conor Friedersdorf writes in the Atlantic that it’s Mark Udall’s responsibility to expose CIA and NSA lawbreaking before he leaves the Senate.
Who has made the best arguments against Obama’s immigration plan? It turns out, Obama himself. Via the New York Times.
Eugene Robinson writes that Obama has to act on immigration because John Boehner won’t. Via the Washington Post.
If history is any guide, the Democrats have plenty of reason to despair as they head into 2016. Ronald Brownstein writes that they’re running against the wind. Via the National Journal.
Despite Grubergate, Obamacare is (still) working. Via Salon.
It’s fair play for Republicans to use Jon Gruber’s words against the Democrats. The Democrats, after all, did it first. Via Slate.
A former Bush economics adviser says Washington can be fixed. And here’s the thing. He tells Vox you can do it in five steps.