Wiretap: An upside in the unbearable horror of ISIS

The latest ISIS atrocity has brought about that rare thing — a sense of unity, and joint revulsion, among the many rival factions in the Arab world at the burning alive of a Jordanian pilot. Via the New York Times.

Was Brian Williams lying all those times over the past 12 years when he said that his helicopter had been hit by enemy fire and forced to land in Iraq? Or did Williams “misremember” the event? He was called on his story by the newspaper Stars & Stripes, and here’s how Williams explained getting the story wrong: “I would not have chosen to make this mistake.” Not everyone bought the explanation. Just go to Twitter where you can find #BrianWilliamsWarStories. Via the Washington Post.

When people talk about American corporations sending jobs overseas, they’re really talking about sending revenues overseas. Obama wants to change how that revenue is treated in his plan for corporate tax reform. And here’s the strange thing: Many Republicans agree. Via the New York Times.

California Gov. Jerry Brown, who had supported religious exemptions for state vaccination requirements in 2012, seems ready to change his mind. Via the Los Angeles Times.

Ready for Hillary? The Democrats who are ready include a number of anti-vaxxers. Via the Daily Beast.

Have the Democrats, now in the minority, turned into the party of no? For the moment, at least, the parties have changed roles. Via the Atlantic.

The last thing Ashton Carter’s Senate confirmation hearing is about is Ashton Carter. But you knew that already.

The college degree gap between the top quartile and the bottom quartile is hardly a secret. But just how wide the gap really is might shock you. Via Vox.

Bernard Avishai writes in the New Yorker that Obama and the Democrats are inadvertently helping Netanyahu and Likud.

Statetap:

Former state attorney general and current Colorado Springs mayoral candidate John Suthers sat down with the Gazette editorial board for an hour-long conversation. Two women vying for the spot — county commissioner Amy Lathen and former mayor Mary Lou Makepeace — will do the same on Feb. 9. Those conversations will be livestreamed and presumably archived too.

In case you missed it: When Anna Hansen decided to pretend she was driving the car that careened into the parked cars, this is the ESPN story lede she and her boyfriend were trying to avoid: “Disgraced cyclist Lance Armstrong hit two parked cars with an SUV after a night of partying in Aspen, Colorado, but agreed to let his longtime girlfriend take the blame to avoid national attention, police reports show.”

There’s a new director of the New Mexico Veterans Affairs healthcare system — a jurisdiction that includes parts of southwestern Colorado. Andrew Welch paid a visit to the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post No. 4031 in Durango, where a handful of local veterans weren’t shy about regaling him with stories, frustrations and concerns. Via the Durango Herald.

A comprehensive new report commissioned by the Colorado Energy office makes dire warnings about threats posed by climate change. In short, more fires, floods, disease, crop and cattle damage and a shorter ski season. Via the Denver Post.

[ Photo by Eesti.]

The Colorado Independent is a statewide online news source operating in a time when spin is plentiful, but factual, fair and unflinching news in the public interest is all too rare. Our award-winning team of veteran investigative and explanatory reporters and news columnists aims to amplify the voices of Coloradans whose stories are unheard, shine light on the relationships between people, power and policy, and hold public officials to account. We strive to report the news with context, social conscience, and soul, and to give Coloradans the insight they need to promote conversation, understanding and progress in this square, swing state we call home.