The US campaign ads begin and other news and views for Monday 28 April 2014

• Politicians Get Personal With Memorable Early Campaign Ads - "Ready or not, here come the 2014 campaign ads. As you'd expect, there are lots of attack ads about Democrats who backed Obamacare, and Republicans who are backed by the Koch brothers. But it's not all punch and counterpunch. Some notable biographical ads stand out."
• How A Public Corruption Scandal Became A Fight Over Free Speech - "The current conservative Supreme Court majority has a well-earned reputation for protecting the First Amendment right to free speech, whether in the form of campaign spending or protests at military funerals. But in one area — the first amendment rights of public employees — the conservative majority has been far less protective of the right to speak out. Now the court is revisiting the issue, and the result could have far-reaching consequences for public corruption investigations."
• The rich are dominating campaigns. Here’s why that’s about to get worse.
• Everybody Should Read This Explanation Of Where Money Really Comes From
• Let the Past Collapse on Time! - "No real revolution has happened in Russia. Lenin, Stalin, and their bloody associates still repose on Red Square, and hundreds of statues still stand, not only on Russia’s squares and plazas, but in the minds of its citizens."
• Too Big to Fail. Not Too Strong. - "Nomi Prins’s new book traces America’s propping up of banks since the robber barons."