Midday open thread: Occupy builds tiny houses, apology for gay slur, Ted Cruz clones in the running

• Today's comic by Mark Fiore is Saint Ayn Rand visits the day after Christmas!
  
• What's coming up on Sunday Kos ...
  

  • 2013: Racism retrospective and 'Racist of the Year' nominees, by Denise Oliver Velez
  • Parking meters and prisons: Top six privatization horror stories, by Laura Clawson
  • How Rocky made me feel OK about being a Jew in America, by Ian Reifowitz
  • NYC to lead on food and climate policy? Bill de Blasio and the "foodprint" resolution, by VL Baker
  • Millions of minimum wage workers are getting a raise—no thanks to Congress, by Laura Clawson
  • The best books I listened to in 2013, by Mark Sumner
  • Young Liberals Opting Out Of ACA Because It’s Not Single Payer Dangerous, by Egberto Willies

• Obviously he was wrong to say what he said and disciplinary action was definitely in order, but credit to this guy for a real apology without resorting to the "if you were offended" crap line:
  

  Colorado State University suspended its defensive line coach, Greg Lupfer, after the coach used a gay slur during the team’s New Mexico Bowl win over the Washington State University. [...]

  “I accept these consequences – two weeks without pay and the training programs – and I am thankful for this second chance to continue coaching at Colorado State and be a part of the Ram Family,” Lupfer said in a statement after the suspension was announced. “I am deeply sorry for my behavior, which does not represent who I am or my values. I embrace the opportunity to participate in anger management and diversity sensitivity training. I was angry and careless with my words, and my words hurt many people. I sincerely apologize to the GLBTQ community for causing pain by using a slur without considering its meaning. I take ownership of my words and fully understand why people are very upset."

• From the Department of Oh, For Crying Out Loud:
  

  “Across party lines there is a large divide, with Democrats mostly believing climate change is happening, and Republicans mostly disbelieving. Independents are split. But not by science. Independents’ views on man-made climate change change with the weather. On hotter days, Independents become much, much more likely to claim they believe in man-made climate change”

• Bleh:
  

  The first Roman Catholic priest in the United States imprisoned for covering up the crimes of offending priests was ordered to be released Thursday after an appeals court reversed his conviction. [...]

  [Monsignor William] Lynn's conviction was for not removing a defrocked priest, Edward Avery, from active ministry in the 1990s after learning Avery had molested a teen.

  According to philly.com, Lynn's attorneys convinced the three-judge Superior Court panel that the laws at the time only applied to people who directly supervised children.

• Poll: Two-thirds of Americans believe economy in bad shape:

  Despite a recent string of positive economic news, Americans say they aren't feeling the improvements.

  A new CNN/ORC poll released Friday showed people were pessimistic that the economy was improving. Nearly 70% said the economy is generally in poor shape, and only 32% rated it good.
   

• Iran building new generation uranium-concentrating centrifuges:

  The head of Iran's atomic energy agency had said the country is building a new generation of centrifuges for uranium enrichment but need further tests before they can be mass-produced, apparently trying to counter hardliners' criticism of its nuclear deal with world powers.

  Under an agreement made last month in Geneva, Iran promised not to bring new centrifuges into operation for six months, part of temporary limitations on its uranium enrichment programme in return for the easing of some sanctions. But the deal does not stop it from developing centrifuges.

• Gov. Nikki Haley lets everyone know she got a Beretta for Christmas.
• Five Ted Cruz wannabes to watch in 2014:

  If Ted Cruz seems like a one-of-a-kind, give it time. A slew of young, hard-charging, Tea Party-endorsed Senate wannabes is looking to knock off the Republican establishment again in 2014. Some have better chances than others, but all have the unmistakable Cruzian commitment to refusing to toe the Republican Party line and make headlines while doing it. If you haven’t heard of them yet, you will.

• Occupy Madison builds tiny, $3,000 houses for the homeless:

  For many couples, the thought of living together in a 96-square-foot house sounds awful. But for Chris Derrick and Betty Ybarra, it’s a Christmas miracle.

  That’s because Derrick and Ybarra have spent the better part of a year braving Madison, Wisconsin’s often-harsh climate without a roof over their head.

  They’ll spend this Christmas in their own home, thanks to more than 50 volunteers with Occupy Madison, a local Wisconsin version of the original Occupy Wall Street group in New York. The group, including Derrick and Ybarra, spent the past year on an innovative and audacious plan to fight inequality in the state’s capital: build tiny homes for the homeless.

• On today's Kagro in the Morning show, we noted the post-Xmas tweeting of new gun pics, complete with fingers on the trigger! Greg Dworkin shares his picks from the week's news, including Brainwrap's data on ACA sign-ups (over 5.75 million), ACA politics, and Susan Demas' "I know who the next president will be!" Also: "Why the Left Must Embrace Affluenza." Dartagnan's top-recommended, "Why No Wall Stree CEOs Were Prosecuted For Causing the Financial Crisis." Josh Tauberer notes 50% of the US population lives in 1% of the land area. And a look at Jen Dziura's fascinating "When 'Life Hacking' Is Really White Privilege."