Welcome to the Morning Buzz, PRRI’s morning dose of religion-related news with a shot of data – because what doesn’t liven up a morning round-up like some public opinion numbers? If there was a prize for best opening paragraph in this week’s issue of the New Yorker, Elizabeth Kolbert would win, hands down.

Findings from a new survey from the Pew Research Center suggest that President Obama’s plan to extend the Bush tax cuts only for Americans making under $250,000 could be a smart political move. By two-to-one (44% to 22%), the public agrees that raising taxes on incomes above $250,00o would help the economy rather than hurt it. Americans also believe, by a similar margin, that such a move would make the tax system more rather than less fair (44% to 21%).

Young Republicans are trying (with limited success) to mobilize in North Carolina. Earlier this spring, only around one-third of younger Millennials (age 18-24) had a favorable opinion of the Republican Party.

George W. Bush consented to two rare interviews earlier this week, where he said little about politics, except that it is a “swamp” and that he is “not crawling back in.” These days, he’s more into oil painting.

To prove that atheists love bad puns as much as anyone, a group of Minnesota atheists will hold a theme night with the St. Paul Saints, a minor league baseball team. The team will become the “Mr. Paul Aints” for the evening in honor of the event, which seemed like a stretch – even for a bad pun – until I learned that the team’s mascots are two pigs named Kim Lardashian and Kris Hamphries.

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