Elizabeth Warren on being a low-information voter -- Zachary Taylor is under appreciated -- Betsy DeVos update

Elizabeth Warren grew up in Oklahoma hearing stories of the dust bowl and the Great Depression, but was married at the age of 19, a mother just a few years later, and did not take a serious turn toward politics until she was well into her 40s. I talked with her about her highly unusual political development. I think that even if you know an awful lot about Warren -- a loyal newsletter reader -- you'll find something new in this article. Story is here. Since this is Presidents' Day, I have some appropriate content for you: Zachary Taylor is one of the most forgotten presidents in our history, and the Compromise of 1850 is remembered as a glorious moment of congressional presidential statesmanship that held off the Civil War. But it only became law because Taylor died suddenly in office. Before he died, he was ready to go to war with Texas and the rest of the South -- including his son-in-law Jefferson Davis -- in order to stop the expansion of slavery. Taylor may well have won that war quickly and made good on his promise to hang the Southern senators he saw (quite accurately and presciently) as traitors. Compromise is often held up as the highest ideal, but could slavery have been ended 15 years earlier at a much smaller cost? I interviewed Sidney Blumenthal, author of a Lincoln biography that covers that part of the history, and you can watch it here. (His book is here.) And an update on the effort to crowdpublish a book on Betsy DeVos. Since Saturday, readers of this email have kicked in more than $2,000 to fund the publication of a short biography of DeVos called Schoolhouse Wreck. That's plenty to get it over the top, a huge thank you to everybody who gave. If you still want to participate or pre-order a copy for $9, you can do so here. Of course, I'll send out another note when it's published.This email grows by word of mouth. If you enjoy getting it, please forward this note to friends and tell them to sign up to start getting their own copy here. I'm the Washington bureau chief at The Intercept, and I send this several times a week. If you want to contribute directly to help keep the thing running, you can do so here, though be warned a donation comes with no tote bags or extra premium content or anything. Or you can support it by buying a copy of Out of the Ooze: The Story of Dr. Tom Price or Wall Street's White House, the first two books put out by Strong Arm Press, a small progressive publishing house I cofounded. Sent via ActionNetwork.org. To update your email address, change your name or address, or to stop receiving emails from Bad News, please click here.