UP-FRONT MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND NUGGET!
President Obama and the Confederacy (Kirk Savage, a professor at University of Pittsburgh) from the Washington Post
"In 1914, President Woodrow Wilson dedicated a large bronze memorial to the Confederate dead in a special section of Arlington National Cemetery, ... U.S. presidents since then have continued to pay tribute to this narrative of "sectional reconciliation" by sending a wreath of flowers to Arlington's Confederate Memorial once a year. The question for this upcoming Memorial Day is whether Barack Obama will continue the traditional offering or put a stop to it."
Interesting editorial. My money is on 'yes, he will -- and if he speaks, he'll give a BRILLIANT speech showcasing the power of reconciliation.
Obama Works with Graham on New Detainee Policy from the McClatchy News Service
This is good news.
"Graham is helping a Democratic president shape a new system for holding and prosecuting detainees amid challenges from all directions."
US Signals Willingness to Reopen Talks with Cuba from the New York Times
"In a new gesture toward Cuba, the Obama administration signaled willingness on Friday to reopen a channel with Havana that was closed under President George W. Bush by scheduling high-level meetings on migration between the two countries."
Obama's Real Hundred Days (Michael Tomasky) from New York Magazine
LOTS of truth to this piece.
"With health care and climate change on the agenda, the next hundred are more important than the first. Get ready for the Summer of Shove."
The American Dream and the Romanian Sleep (Editorial) from Evenimentul Zilei [of Romania in English]
"Whereas 77 percent of young Americans believe that they will go on to achieve the American Dream, 36 percent of young Romanians want to emigrate. … In a country in which politicians feel obliged to present themselves to the electorate as 'the Obama of Romania,' there is a long distance between the American dream and the sleep of Romania … as long as a nightmare."
Obama's 'None of the Above' Terror Policy (Ruth Marcus) from the Washington Post
"Obama inherited a minefield of difficult legal issues entwined in the war on terrorism, and he has picked his way carefully, intelligently and -- for the most part -- correctly through them."
An Obama-Cheney Thought Experiment (David Ignatius) from the Washington Post
"When you watch ... the Obama-Cheney great debate ..., try to imagine how these issues would play if America should be hit by another 9/11-level terrorist attack. You hope the country would unite behind President Obama in crisis, the way it did behind President Bush. But watching the poison darts fly Thursday, I’m not so sure. I worry that this time the country could split down the middle like an empty gourd, with the right blaming the left, and the left blaming the right."
Guantanamo Bay: Using the Unusable from the Editorial Board of the Guardian [of London]
"Mr Obama undoubtedly believes what he says, and he is treating his audience as adult by admitting to being troubled by some of the answers. But as a politician, ... Mr Obama's instinct is to compromise. The question is whether the practice of indefinite detention, which runs counter to the entire US legal process, is susceptible to compromise."
Obama Argues for Closing Gitmo (Walter Shapiro) from Politics Daily
"The problem -- as Cheney inadvertently illustrated -- is that without an investigation on par with the 9/11 Commission, there will always be political support for the cynical argument that torture works."
The Land that Republicans Forgot (Charles Blow) from the New York Times
"It was apropos that Powell delivered this rebuke in the Northeast since that’s where “their version” of the party is facing its most daunting challenges."
Republicans Purge Their Own Over Taxes and Spending from the Huffington Post
"In California, the purging of Republican pols unwilling to take the party line on economic issues is becoming systemic. Under the national radar but making news in the state, recall efforts have been launched targeting several GOP officials for voting with their Democratic colleagues on Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's budget."
This suggests that the REAL ACTION for Republicans in 2010 and 2012 will be in the primaries. If the ultra-orthodox of the party win in the primaries, defeating the "fit for their districts" types, the GOP will be slaughtered in the next two general elections.
HISTORY/POLITICS NUGGET!
Mississippi Town Breaks with its Past to Elect First Black Mayor from the Guardian [of London] A related historical perspective piece from the Guardian is HERE.
"James Young's victory stands in stark contrast to climate which bred racism and segregation in the 1960s."
VIDEO NUGGET! (OF A SORT)
Conservative Radio Host Waterboarded -- Admits That it is Torture from Huffington Post
"Erich "Mancow" Muller, a Chicago-based conservative radio host, recently decided to silence critics of waterboarding once and for all. He would undergo the procedure himself, and then he would be able to confidently convince others that it is not, in fact, torture. Or so he thought. Instead, Muller came out convinced."
PREVIEW-OF-COMING-ATTRACTIONS NUGGET!
In TV Appearance, Powell Plans To Answer Right-Wing Critics from the Washington Post
"Under intense fire from the right, former secretary of state Colin L. Powell is preparing to answer his Republican critics this weekend in a television appearance that is likely to add fuel to his long-standing feud with top conservatives in his party."
'LET-THE-PUNISHMENT-FIT-THE-CRIME' NUGGET!
McCain Volunteer Gets Probation for False Report from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
"A woman who falsely claimed she was attacked on a Bloomfield street by a supporter of Barack Obama was approved today to enter a probation program for first-time offenders."
Along with some much-needed therapy, part of her punishment was 50 HOURS OF COMMUNITY SERVICE! How appropriate, given her hit job on Obama, great exponent of, you guessed it, community service.
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