News Nuggets 207

A petroleum mine - from the Daily Telegraph [of London]

Note to Readers: I will be away on vacation for the next eight days thus my postings will be infrequent at best.  I'll be back regularly on Thursday, July 30.  

Iran Supreme Leader Warns Opposition to Back Down from the Associated Press

"Emboldened by Rafsanjani's support for the opposition in a Friday prayer sermon last week, a leading reformist, former President Mohammad Khatami, called for a referendum to rule whether Ahmadinejad's government is legitimate and for a neutral body to oversee the vote."

Britain Replacing US as Iran's 'Great Satan' from the Washington Post

"For the past three decades, the United States has been Iran's "Great Satan." Schoolchildren learned to chant "Down With U.S.A." Conservative clerics sermonized against America. Anti-American murals depicting images such as a skull-faced Statue of Liberty dotted Tehran. But since Iran's disputed presidential election last month, another Satan has gained ground: Great Britain."

Bush's Key Men Face Grilling on Torture and Death Squads from the [Manchester] Guardian

"Former vice-president Dick Cheney could be forced to testify to Congress over allegations that a secret hit squad was set up on his orders, as Democrats press for inquiries into the conduct of the 'war on terror'. "

So Happy Together from Slate

"Is it true, as many have written, that she's been on the outs with the White House, and did this speech put her back in or carve an enclave for her own influence and ambitions?  This last question, and gossip about internecine power struggles, is hugely overhyped. By all accounts, relations between the White House and Foggy Bottom (you can throw in the Pentagon, too) are more harmonious than at any time anyone can remember."

Why I Don't Envy Hillary Clinton (Reihan Salam) from the Daily Beast

"Terrorism, the recession, rogue states, Taliban threats, dissent on global warming—not to mention a fractured elbow and all the spicy food. Reihan Salam on the real challenges of Clinton's trip to Asia."

President is Set to 'Take the Baton' from the Washington Post

"Six months into his presidency, Barack Obama may have no greater test of his ability to translate personal popularity into a successful legislative agenda than the upcoming two weeks.  With skepticism about the president's health-care reform effort mounting on Capitol Hill -- even within his own party -- the White House has launched a new phase of its strategy designed to dramatically increase public pressure on Congress: all Obama, all the time."

This should be interesting!

Why Obama Likes His Odds (E.J. Dionne) from the Washington Post

"It was not the soaring rhetoric that is Barack Obama's signature, but he recently offered the sound bite that may define his presidency: "Don't bet against us." There are reasons to believe that his confident words -- they were about health-care reform but have broader application -- were not the bombast of a bluffer exaggerating the strength of his hand. They reflect the high cards that Obama holds and has only now started to play."

AH! Obama, the poker player, emerges!  I love it!

With So Much on the Line (Steve Benen) from Washington Monthly

"In 1993, Bill Kristol privately advised congressional Republicans to do whatever it took to "kill" the Clinton health care reform initiative. It wasn't that the policy proposal was a bad idea; it was that passage would help the Democratic Party for years to come. The GOP, he said, for the sake of its own future, couldn't compromise or negotiate with the majority.  Sixteen years later, a wide variety of Democrats are working hard to convince Republicans to support reform, despite the built-in incentive for seeing reform fail. Mark Kleiman noted that a few too many Democrats seem to have forgotten the recent past, and worse, seem oblivious to the larger electoral dyna"

The Illogic of the Centrists (Michael Tomasky) of the [Manchester] Guardian

"If the Democrats lose on healthcare, it's the moderates who'll suffer most. So why are moderates the most opposed?"

White Men Can't Trump Sotomayor on Life Story (Al Hunt) from Bloomberg News Service

"What endures, however, is the spectacle of middle-aged, white Republicans instructing the first Latin female nominee about the irrelevance of race, gender and life experiences for a judge. Even Graham, one of the more enlightened lawmakers, a strong immigration advocate and a thoroughly modern Republican, didn’t get it."

Sotomayor Hearings: Who's in the Hot Seat Now?  (Eva Rodriguez) from the Washington Post

"During an appearance on C-SPAN earlier today, he had been asked about a Politico article quoting a prominent Texas Republican political consultant, who warned that “Cornyn’s going to have to repair fences with Hispanics; they are going to be scrutinizing him a lot harder after the way he questioned Sotomayor."

My GOP: Too Old, Too White to Win (Bill Greener) from Salon

"We (after all, I most certainly am a Republican) can search for policy positions that better connect us to the concerns of voters. We can do any number of things to try to change our fortunes. Until we come to grips with some fundamental math, however, the numbers simply do not add up to the GOP prevailing in a national election any time soon."

JAILHOUSE NUGGET!!

Bernie in Thugs' Sights from the New York Post

No country club confinement for Mr. Madoff!

""Bernie Madoff's s fellow inmates at a North Carolina federal prison -- where the Ponzi schemer arrived just last week -- are discussing beating him up to boost their jailhouse reputations, The Post has learned."

HISTORY NUGGET!!

Fifty Years Later: The Legacy of 'Massive Resistance' in Richmond, VA from the Richmond Times-Dispatch via the VA Center for Politics

"Fifty years have now passed since the dark days of Massive Resistance, when public schools in some Virginia localities were shuttered rather than integrated.  Virginia has had an overall proud and constructive history; yet except for the original sin of slavery, Massive Resistance is the most indelible stain on the state's soul."

FILM NUGGET!!

Film Shows Students Battle Racism for Mixed Prom from Black Politics on the Web

"A new documentary, “Prom Night in Mississippi,” shows the students confronting racist attitudes in Charleston after school administrators let them decide if they wanted to accept Freeman’s offer to pay for an integrated prom — an annual dance for graduating students. Freeman’s first such offer a decade earlier had been ignored."