News Nuggets 212

Giant jellyfish in Japan!  See the DANGEROUS ANIMAL NUGGET below.

UP-FRONT RADIO NUGGET!!

Lynn Cullen is back -- AGAIN!! from the 2 political junkies blog

"We get near daily hits from folks searching for info on where they can listen to Lynn Cullen.  Well, she's back -- not on the airwaves -- but live streaming audio courtesy of the Pittsburgh City Paper."

Obama's Evenhanded Mideast Policy from the Editorial Board of the Los Angeles Times

Evenhandedness usually is considered to be a positive attribute in diplomacy, but when it comes to the Middle East, many Israelis and their supporters see it as code for a pro-Arab policy. In that view, President Obama's insistence that Israel freeze Jewish settlement construction is anti-Israeli and a sop to the Arab street. That's wrong.

Mullahs and Generals (Editorial) from the National Interest

"The regime’s claim of religious legitimacy is no longer credible. What are the options for a regime that has been stripped of its constitutional and religious legitimacy? Before turning to the options, let’s look at the realities facing the government:"

Obama's Poll Numbers Don't Add Up to Whole Story (Dan Balz) from the Washington Post

"What if the polls are wrong? Not wrong in the sense that they have incorrectly charted a downward slope for the president after six months in office, but wrong in the sense that they don't entirely capture the dynamic of this moment in the Obama presidency."

House Democrats Play Offense on Health Care (Chris Cillizza) from the Washington Post

"Hoping to regain momentum in the health care fight, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee is planning an August offensive against more than two dozen Republican House members that aims to paint them as roadblocks to reform."

Health Care Realities (Paul Krugman) from the New York Times

"At a recent town hall meeting, a man stood up and told Representative Bob Inglis to “keep your government hands off my Medicare.” The congressman, a Republican from South Carolina, tried to explain that Medicare is already a government program — but the voter, Mr. Inglis said, “wasn’t having any of it.”  It’s a funny story — but it illustrates the extent to which health reform must climb a wall of misinformation"

Voters Willing to Cut Obama Some Slack (Gloria Borger) from CNN

"The giveaway was when they started calling him "Barack." It was jarring, at first, to hear many in this group of 12 independent voters refer to their new president by his first name. But the more they talked, the more it made sense. After all, they are seeing a lot of him."

Emails Reveal Rove Misleading About Role in Attorney Firings from Raw Story

"According to documents and e-mails reviewed by The Washington Post, Karl Rove played a more integral role than previously known in the firing of U.S. Attorneys that lead up to the U.S. Attorneys scandal."

58 Percent of GOP Not/Sure Obama Born in US from Politico

INCREDIBLE!!  See also THIS POLL from Daily Kos

"That means a majority of Republicans polled either don't know about -- or don't believe the seemingly incontrovertible evidence Obama's camp has presented over and over and over that he was born in Hawaii in '61."

Town Halls Gone Wild from Politico

Here again, scary stuff.

"On the eve of the August recess, members are reporting meetings that have gone terribly awry, marked by angry, sign-carrying mobs and disruptive behavior. In at least one case, a congressman has stopped holding town hall events because the situation has spiraled so far out of control. :

Queen of the Birthers from the Daily Beast

"Orly Taitz, the mastermind behind the Obama birth-certificate controversy, tells The Daily Beast’s Max Blumenthal why the president should be jailed and why Lou Dobbs is her biggest fan."

Civil Rights Expert: ‘Birthers’ Only ‘Racists or Extreme Right Wingers’ from Agence France Presse

"Despite proof that Obama was born in the US state of Hawaii, including a birth certificate affirming that fact, rumors continue to spread, fueled by a group that critics say includes right-wing militants, racists and Holocaust deniers."

Obama's Sister is Coming to Washington from the New York Times

"President Obama half-sister, Maya Soetoro-Ng, is moving her family here from Hawaii and will spend the next several months living in the nation’s capital, White House officials say."

BOOK NUGGET!!

A Confluence of Public Mood and Personal Appeal from the Washington Post

Excerpts from The Battle for America 2008 by Haynes Johnson and Dan Balz.  The book "tells the story of the 2008 campaign from the inside out, with exclusive interviews with the candidates and their top strategists that produce intimate portraits of Obama, Clinton, and McCain."

EXCERPT: "As Obama settled into his sofa, drinking bottled tea and munching almonds, he grew more and more reflective, offering his most expansive rumination on the election to date. He spoke candidly about his competitors, his own failings, his controversial former pastor and how he hoped to govern, providing insight that is useful today as Americans observe a president struggling with the nation's enormous challenges."

MOVIE NUGGET!!

Inside the Obama Documentary Premiere from the Daily Beast

"A War Room for the 2008 election season, By the People had its world premiere in Los Angeles this week. Matthew DeBord reports from inside the screening and talks to producer Edward Norton, director Amy Rice, and more."

LIFE-SAVING ANIMAL NUGGET!!

The Amazing Mila the Beluga Whale from the [London] Daily Telegraph 

"It looks like a moment of terror - a diver finds her leg clamped in the jaws of a beluga whale. In fact, it was a stunning example of an animal coming to the rescue of a human life."

DANGEROUS ANIMAL NUGGET!!

Giant Jellyfish in Japan from National Geographic

"Eat your heart out, Godzilla. A massive menace from the sea seems poised to invade Japan anew this summer, experts predict."

See also THIS STORY on the same topic from True/Slant