Yes -- it's a two-pet photo day. These are from Americablog.Below is a message perfect for our times -- something to keep in your wallet for an appropriate tea bag moment. From regular reader, Barb.
You didn't get mad when the Supreme Court stopped a legal recount and appointed a President.
You didn't get mad when Cheney allowed Energy company officials to dictate energy policy.
You didn't get mad when a covert CIA operative got outed.
You didn't get mad when the Patriot Act got passed.
You didn't get mad when we illegally invaded a country that posed no threat to us.
You didn't get mad when we spent over $600 billion (and counting) on said illegal war.
You didn't get mad when over 10 billion dollars just disappeared in Iraq.
You didn't get mad when you found out we were torturing people.
You didn't get mad when the government was illegally wiretapping Americans.
You didn't get mad when we didn't catch Bin Laden.
You didn't get mad when you saw the horrible conditions at Walter Reed.
You didn't get mad when we let a major US city, New Orleans, drown.
You didn't get mad when we gave a 900 billion tax break to the rich.
You didn't get mad when the deficit hit the trillion dollar mark.
You finally got mad when the government decided that people in America deserved the right to see a doctor if they are sick. Yes, illegal wars, lies, corruption, torture, stealing your tax dollars to make the rich richer, are all okay with you, but helping other Americans...oh hell no.
China Shifts Away from Iran Toward US from MSNBC
"After months of tense relations, China is showing new willingness to engage in talks with the United States, a diplomatic opening that may help the Obama administration achieve U.N. consensus on tightening sanctions on Iran."
The Party's Over: China's Endgame (Op-Ed) from World Affairs Magazine
"Despite the endless stream of stories touting China's dominance, Gordon Chang argues that the Communist Party there is hemorrhaging financially and politically—and probably won't last much longer"
Environmental Regulations to Curtail Mountaintop Mining from the Washington Post
Another reminder (if we needed one) concerning why voting for Obama makes a difference.
"The Obama administration on Thursday imposed strict new environmental guidelines that are expected to sharply curtail "mountaintop" coal mining, a controversial practice that has enriched Appalachia's economy while rearranging its topography."
Why I Still Love Him (Andrew Sullivan) from the Atlantic
This Clip of Obama in Portland, Maine, is HILARIOUS!
Preacher Compares Attacks on Pope to Anti-Semitism from Reuters via the New York Times
The speaker was much more than just a "preacher;" his title is "Preacher of the Pontifical Household," -- basically he is the POPE's personal preacher. Also -- what in God's name are these folks doing? Taking their cues from Pat Robertson?!
"As the pope listened, Cantalamessa read the congregation a part of a letter he received from a Jewish friend, who said he was "following with disgust the violent and concentric attacks against the Church, the pope..." "The use of stereotypes, the shifting of personal responsibility and guilt to a collective guilt remind me of the most shameful aspects of anti-Semitism," he quoted from the letter."
The response to this offensive blather was predictable. Here're items from the BBC and from the Washington Post.
Good Pope, Bad Pope from Foreign Policy Magazine
"The debate over Benedict's handling of the child abuse scandal is splitting observers. A guide to the antis and the pros."
Papal Indulgences (Katha Pollitt)from the Nation
"There is a positively Nixonian smarmy truculence in the response of church hierarchs to the ongoing scandal, which now involves Pope Benedict XVI himself."
It's The Gays' Fault (Andrew Sullivan) from the Atlantic
"I figured we had gotten past this canard but since Bill Donohue is on every television and radio show loudly proclaiming that the church's abuses can be attributed to "homosexuals", and therefore it is homosexuality and not the church that stands in the dock, it requires some unpacking."
The Anti-Michael Steele (Benjamin Sarlin) from the Daily Beast
"While his GOP counterpart descends into corruption and bondage scandals, DNC Chairman Tim Kaine is pleasing the president by keeping quiet and raising a fortune."
Kaine's efforts seem to be paying off. See With Midterms Approaching, GOP Outmatched by Democrats on Campaign Funds from the Washington Post
"With eight months to go before congressional elections, House and Senate Democratic candidates exceed in virtually every important campaign fundraising category. Democratic House lawmakers appear likely to reverse their seven-cycle record of being outspent by House Republicans, according to recent finance reports."
Dems' Governing Core Stays Intact (Ronald Brownstein) from the National Journal
"Obama compromises more than Bush, but his determination to advance a bright-line agenda is creating a similar dynamic."
An Article of Faith (Charles Blow) from the New York Times
"The Apostles of Anger in their echo chamber of fallacies have branded him the enemy. This has now become an article of faith. Obama isn’t just the enemy of small government and national solvency. He’s the enemy of liberty."
Drowning in Hate (Ellis Cose) from Newsweek
"The more serious danger from this corrosive conduct—and the failure to acknowledge it for what it is—is to our fraying national sense of purpose. It's a symptom of "what happens when [the citizens of] a country can't talk to one another constructively," said Cleaver's spokesperson."
The Top 25 Centrist Columnists and Commentators (John Avlon) from the Daily Beast
"Following Tunku Varadarajan's list of the top pundits of both the left and the right, The Daily Beast's John Avlon provides his take on the most influential voices of the American center."
Note: I have to say -- a number of Avlon's picks stike me as way off!
The conservative pundit, Tunku Varadarajan's original list of best right and left leaning columnists is available HERE and HERE.
EVIL HISTORY NUGGET!!
Not Satisfied with US History, Some Conservatives Rewrite It from the McClatchy News Service
"The Jamestown settlers? Socialists. Founding Father Alexander Hamilton? Ill-informed professors made up all that bunk about him advocating a strong central government. Theodore Roosevelt? Another socialist. Franklin D. Roosevelt? Not only did he not end the Great Depression, he also created it."
PA POLITICS NUGGET!!
A Tale Of Two Candidates: 'Reform' Republican Vs. Progressive Democrat in PA-7 from Crooks and Liars
This is Joe Sestak's former House seat. Looks like the GOP candidate is in trouble there.
"Describing former U.S. Attorney Pat Meehan's nominating-petition drive as a bush-league criminal conspiracy, Democrat Bryan Lentz yesterday asked the feds to investigate forged signatures and other evidence of potential fraud tied to Delaware County Republicans backing Meehan's congressional campaign."
BIG CRITTER NUGGET [No. 1]!!
Bathynomus Giganteus: Terrifying Sea Beast Hauled Up from National Geographic News
"A submarine exploring the ocean's depths recently returned with an unexpected visitor: a crablike critter called Bathynomus giganteus (commonly known as giant ispod) that has left many readers startled and horrified"
BIG CRITTER NUGGET[No. 2]!!
New Spider Found in Giant Sand Dune in Israel from National Geographic News
"With a leg span of up to 5.5 inches (14 centimeters), the new spider is the largest of its type in the Middle East, the scientists said."
ROBOT NUGGET!!
A Robot Autonomously Folding Towels (Video) from littlegreenfootballs.com
Hotel workers, LOOK OUT!
BOOK NUGGET [A REPEAT]!!
Yesterday's link didn't show the full review.
Review of 'The Bridge: The Life and Rise of Barack Obama' by David Remnick from the Los Angeles Times
"A definitive chronicle of the growth and achievement of the first black U.S. president by the prize-winning New Yorker editor."
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