MUST-READ NUGGET!!
Secrets From Inside the Obama War Room (Jonathan Alter) from Newsweek
"More than once the president felt obliged to remind those briefing him that it wasn't 2001 anymore. The United States had been in Afghanistan for eight years, and doing more of the same wasn't going to cut it. The war in Afghanistan was destined soon to pass Vietnam (11 years) as the longest war in American history."
Arab Media Cheer Obama for De-Linking Muslims from Terror (Editorial) from Arutz Sheva [of Israel in English]
"A leading international Arab newspaper has hailed U.S. President Barack Obama for officially removing the description “Muslim terrorist” as part of his campaign “to reach out to the Muslim world.”"
HERE's the original editorial from Asharq Alawsat [of Saudi Arabia in English]
In Athens, A Question From Lydia (Thomas Friedman) from the New York Times
"My own eye went to a colorful drawing, clearly done by a child, of a burning building and people screaming “help, help” from upper windows. Under it was written, in Greek: “In what kind of a world will I grow up? Lydia, age 10.” A good question, Lydia."
The Failure of the American Jewish Establishment (Peter Beinart) from the New York Review of Books
"The philanthropists wanted to know what Jewish students thought about Israel. Luntz found that they mostly didn’t. “Six times we have brought Jewish youth together as a group to talk about their Jewishness and connection to Israel,” he reported. “Six times the topic of Israel did not come up until it was prompted. Six times these Jewish youth used the word ‘they‘ rather than ‘us‘ to describe the situation.”"
What Do Israelis Think of Obama? from the New York Review of Books
"He voiced support for Obama, hedged only by concern that his administration might back off from its strong stand. “I just hope he continues in the same direction,” he said. When I asked why so few people seemed to share this view, he told me something a bit more surprising: Israeli public opinion is much more on Obama’s side than generally thought."
Nightmare on Wall Street from Politico
"The Wall Street reform bill is taking that rarest of paths through the Senate — actually gaining tougher provisions against the industry as it proceeds, not being watered down to win votes as health care reform was."
A related item and opinion here:
Obama's Terms for Financial Overhaul Remain Mostly Intact from the Editorial Board of the Washington Post
"The Senate this week could hand President Obama his second major legislative victory of the year, both on administration priorities that seemed in doubt not long ago. Passage of a 1,400-page bill to overhaul the nation's financial regulations would come just two months after Obama signed a landmark health-care overhaul. But in the case of financial regulation, much more so than with health care, the Senate bill largely reflects the administration's initial blueprint, despite the fervent efforts of lobbyists and lawmakers of all stripes to alter it."
I'm Serious: We're Finally Getting Serious (William Galston) from the New Republic
"U.S. fiscal policy is now in a race between sanity and catastrophe, and the window for action may well be narrower than we suppose."
Previewing Primary Races on Tuesday: AR, HI, KY, and PA from Daily Kos
"What follows is your clip-and-save guide to the electoral fight card for Tuesday the 18th. In one night (well, one week, since the all-mail action in Hawaii runs until Saturday), the action will travel across about six time zones and over 4900 miles. In one night, there are literally dozens of races worth keeping at least one eye on."
The Great Consolidation (Ross Douthat) from the New York Times
"Look through these anti-establishment theatrics to the deep structures of political and economic power, and suddenly the surge of populism feels like so much sound and fury, obscuring the real story of our time. From Washington to Athens, the economic crisis is producing consolidation rather than revolution, the entrenchment of authority rather than its diffusion, and the concentration of power in the hands of the same elite that presided over the disasters in the first place."
Mr. Douthat is our on-the-money pundit for the day!
Going to Extremes (Paul Krugman) from the New York Times
"Utah Republicans have denied Robert Bennett, a very conservative three-term senator, a place on the ballot, because he’s not conservative enough. In Maine, party activists have pushed through a platform calling for, among other things, abolishing both the Federal Reserve and the Department of Education. And it’s becoming ever more apparent that real power within the G.O.P. rests with the ranting talk-show hosts."
The GOP's Grass-Roots Obstructionists (William A. Galston and Thomas E. Mann) from the Washington Post
"The most conservative Senate Democrat (Ben Nelson) ended up supporting health reform; the most liberal Republican (Olympia Snowe) ended up opposing it. For decades, the operational core of bipartisanship in Congress was the overlap between the parties. Through a long process triggered by the politics of the 1960s, that core has disappeared."
Mr. Galston gets a two-fer today!
The Latino Edge: Will Democrats Handle It Well? (J.P. Green) from the Democratic Strategist
"Coming after the debate over GOP-sponsored Proposition 187 in California and the disastrous (for Republicans) immigration debate during the last mid term elections, the new Arizona immigration law may well be strike three for the GOP regarding Hispanic voters in particular."
EASY-TO-MISS NUGGET!!
Dearborn's Miss Michigan, a Muslim, Wins Miss USA Pageant from the Detroit Free Press
"Fakih, of Lebanese descent, is believed to be the first Arab American and Muslim to become Miss USA."
ARCHEOLOGY NUGGET!!
New Chinese Terracotta Warrior Displays Original Paint from China Daily
"Chinese archaeologists have discovered terracotta warriors painted in rich colours in the mausoleum complex of the country’s first emperor."
AUTHOR NUGGET!!
Richard Adams: Forever Animated by the Life of Animals from the Independent [of the UK]
"The author of Watership Down has reached his 90th birthday and still finds himself caring deeply about the world he learned to love as a child. Paul Blezard meets Richard Adams"
I thought Watership Down was one of the best books I ever read!
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