Pages

Sunday, June 20, 2010

News Nuggets 382

Tornado conditions shaping up in a rural part of the midwest.  See the related video below.

"Antoine al-Hage, capitalism’s equivalent of a soldier of fortune, smiles at it all — the danger, the risk and, of course, the payoff of bringing nightlife to Iraq. “Where there’s war,” he said, “there’s lots of money.”"

""So much of the coverage and commentary has to do with the narrative, stagecraft, the political implications of what he is doing," said David Axelrod ... "When you are president of the United States, the most important thing is that you cope with the disaster." Not, that is, the story line of the disaster. Imperfect messenger though he is, Axelrod has a point."

"Invited into the Oval Office, Roger Simon hears the US president's reflections on the biggest political crisis he has faced so far."

Criticism in an Age of Disproportion (Jon Meacham) from Newsweek
Our ON-THE-MONEY pundit of the day!!
"The rule was this: in the view of many, the president failed to give a great or even good speech, seemed unfocused and unspecific, and generally bombed. Still, I was struck by how disproportionate the hostile reaction seemed in relation to the address itself. ... I think that the reaction to the address tells us more about the observers than the observed, offering us a good example of the prevailing elevation of the stylistic over the substantive—and of the visceral over the reflective—in political conversation."

A Coup for the Cool One (Stanley Crouch) from The Root
"Battered by criticism of his calm nature, the president showed he can counterpunch when BP created a $20 billion escrow fund to deal with the impact of the Gulf oil spill."

Time to Tap T.R. (Jonathan Alter) from Newsweek
"Obama may yet use the largest environmental disaster in U.S. history to speed the transition to a green economy, just as George W. Bush used terrorism to refashion foreign policy."

Trend Lines Favor Working Women (Ronald Brownstein) from National Journal
"Since the 1970s, inflation-adjusted hourly wages have, incredibly, declined for men without college degrees as blue-collar occupations have withered. Wages have increased for men with four-year college degrees, but women with equivalent credentials have enjoyed bigger increases: Since the 1970s, the EPI analysis shows, only men with postgraduate degrees have gained ground faster than women at the same education level."

"More and more, candidates construct their own faux-media entities, complete with video-streamed “reports” and Facebook outreach. ... Meanwhile, the economics of the business have forced reporters off the trail."

"More than three-quarters of Democrats and Independents support Obama's ideas on this topic. Republicans are split, 46 percent to 46 percent, on them," says Holland. "But most Republicans do say that Obama's proposals would increase jobs and help the next generation."
Interesting analysis of this poll HERE at Daily Kos.

FL-Sen: The Oil Spill Saved Crist (Samuel Jacobs) from the Daily Beast
"Once left for dead in his Senate campaign against Marco Rubio, Florida governor Charlie Crist has used the BP spill to show leadership and rise in the polls."

"I was about to say that you can't make this stuff up. But if you're Fox News, you can make up absolutely anything that you like."
Normally I don't comment on or display anything having to do with the nonsense that spews forth from Fox -- but this latest installment is more disturbing than many I think because you have to wonder where these folks will stop.  More and more, cable news (and FOX most egregiously) is becoming a no-accountability, political free-fire zone.  

"Judging by the political books hitting the summer shelves, we are gearing up for the next civil war. Or maybe an uncivil war. The titles -- from both the left and the right -- are rude, self-righteous and inflammatory. Let the summer's literary flame throwing begin!"

FATHERS' DAY NUGGET!!
What My Son Taught Me from The Root
"Lessons learned from being a white man raising a black child in a color-struck world."

TORNADO NUGGET!!
Totally amazing video of a tornado forming right OVER the person taking the video!!

AFRICAN AMERICAN HISTORY NUGGET I
"Passing as a white man traveling with his servant, two slaves fled their masters in a thrilling tale of deception and intrigue."
Both a race and gender bending real-life suspense story!  I suspect it would make a great movie!

AFRICAN AMERICAN HISTORY NUGGET II
A Year of Hope for Joplin and Johnson from Smithsonian Magazine
"In 1910, the boxer Jack Johnson and the musician Scott Joplin embodied a new sense of possibility for African-Americans."

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Hey Nuggets Man, love the new format. Now if you could only tell me we have stopped the leak --- the leak of GOOD SENSE. F BP, we gotta stop a bigger leak! We Americans are idiots. LOL- mick