News Nuggets 468

Aspens in autumn in the Elk Mountains of western Colorado.  From National Geographic.

Shhh, Don't Tell the Scaremongers, But Things Are Getting Better (Elizabeth Renzetti) from the Globe and Mail [of Toronto, Canada]

"It takes guts to be an optimist in this climate, to proudly wear pink-tinted glasses and, toting a sheaf of statistics and historical knowledge, shout: “People, chillax. It's not so bad, and it's getting better.”"

While I agree with the general sentiment, as long as people are seeing and experiencing a 9.6 unemployment rate, I would avoid an excessive "things are getting better" message.

Obama Can Grab Opportunities in Asia (Editorial) from the Korea Times [of South Korea in English]

"Over the next week or so, our troubled American President, fresh from that unmistakable midterm elections rebuke, will hit the foreign-relations trail. All the stops are in Asia, the world’s fastest rising region that is perhaps slowly becoming its most important.  Thankfully, many parts of Asia are not so antagonistic to America these days. Barack Obama should find it a relief to spend time with people who like him. "

In Russia, Search for Identity is Caught in Swirl of Symbols from the New York Times

"As Russia shut down this week for the Day of National Unity on Thursday — a state holiday instituted to substitute for the Nov. 7 commemoration of the 1917 October Revolution — the tussle between Byzantine, czarist and Soviet symbols as beacons for the new, post-Communist Russia was in full view."

The Do-Lots Congress (Ezra Klein) from Newsweek

"The votes are (mostly) counted. The Republicans have clearly and decisively won. But did the Democrats actually lose? They lost the election, certainly. And many of them lost their jobs. But the point of legislating isn’t job security. It’s legislation. And on that count the members of the 111th Congress succeeded wildly, even historically."

America the Volatile (Reid Wilson) from National Journal

"American politics is in a state of upheaval not seen since the end of the Second World War. That upheaval is by no means unique; voters tend to be equally angry at both parties, and equally willing to kick the bums out, during periods following wars and recession. This time, the country is experiencing both at once."

Repeal and Replace? from Newsweek

"Not so fast. An insurance-company defector explains why the most controversial provision of the health-care law will survive."

Why Democrats Should Make Nancy Pelosi House Minority Leader (Ben Adler) from Newsweek

"Pelosi would be perfect as minority leader. Matheson has it precisely backward when he reasons that the Democrats must elect a moderate after suffering a loss. You govern from the center, to look effective and protect vulnerable incumbents, but you oppose with partisanship, to make the majority look ineffective and drive down their approval ratings."

Interesting theory.

Why Nancy Pelosi is Running for House Minority Leader (E.J. Dionne) from the Washington Post

"I spoke with Pelosi less than 24 hours before she announced she wanted to stay on as Democratic leader, and everything she said made clear that she's not ready to allow millions of dollars in Republican attack ads to drive her from public life. She wants another crack at winning electoral vindication for a record she believes stands well on the merits."

Pelosi Unlikely to Face Challenge (Major Garrett) from the National Journal

"Without Hoyer, no one is likely to step forward."

Nancy Pelosi, Undone by Her Own Success (Eugene Robinson) from the Washington Post

"Amid the wreckage of Tuesday's GOP rampage, there's one person for whom I feel awful: House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. She's losing her job not because she does it poorly but because she does it so well."

A House Divided (Eleanor Clift) from Newsweek

"How the GOP will need to work with the Tea Party and the president."

HOLLYWOOD NUGGET!!

Debra Winger Drops Back In from the Sunday New York Times Magazine

"The actor fled from fame and into happy obscurity. More than a dozen years later, she’s tiptoeing back into view."

CHINA CULTURE NUGGET!!

The Rise of the Tao from the Sunday New York Times Magazine

"China is in the grips of a religious revival. But can the country handle the return of its most venerable faith?"
Wow!  Taoism in China is suddenly hip! Who knew?!

US CIVIL WAR NUGGETS!!

Civil War 150 from the Washington Post

The Washington Post has developed a page/section of their website devoted to commemorating the 150th anniversary of the Civil War.  Lots to read for Civil War buffs!