An Emerald Katydid, a newly discovered species in Papua, New Guinea. A brilliantly colored bug if ever I've seen one!
THE SHOOTING IN ARIZONA:
Most of these articles speak for themselves. My only comment is this: much of what I have read so far tells me that the right-wing media (Beck, Limbaugh, etc.) WILL find some way to blame Democrats for this tragedy.
Jared Lee Loughner: Details on Gabrielle Giffords' Alleged Shooter from the Daily Beast
"Arizona officials have identified 22-year-old Jared Lee Loughner as the alleged shooter behind today’s attack. They're also seeking a second suspect, citing reason to believe that the gunman didn't act alone. Plus, Newsweek's Eve Conant on Loughner's long Internet trail. "
"I Can't Trust the Government" Gunman Shoots Arizona Congresswoman, Kills Federal Judge from The Nation
"Arizona Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, a moderate Democrat who stirred the wrath of right-wingers with her vote for health care reform before being narrowly reelected in November, was shot Saturday by a gunman who posted "I can't trust the government" videos on the Internet."
Arizona Suspect’s Recent Acts Offer Hints of Alienation from the New York Times
"He had posted on his Myspace page at some point a photograph of a United States history textbook, on top of which he had placed a handgun. He prepared a series of Internet videos filled with rambling statements on topics including the gold standard, mind control and SWAT teams. And he had started to act oddly during his classes at Pima Community College, causing unease among other students."
Gabrielle Giffords Shooting: Hatred Ravages AZ Over Immigration (Terry Sterling) from the Daily Beast
"As Rep. Gabrielle Giffords clings to life—regaining consciousness Saturday night—Terry Greene Sterling reports on the immigration wars, violence, and hate ravaging Arizona that put Giffords in danger."
Rep. Gabrielle Giffords is Alive, & Out of Surgery from KGUN Channel 9 News [of Arizona]
"Officials at University Medical Center have confirmed that U.S. Rep Gabrielle Giffords is alive. She is out of surgery. Doctors are optimistic about her chances of recovery."
Thank God.
Rep. Grijalva: Tea Party Must Look at Their Own Behavior (Ryan Grim) from the Huffington Post
"Rep. Raul Grijalva (D-Ariz.), who represents a district adjacent to Gabrielle Giffords's, said that Saturday's shooting is a consequence of the vitriolic rhetoric that has arisen over the past few years among extreme elements of the Tea Party."
Bloodshed Puts New Focus on Vitriol in Politics from the New York Times
"The shooting of Representative Gabrielle Giffords and others at a neighborhood meeting in Arizona on Saturday set off what is likely to be a wrenching debate over anger and violence in American politics."
In other news:
US Hardliners Lose Ground on Iran? (Robert Dreyfuss) from The Diplomat
"…while it’s exceedingly unlikely that the talks will achieve a breakthrough, for the first time in quite a while there’s actually some reason for optimism."
Buying Time with Iran (David Ignatius) from the Washington Post
"The Obama administration has concluded that Iran's nuclear program has been slowed by a combination of sanctions, sabotage and Iran's own technical troubles. Because of the delay, U.S. officials see what one describes as "a little bit of space" before any military showdown with Iran."
Russia Woos Orthodox Sect to Repopulate Siberia from Der Spiegel [of Germany in English]
"Not many people want to live in the isolated tracts of Siberia, where temperatures can fall to minus 40. But for the Old Believers, members of an offshoot of the Russian Orthodox Church who were persecuted by the Soviets, it's paradise. Now Moscow is trying to lure the deeply devout ethnic Russians back out of exile in a bid to repopulate the region."
WOW!! For months there have been leaks coming from high-up in the Chinese leadership that they've been eyeing Russia's far eastern regions for eventual annexation to China. The thinking in Beijing has apparently been that: "well, since the Russians don't seem to be using it, we'll eventually just take it! We need it for our expanding population." Based on this item, it seems Putin is beginning to take this message semi-seriously. If he really wanted to populate Siberia, though -- and to populate it fast -- I'm wondering if he could just institute some kind of Russian version of the "homestead act."
Democrats Mount Second Sales Pitch on Health-care Law as Republicans Seek Repeal from the Washington Post
"The debate over repealing the health-care law offers Dems something rare in politics: a do-over."
The GOP (at best) is hoping for a symbolic (but largely meaningless) vote that will satisfy their base. The Dems seem to be planning to make the repeal vote an opportunity to "re-sell" the health care legislation. Done right, I could see this being a HUGE Opportunity for the Dems.
Republicans Find Governing Isn't Easy from Politico
"Speaker John Boehner and House Republicans celebrated a historic return to power this week, promising to slash spending, reform Congress and keep in mind that they can be yanked back out of office if they fall out of touch with the public. They also learned just how tough it is to run the House."
CPAC, Homosexuality, and the Crack-Up of Conservatism (Nancy Pearcey) from the Daily Caller
"The conservative coalition has always been unstable. And homosexuality may be the issue on which it shatters."
Reports: John Edwards Engaged to Rielle Hunter from Politico
"The Jan. 17 issue of the National Enquirers says that the ex-North Carolina senator asked the mother of his lovechild to marry him only three weeks after burying his wife, Elizabeth, who died from cancer. The couple is said to be tying the knot some time this summer."
Elizabeth is barely COLD IN HER GRAVE!! What a moral imbecile!!
Jeb Bush and What the GOP Thinks About 2012 (Steve Kornacki) from Salon
"They'll never say it publicly, but are Republicans privately putting their bets on Obama?"
CIVIL WAR NUGGET!!
Five Myths About Why the South Seceded from the Washington Post
"As the nation begins to commemorate the anniversaries of the war's various battles -- from Fort Sumter to Appomattox -- let's first dispense with some of the more prevalent myths about why it all began. 1. The South seceded over states' rights. …"
SOUTHEAST ASIA HISTORY NUGGET!!
Phnom Penh, Cambodia from the New York Times
"“All the intelligent Cambodians either fled the Khmer Rouge or were killed by them,” my Cambodian friend and fixer, Phin Chanda, once said to me, lightly, as if joking. “We’re the residue.”"
RUSSIAN LITERATURE NUGGET!!
For Tolstoy and Russia, Still No Happy Ending from the New York Times
"A couple of months ago one of Russia’s elder statesmen set out on a paradoxical mission: to rehabilitate one of the most beloved figures in Russian history, Tolstoy. This would have seemed unnecessary in 2010, a century after the author’s death. But last year Russians wrestled over Tolstoy much as they did when he was alive."
WORLD WAR II BOOK NUGGET!!
Nazi Occupation, When the City of Light Had Its Darkest Hour: A Review of And the Show Went On: Cultural Life in Nazi-Occupied Paris by Alan Riding from the Washington Post
"It is certainly one of the finest works of serious popular history since the heyday of Barbara Tuchman. If you're a Francophile or a Francophobe, this is the holiday present you should have received."
SENTIMENTAL PICTURE NUGGET!!
When it comes to sentimental holiday pictures, there is so much contrived schmaltz out there. So -- I was touched by this simple picture that captured something more authentic:
From Americablog.
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