ANOTHER UP-FRONT FOREIGN PERSPECTIVE NUGGET!!
We had a good one yesterday.
The Republicans' Farcical Candidates: A Club of Liars, Demagogues and Ignoramuses (Editorial) from Der Speigel [of Germany in English]
"The US Republican race is dominated by ignorance, lies and scandals. The current crop of candidates have shown such a basic lack of knowledge that they make George W. Bush look like Einstein. The Grand Old Party is ruining the entire country's reputation."
Oh God, the neighbors can hear us! How embarrassing when you realize that people from other countries are actually watching the GOP primaries! This article gives you a clear sense of what they are seeing. How mortifying!!
China Manufacturing Contracts as Global Demand Slows (Martin Strydom) from the Daily Telegraph
"China's manufacturing activity has contracted for the first time in 32 months as the eurozone debt crisis and a sluggish United States economy hit exports and domestic demand slowed."
Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood Says End to Military Rule is 'Top Priority' from the Guardian [of the UK]
"Leading party in election warns generals they risk further unrest if they defy the people and refuse to relinquish power."
This COULD be really important. Up until now, it looked like the Islamists were going to team up with the military to govern with basically a "show" democracy. This news (if true) suggests that the Islamists may see the benefit of actually ruling through genuine electoral success and putting the military in their place. Another key issue: many Americans have worked themselves into a lather about the emerging power of the Islamic parties in Egypt. The thing to get is that "Islamist" DOES NOT equal "terrorist" or "Al Qaeda." It simply means "conservative muslim." Moreover, to expect that these emerging governments will be anything BUT religiously conservative is not realistic. Most of the average people in these countries "Hussein Six-pack and his family" are overwhelmingly conservative in their orientation -- but their not terrorists.
Puncturing the U.S. Base Myths (Rep. J. Randy Forbes) from The Diplomat
"Military bases overseas are a vital part of American security, says U.S. Rep. J. Randy Forbes. Without them, crucial alliances in Asia could suffer."
Another in our occasional series on US defense spending. The focus here is on the number of bases the US has around the world.
Africa Rising from the Economist [of London]
"After decades of slow growth, Africa has a real chance to follow in the footsteps of Asia."
Former Chase Banker Admits His Bank Pushed Minorities Into Subprime Mortgage Loans from Think Progress
"One of the most pernicious practices in which the nation’ biggest banks engaged during the lead up to the financial crisis was pushing minority borrowers into subprime loans, even when many of them qualified for prime loans. Wells Fargo had perhaps the most horrifying practices in this department, calling the subprime loans that they pushed in poor, black neighborhoods “ghetto loans.” ... One former banker for Chase — James Theckston — told the New York Times’ Nick Kristof that not only did his bank push minority borrowers into higher-priced loans, but senior executives then tried to cover up the racial disparity in their banks’ lending."
Kristof's original article is HERE.
Obama’s Silver Demographic Linings (Reid Wilson) from the National Journal
"Thanks to shifts in the nation’s voting population, the president may be better positioned to win reelection than conventional wisdom holds."
Fox News Ratings Tumble from the Huffington Post
"Fox News saw its numbers drop by double digits in primetime, total day and A25-54 viewers compared to 2010. This isn't totally surprising, since that was a major election year, but the drops were steep; for instance, the network was down 30% in the demo for primetime."
In the Race for the Senate, Democrats Show Signs of Life (Larry Sabato) from the University of VA Center for Politics
"For months, Republicans have been the ones to expand the playing field of competitive Senate seats this year, most notably thanks to the retirements of Democratic Sens. Jeff Bingaman (NM) and Herb Kohl (WI), which turned safe Democratic seats into toss ups. But, thanks to smart candidate recruitment, Democrats might have a few chances of their own to take Republican-held seats."
Buyer's Remorse for the Tea Party? (Chris Good) from the Atlantic
"Support for the movement has dropped dramatically, according to new data. Some guesses as to why it's happening."
GOP Pollster Frank Luntz: Taxing the Rich is Winning Issue for Dems (Greg Sargent) from the Washington Post
" This longtime GOP pollster, adviser, and messaging expert is admitting that the Dem push for tax hikes on the rich has Republicans on the defensive, and that Republicans need to come up with a better way of obscuring what Dems are trying to achieve on the issue."
Obama Turns To A New Campaign Phrase: 'Change Is' (Sam Stein) from the Huffington Post
"At a fundraiser Wednesday night in New York City, the new line was on display, with the president deploying the phrase "Change is" on a dozen occasions. "Change is the first bill I signed into law -- a law that says you get an equal day's work -- somebody who puts in an equal day's work should get equal day's pay.""
Slugging It Out with Gingrich: The Romney Camp is Contemplating Nightmare Scenarios (Doyle McManus) from the Los Angeles Times
"The disappointed partisans of Michele Bachmann, Rick Perry and Herman Cain haven't flocked to Romney; they haven't even trickled. Instead, Romney's support in national polls declined over the last month."
The Newtening Is Here. Run for Your Life, Mitt! (Jonathan Chait) from New York Magazine
"Is it time for Mitt Romney to be afraid of Newt Gingrich? I think so."
Mad Mitt (George Neumayr) from the American Spectator
"Romney's frustration with Baier was no doubt a projection of his frustration with conservative primary voters who remain unimpressed by him despite slim offerings elsewhere in the GOP field."
Newt Gingrich’s Secret Weapon: Old People from Talking Points Memo
"If 2008 was the year a generation of impressionable young voters rallied behind Barack Obama, Newt Gingrich is hoping 2012 is the year the elderly strike back. And so far, his plan seems to be working."
The Nastiness of Newt from the editors of the Nation
"Gingrich, the champion of child labor, has risen to the top of a GOP field so extreme it would scare Goldwater and Reagan."
Herman Cain Affair Allegation: Meeting With Wife Gloria May Hold Key To Candidacy's Future from the Huffington Post
"The former business executive, facing a woman's allegation of a 13-year extramarital affair, says a heavy emotional toll on his family - particularly his wife, Gloria, who he has not seen since the charge surfaced - could force him to call it quits. The shift comes as a growing chorus of would-be allies suggests he is no longer a viable presidential contender and Cain himself says fundraising has suffered."
He NEVER WAS a viable contender! It seems that these days the only types of contenders the GOP traffics in are "barely viable" (Romney & Huntsman) and the clear-to-everyone-but-right-wing-nutters unviable contenders (all the rest). It's clear to me that GOP primary voters are incapable of telling the difference. There are several dimensions to Cain's own flavor of unviability: his ignorance of even basic aspects of current events (remember that tricky Libya question?) -- but also his overweening sense of entitlement and victimization captured in virtually every statement he has made about the women he allegedly harassed or slept with. What's next? God help the man if he does an Eliot Spitzer and drags his wife in front of the cameras so he can receive absolution and do some media dance such that he can quietly bow out of the race without looking like that's what he is doing.
Scandal Veterans to Herman Cain: Time to Go from Politico
"Herman Cain and his advisers may be reassessing his prospects, but politicians and consultants who’ve weathered their own campaign scandals agree his campaign will have to end soon — the only question left is how."
Rick Perry Has Three Strikes Against Him (Pay-to-Play Cronyism. Roughshod, Right-Wing Politics. And . . . Oops, Read On) (Bryan Burrough) from Vanity Fair
""The most intriguing explanation for Perry's collapse has been quietly circulating in Austin for weeks. This theory suggests that the governor is suffering from the after effects of his low-back surgery in July, six weeks before he announced his candidacy. ... Ever since, and you saw this at the very first debate, he just seemed to be very uncomfortable, you know, twisting his torso. I think he's got back pain and may be taking medication for it. He is not on his game."
Sorry guys. What we've seen IS Perry's best game. What many old Texas political hands don't realize is that Lone Star GOP voters really have been fooled by Perry's doltish antics lo these many years and that, for the most part, the GOP and the state's media gave him one big pass after another. Shame on them for their laziness and their willingness to tolerate what has basically become a one-party state.
MEDICAL NUGGET!!
A Drug That Wakes the Near Dead from the New York Times
"Ambien has brought signs of improved cognition to brain-damaged patients and consciousness to those thought to be in persistent vegetative states."
BIG BUG NUGGET!!
Meet the World's Heaviest Insect from the Daily Mail [of the UK]
"The 53-year-old former park ranger discovered the giant weta up a tree and his real life Bug's Bunny has now been declared the largest ever found."
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