DAYLEE PICTURE: Our second bug picture of the week! An AMAZING image of a praying mantis. From the Daily Mail of the UK.
CHECK OUT Obama's economics speech he gave yesterday in Osawatomie, Kansas. Boy, does he spell it out!! The text is HERE. The first half is below. The second part can be found HERE.
UP-FRONT HEALTH CARE NUGGET!!
'Obamacare' to the Rescue: A Woman Who Felt President Obama had let the Middle Class Down has Changed her Mind (Op-Ed) from the Los Angeles Times
"We're good people, and we work hard. But we haven't been able to afford health insurance for more than two years. And now I have third-stage breast cancer and am facing months of expensive treatment. ... Fortunately for me, I've been saved by the federal government's Pre-existing Condition Insurance Plan, something I had never heard of before needing it. It's part of President Obama's healthcare plan..."
Prediction: eventually Democrats and Obama himself are going to embrace with pride the term Obamacare.
Obama's Great Wall of China (MIchael Hirsh) from the National Journal
"China is starting to feel boxed in. That’s just the way Obama wants it, and he knows voters back home are watching."
The Stories You Missed in 2011 (Joshua Keating) from Foreign Policy Magazine
"10 events and trends that were overlooked this year, but may be leading the headlines in 2012."
Afghanistan: the Lost Decade from the Editorial Board of the Guardian [of the UK]
"There is one set of figures about the war in Afghanistan that puts the problems of trying to end it into their true perspective. The US is spending $120bn more in fighting the war this year than the Afghan exchequer is raising in tax revenue. Even the cost of the war to Britain, at £6bn (according to a former UK ambassador's evidence to the foreign affairs select committee) is over three times what Kabul can afford. So in what sense is Kabul ready to take over Afghanistan's security when foreign troops stop combat operations in less than three years' time? "
Russia’s Political Order Shakes (Aurel Braun) from the Globe and Mail [of Toronto]
"Contrary to expectations, United Russia has not only failed to retain its constitutional majority – the two-thirds necessary for constitutional changes – but has been barely able to hold on to a simple majority. The Putin regime underestimated the deep and growing dissatisfaction of the population and the increasing power of cyber politics."
Occupy Calendar: Check Out #OWS' Jam-Packed Schedule (Tasneem Raja) from Mother Jones Magazine
"Occupiers are going to need a spring break, judging from the packed winter itinerary of national protests being planned under the Occupy Wall Street banner. The movement's "Beyond the Park" faction may think it's time to stop erecting tent cities in public spaces, but if these plans all pan out, the Capitol Lawn could be booked through May Day."
'Occupy Our Homes' Protesters Highlight Foreclosures Nationwide (VIDEO) from the Huffington Post
"Bobby Hull is scheduled to be evicted from his Minneapolis house in February, but he won't leave without a fuss. He's invited 100 people from the local version of the Occupy Wall Street movement on Tuesday to protest his foreclosure. ... The rally is one of several events scheduled across the country as the Occupy Wall Street movement, defined in part by its broad critique of economic inequality, focuses in on the narrower issue of housing."
Mother Jones Magazine covers the same story HERE.
Alabama Farmers Look to Replace Migrants with Prisoners from Agence France Presse via Raw Story
"Alabama farmers have proposed using prisoners to work their fields to replace migrants who fled the state after it passed the country’s harshest anti-immigration law, officials said Tuesday."
Will these prisoners have, like, any choice in the matter? Will planters have to pay anyone for the work these prisoners do? So much for free market capitalism. What's next? Chain gangs on assembly lines? Y'know, it's funny how far companies will go to subvert the marketplace ... when it's in labor's favor and it suits their purposes.
Obama Finally Seizes the Moment in His Kansas Speech (Michael Tomasky) from the Daily Beast
"Obama’s rousing remarks in Kansas on Tuesday were long overdue, setting the stage for a national showdown with the GOP over the middle class, says Michael Tomasky."
Nervous Mitt Romney Supporters: Hit Newt Gingrich Harder from Politico
"Romney’s backers aren’t panicking — yet. But to many, especially among the GOP donor elite, Gingrich looks like Romney’s most formidable opponent to date, and a rival who requires a much more serious response than the previous conservative alternative, Herman Cain."
Newt Gingrich Poll Vault Prompts Mitt Romney Reboot from Politico
"Mitt Romney, facing anxiety from some of his own supporters after sliding back to second in a slew of polls, took a series of steps Tuesday to signal he’ll get more aggressive in the final weeks before voting begins. Romney also indicated that he’s prepared for a long slog toward the Republican nomination – a nod to supporters who are getting spooked by Newt Gingrich’s growing lead in first-in-the-nation Iowa."
He's "prepared for a long slog..." I'll believe that hen I see it. When was the last time any GOP candidate had to endure a "long slog", like, for real? I can't think of any genuinely competitive prolonged primary race on the GOP side since, what, ... TR and Taft in 1912? Bob Taft and Wilkie in 1940?
Newt Gingrich's GOP Enemies, From Ron Paul to Paul Ryan (Photos) from the Daily Beast
"With Gingrich surging in Republican polls, Democrat Nancy Pelosi has suggested she might dig up “a thousand pages” of dirt on the frontrunner. But critics from his own party may pose a bigger threat. From Ron Paul to Tom Coburn to Guy Molinari, see fellow Republicans who have clashed with Newt."
More Like Reagan? (John Dickerson) from Slate
"Why Gingrich is surging past Romney in Iowa."
Newt Gingrich Is in Love With Himself (Kirsten Powers) from the Daily Beast
"Newt Gingrich’s self-love is boundless. Unearthing a string of quotes going back to the 1980s, Kirsten Powers looks at the former House speaker’s long record of self-infatuation."
Why a Newt Gingrich Candidacy Would Doom the Tea Party (Conor Friedersdorf) from the Atlantic
"The movement can't support him without compromising itself. And opposing him if he's the GOP nominee? They likely don't have it in them."
SAD WHALING NUGGET!!
Japan Whaling Fleet Accused of Using Tsunami Disaster Funds from the Guardian [of the UK]
"Japanese whalers have left port under heavy guard and clashes are expected with Sea Shepherd conservation activists."
VERY VERY disappointing. What is it with the Japanese government that they WON'T give up on this activity!?
PEARL HARBOR NUGGET!!
70 Years Ago Today, Americans Responded to Pearl Harbor from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
"'You just hope people don't forget'"
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