News Nuggets 835

The Hotel Inntel Zaandam in Amsterdam, the Netherlands.  What a wonderfully creative and fanciful building!  From the Huffington Post.   

UP-FRONT CLINTON-ERA STORY NUGGET!!

My Trip to Kosovo: They’re Still Thanking America. A Lot (Mark Fonseca Rendeiro) from AmericaBlog

"If you arrive via land as I first did, entering from the south on a bus from Macedonia, one thing you'll notice is how often you see an American Flag. ... It doesn't mean there's an American working in this building, or that the business are owned by American company, there is no official tie-in to the US needed - it is just a way to show what country people feel an affinity towards."

What the U.S. Government Knows About North Korea's New Ruler (Leslie Gelb) from the Daily Beast

"What the U.S. really knows about the changeover in Pyongyang—and why Obama is hanging back and hoping."

Inside North Korea’s First Family: Rivals to Kim Jong-un’s Power (Philip Shenon) from the Daily Beast
"The hermit kingdom’s untested new leader may have to grapple for power with his powerful aunt and uncle. Philip Shenon on what Kim Jong-un is up against."

A New Hamas in the Making? (Bilal Saab) from the National Interest
"Reports claim Hamas is ready to renounce violence. This one dramatic move could transform the entire Middle East."
I hope -- but I'll believe it when I see it!

Which Candidate Should Answer that 3 a.m. Phone Call? (Eugene Robinson) form the Washington Post
"It’s possible that Romney understands what his responsibility would be if he faced a similar circumstance as president. But if you take his words seriously, the former Massachusetts governor sounds like a dangerous hothead. That’s nothing compared to Gingrich, whose past statements about North Korea have been shot from the hip."

Joe Biden On Iraq, Iran, China and the Taliban (Leslie Gelb) fromt he Daily Beast
The United States won't spend a dime to bail out Europe. The Taliban is not our enemy. And nobody's easing up on Iran's nukes. The vice president lets fly."

Christopher Hitchens and the Protocol for Public Figure Deaths (Glenn Greenwald) from Salon
"...it’s difficult for any human being to ignore personal feelings, and it’s even more difficult in the face of the tragic death of a vibrant person at a much younger age than is normal. But for the public at large, at least those who knew of him, Hitchens was an extremely controversial, polarizing figure. And particularly over the last decade, he expressed views — not ancillary to his writings but central to them — that were nothing short of repellent."
I have not posted anything on the death of Christopher Hitchens.  The reasons can be found in this excellent lengthy discussion by Glenn Greenwald, a commentator who has not been showcased here in years (literally).  I have been appalled by how little accountability there has been for those pundits who cheer-led the war in Iraq and, in Hitchins' case, who for way too long poo-pooed US waterboarding of terror suspects. George Packer of the New Yorker looks at Hitchins' 'evolving' views on Iraq.  From William Kristol to Thomas Friedman to, yes, Christopher Hitchins, there are scores of seven-figure-a-year big mouths out there who successfully washed their hands of their catastrophic, misguided pronouncements on Iraq in 2003 and 2004.  It is my observation that in death Hitchins' trumpet blasts on Iraq have been largely glossed over.  There is one other factor that Greenwald doesn't bring up that bears on this issue: the many pundits and commentators from those years who DID oppose the Iraq war and tagged it CORRECTLY as a historically bad mistake.  Where are they now?  The dirty little secret is that, in the exhilarating rush of flag-waving shock-and-awe, most of them were booted from the airwaves.  Is Phil Donahue even still living?

Assessing Obama's Reelection Chances (Robert W. Merry) from the National Interest
"Obama is in much better shape than his opponents and detractors profess to believe."

Voters To Obama: We Like You Better Than The Other Guys from the National Memo
"Could it be that Barack Obama's new populist tone, rolled out with much fanfare and symbolism in Kansas just a few weeks ago, is already paying dividends with the public?"

Barack Obama and the Myth of the Progressive ‘Majorities’ from the Reid Report
"Given the situational unreliability of much of the Democratic caucus (who, in fairness, represent more conservative constituencies and interest groups in their states than Senators from New York or Vermont or Massachusetts), it’s a wonder the president, Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi got anything done at all, let alone the incredible volume of work they did. "
A lengthy MUST-READ for those Democrats who denigrate Obama's legislative accomplishments for not being "progressive" enough or for not pursuing many progressive wish-list items!!  Bottom line: as I have argued, Obama never had anything resembling a progressive majority in the Senate.  Here's the proof.

Obama on Offense in Tax-Cut Battle (Alex Roarty) from the National Journal
"President Barack Obama speaks to troops at Fort Bragg, N.C., this month.
The president and the Democrats have a golden opportunity to tar the GOP as the party of the tea party."

GOPers Feel Their Side Got Rolled on the Temporary Payroll Tax Extension from the Reid Report
"Take it from the folks at RedState.com. The Republicans and their hapless leaders John Boehner and Mitch McConnell lost the December budget showdown …  — their second December fail in two years. And so, RedStater Daniel Horowitz writes:"
The right-wing commentary on their own lawmakers is really harsh!!

Payroll Tax Cut: Democrats See House GOP Opposition To Senate Deal As A Gift from the Huffington Post
"Many Democrats think House Republicans have given them an early political Christmas present by opposing the Senate deal to extend the middle-class payroll tax cut for two months. "Without a doubt, this is a gift," a senior Democratic aide told HuffPost, predicting that if the House GOP kills the compromise, Democrats will hammer them relentlessly through the holidays and beyond for hurting the middle class."

GOP Goes To War With Itself Over Payroll Cut from Talking Points Memo
"A civil war between House Republicans and their Senate counterparts had gone public over the possibility that the GOP will be held to blame if the current payroll tax cut expires on January 1. ... GOP Leaders on both sides of the Capitol are trying to contain the fallout, but with vulnerable Senate Republicans exposed, and the payroll tax cut set to lapse in less than two weeks, that’s a tall order."

Newt Gingrich and the Revenge of the Base (E.J. Dionne) from the Washington Post
"The right-wing faithful knows Gingrich pioneered this style of politics, and they laugh at efforts to cast the former House speaker as something other than a “true conservative.” They know better. The establishment was happy to use Gingrich’s tactics to win elections, but it never expected to lose control of the party to the voters it rallied with such grandiose negativity. Now, the joke is on those who manipulated the base. The base is striking back, and Newt is their weapon."

The Gingrich Dichotomy: Those Who Know Him Best Like Him Least (James Warren) from the Atlantic
"He appears unable to even govern himself"

Draft Jeb! (Charles P. Pierce) from Esquire Magazine
"now, in the widening gyre, slouching toward Manchester to be born, our moment of... Jeb (!) Make no mistake. You don't write an op-ed for the Wall Street Journal at this point in the Republican primary process unless somebody, somewhere wants to make people think you're an legitimate option."

CALISTA GINGRICH NUGGET!!
I (Almost) Got Callista Gingrich’s Hair (Holly Allen) from Slate
"How four hours in a D.C. salon gave me a new appreciation for Callista’s helmet head. ... Another salon customer, overhearing our conversation, confided that she’s a neighbor of the Gingriches and that Callista’s hair looks perfectly done all the time. All. The. Time. Can you imagine? It’s like she’s a prisoner in her own hair."
After my rant the other day about Calista Gingrich's "look," I wasn't surprised that other folks like this author felt compelled to comment.

ESSAY NUGGET!!
The Sidney Awards, Part I (David Brooks) from the New York Times
Brooks discusses the best magazine essays of 2011.

BRITISH NOVELIST NUGGET!!
How Charles Dickens Saw London from the Smithsonian Magazine
"Sketches by Boz, the volume of newspaper columns that became Dickens’ first book, invokes a colorful view of 19th-century England."