Thousands Protest Across Syria, Hail 'Resistance' from CNN
"Thousands of Syrians defied their government's relentless, bloody crackdown by staging hundreds of public protests Friday in cities nationwide."
What brave people. What else can you say.
Russia 'Bloodthirsty' and China 'Misguided' for Vetoing Syria Action (Editorial) from Al-Seyassah [of Kuwait in English]
"It is a truism to say that Russia has never bet on a winning horse. But sad to say, the most painful turn of events has been the conversion of China - an emerging economic and demographic power - into the acolyte of a mafia-controlled country. Has Beijing also lost its global compass, has it failed to see the rivers of blood flowing in Syria, or is this simply a case of dictators flocking together?""
An interesting third-party perspective on China and Russia's positions in the "world order."
Iran's Offer to Talk About Its Nuclear Program Eases Tension For Now (Michael Adler) from the Daily Beast
"Does Iran mean business with its offer to discuss its nuclear program, or is it merely trying to buy time against increasingly tough economic sanctions and a possible escalation towards war?"
The problem Iran faces now is that they have ZERO credibility with the international community -- and they have shown a remarkable proclivity (using the language of international diplomacy) for "dicking around."
Why Iran Thinks it Needs the Bomb (Ray Takeyh) from the Washington Post
"The key to unraveling the Islamic republic lies in understanding Iran’s perception of itself. More than any other Middle Eastern nation, Iran has always imagined itself as the natural hegemon of its neighborhood. ... Under the auspices of an austere and dogmatic supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, a “war generation” is taking control in Iran — young rightists who were molded by the prolonged war with Iraq in the 1980s"
Supreme Court Blocks Montana Campaign Finance Ban from the Huffington Post
"The U.S. Supreme Court has blocked the Montana Supreme Court's decision upholding the state's century-old ban on corporate political spending. The ruling Friday evening sets up a possible full-blown U.S. Supreme Court rematch over the 2010 Citizens United decision that allowed unlimited corporate campaign spending."
Harry Reid Will Ask Obama To Recess Appoint All Nominees If GOP Delays Continue from the Huffington Post
"Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) fired a warning shot to Republicans on Friday: Stop blocking President Barack Obama's executive branch nominees or I'll ask him to bypass the Senate and recess appoint all of them."
Why Not Frack? Reviews of The End of Country by Seamus McGraw, Under the Surface: Fracking, Fortunes, and the Fate of the Marcellus Shale by Tom Wilber, and Gasland (Bill McKibben) from the New York Review of Books
"Because of the potential profits, the agents of various companies have fanned out across the back roads of the region in a remarkable land rush, seeking to lock up drilling rights on the hitherto not-very-valuable acreage of marginal dairy farms and cut-over woodlots. The two books under review tell the story of that land rush."
Obama’s Not Entirely Accidental Comeback (Jonathan Chait) from New York Magazine
"The question hovering over both accounts is what explains, and what we can learn from, Obama’s changing posture. Was he played for a sucker? Was it all a plan? ... I’ve always believed that Obama’s habit of extending his hand, and thus exposing bad-faith claims, is the essence of his political style."
‘Where Are The Women?’ Democrats Go On Offense Over Contraception from Talking Points Memo
"Democrats have a new rallying cry when it comes to the Obama administration’s hotly contested contraception rule. Thursday, Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) gazed an all male panel at yesterday’s House Oversight hearing and asked, “Where are the women?” The question is being repeated by Democrats and women’s rights groups as they attempt to shape the narrative of the contraception issue."
Contraception’s Con Men (Garry Wills) from the New York Review of Books
"By a revolting combination of con men and fanatics, the current primary race has become a demonstration that the Republican party does not deserve serious consideration for public office. ... Omnidirectional bad-faith arguments have clustered around what is falsely presented as a defense of “faith.” The layers of ignorance are equaled only by the willingness of people “of all faiths” to use them for their own purposes. Consider just some of the layers:..."
Why Do They Do It? (Jonathan Bernstein) from the Washington Post
"Despite polling that should have warned them off against embracing the birth control flap, Republicans have charged full on into electoral catastrophe. But this most recent episode is part of a broader pattern of embracing unpopular positions, despite obvious risks: Medicare, the payroll tax cut debacle, and the debt ceiling mess. Why are they doing it? Why would a political party choose to risk disaster?"
Will the Tea Get Cold? (Sam Tanenhaus) from the New York Review of Books
"The authors put the national total of “very active grassroots participants” at 200,000—a tiny fraction of those said to be “strong” supporters and less than a third of a single average-sized congressional district. It is, in other words, not a mass movement at all, and it appears to be losing steam. Even in congressional districts in which Tea Party–backed candidates won in 2010, enthusiasm has waned."
Romney Bid Rocked by Voters Shredding Rulebook from the Bloomberg News Service
"Labeled a front-runner early, he now finds himself getting weaker rather than stronger, raising a prospect unthinkable only two weeks ago: He could lose. The conventions that have defined the primary process for the last 40 years have been turned inside out, and Romney’s fortunes have fallen."
Romney Straining to Get to the Right of Genghis Khan (Jonathan Chait) from New York Magazine
"“Mitt Romney wants to manage Washington, D.C.,” he told an enthusiastic crowd in Scottsdale, Arizona. “I want to burn it to the ground, slay its inhabitants, and stack their skulls in pyramids reaching to the sky.” Romney’s advisers privately fret that such sharp rhetoric may play badly with upscale suburban swing voters in a general election. Their dilemma is that they cannot attack Genghis’s often harsh positions without reinforcing doubts about Romney’s own right-wing bona fides."
Can Romney Find a Way to Connect with GOP Voters? (Karen Tumulty) from the Washington Post
"So why is he having so much trouble making the sale with the Republican electorate? Many of his allies and supporters are increasingly worried that the problem is Romney himself. Until now, Romney and his well-financed allies have been able to dispatch any opponent who presents a threat by drowning the potential usurper with negative advertising. But the fact that a new one emerges each time he vanquishes another betrays the existence of a deeper discontent with Romney himself."
Romney Camp Blindsided By DeWine's Betrayal from BuzzFeed
"Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine's decision to withdraw his support from Mitt Romney and throw it behind Rick Santorum didn't just come as a shock to pundits and politicos watching the Republican primary—it appears to have blindsided the Romney campaign itself."
Santorum’s Gospel of Inequality (Charles Blow) from the New York Times
"Rick Santorum is becoming increasingly unhinged in his public comments. Just look at some of the things he has said recently."
Santorum’s Surge Holds Steady So Far (Nate Silver) from the New York Times
"Ten days after Rick Santorum's surprisingly strong wins in the Minnesota and Colorado caucuses, there is no sign that his surge in the national polls is abating."
SCHOOL REFORM NUGGET!!
Schools We Can Envy: A Review of Finnish Lessons: What Can the World Learn from Educational Change in Finland? by Pasi Sahlberg (Diane Ravitch) from the New York Review of Books
"The “no excuses” reformers maintain that all children can attain academic proficiency without regard to poverty, disability, or other conditions, and that someone must be held accountable if they do not. That someone is invariably their teachers. ... Faced with the relentless campaign against teachers and public education, educators have sought a different narrative, one free of the stigmatization by test scores and punishment favored by the corporate reformers. They have found it in Finland."
CLASSIC DISNEY SEND-UP NUGGET!!
Disney's 'Heartwarming' Live-Action The Lady and the Tramp trailer from The Week
"The scene that elevated sloppy spaghetti eating to a romantic ideal gets a real-life update."
It just goes to show that simple can be simply HILARIOUS! Check out the video.
PRESIDENT'S DAY NUGGET!!
Five Myths about the Presidency (Aaron David Miller) from the Washington Post
"As we prepare to celebrate Presidents’ Day, let’s correct some common misconceptions about the job and the people who have held it."
As a historian, I don't completely buy every one of these statements -- but it is interesting and, for the most part, on the mark.
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