UP-FRONT POLITICAL NUGGET!!
Profiles in Courage -- or Lack Thereof (Steve Benen) from MSNBC
"Mitt Romney appears to have a courage problem. When George Will criticized the candidate for lacking "the courage of his absence of convictions," it was an entirely fair point. Did Romney support the "Personhood" amendment in Mississippi? He didn't want to give an opinion. Did Romney support an extension of the payroll tax break? He preferred not to say. Did Romney support collective bargaining rights in Ohio? He didn't want to give an opinion on that, either. Was Romney comfortable with Republican voters booing a U.S. soldier serving in Iraq during a Republican debate? He didn't want to talk about it. Does Romney support mass deportation of undocumented immigrants? He doesn't want to give an opinion. Is Romney comfortable with Limbaugh's smears? He'd rather talk about something else. There's going to come a point later this year when the Obama campaign is likely to say, "Mitt Romney lacks the courage to be a leader." And the criticism will sting because it's based in fact."
Decoding Obama's Message on Iran (David Ignatius) from the Washington Post
"The other point that struck me was Obama’s clarity about establishing a “red line” between an Iranian civilian nuclear program (acceptable) and a weapons program (unacceptable). A key issue here is whether the U.S. would have sufficient strategic warning to detect an Iranian breakout from the former to the latter. Obama answered yes: “Iran does not yet have a nuclear weapon and is not yet in a position to obtain a nuclear weapons without us having a pretty long lead time in which we will know that they are making that attempt,” he said."
As I have stated here before, I believe Obama has EXCELLENT intel on the day-to-day status of Iran's nuclear program. This quote reinforces my sense of this.
U.S. Officials: Stuxnet Launched the Next Generation of Warfare from Raw Story
"In a fascinating segment Sunday night, CBS News’s 60 Minutes delved into the creation of the Stuxnet worm, a revolutionary piece of software that has given Iran’s nuclear program fits for years now. But it’s not just Iranian scientists who are now watchful for software attacks more
sophisticated than anything ever before seen: U.S. officials are warning that Stuxnet is so advanced, it may actually signal the beginning of a new era of warfare that targets the enemy’s infrastructure instead of the populace at large."
Greece in Meltdown (Maria Margaronis) from the Nation
"In less than two years, Athens has changed from a reasonably prosperous capital to a broken city."
The European Summit: No Drama, but a Whole Heap of Uncertainty from the Economist [of the UK]
"For once, a European summit pases off fairly smoothly."
Der Spiegel has more on what sounds like a surprisingly productive summit.
Boy Scouts Are From Mars, Girl Scouts Are From Venus (Kate Tuttle) from the Atlantic
This article is a REAL eye-opener!!
"Behind the khaki uniforms and the merit badges, the two organizations have vastly different political leanings. ... Example: Eagle Scout Darrell Lambert holds a letter expelling him from the organization for being an atheist"
Stuck in a Rut (Michael Cohen) from Foreign Policy Magazine
"Whatever one might think of President Obama's foreign policy performance -- if you think he has been feckless and weak; if you think he's been a militarist and neocon-lite; even if you can't find Europe on a map -- you'd have a pretty hard time making the case that foreign policy is an area of vulnerability for President Obama."
Estimates Clash for How Much Natural Gas in the United States from National Geographic Magazine
"Natural gas is now flowing so fast into U.S. pipelines that the big question seems to be what to do with it all: Engineer cars to run on methanol? Reopen shuttered chemical plants that rely on gas for feedstock? Export liquefied gas by tanker? With about two-thirds of U.S. states thought to hold natural gas reserves, many take President Barack Obama seriously when he calls the United States the "Saudi Arabia of natural gas." But just how much natural gas does the United States have?"
Despite GOP Talking Points, Clear Signs the Economy is Turning Around (Steven Perlstein) from the Washington Post
"If all you did was to listen to Republican presidential candidates (a cruel and unusual punishment, I realize), you would surely be under the impression that the country was teetering on the brink of bankruptcy, businesses were barely getting by under the weight of excessive taxation and regulation, and most of the middle class was standing in bread lines. Their relentless demagoguery has undermined the recovery as much as the gridlock politics practiced by their Republican counterparts in Congress. When forced to confront the facts about the economy and the financial markets, the best response these jeremiads can come up with is that it could have been better."
Rush vs. Sandra Fluke: The Fight Obama Wants (Glenn Thrush) from Politico
"It has been an almost embarrassingly lucky few weeks for Barack Obama politically, what with Mitt Romney detained at the altar and unemployment, for the time, abating. But that was just a prelude to the lavish political gift granted to the White House by Rush Limbaugh, the opponent they have always wanted."
In Ohio, Obama's Organization Is Outpacing GOP's (Erin McPike) from Real Clear Politics
"You need not look further than this critical swing state to see just how badly Mitt Romney's vaunted campaign organization lags behind President Obama's."
What’s the Matter with White People? (Joan Walsh) from Salon
"One of the burdens of blackness, W.E.B. DuBois famously wrote, was facing down an omnipresent question from the wider society: “How does it feel to be a problem?” I’ve been wondering lately if white people might soon understand what he meant. Both the right and left suddenly have a lot of complaints about white people, particularly the so-called white working class."
Devastating NBC/WSJ Poll Skewers Republicans; GOP Primary Called 'Corrosive' from Daily Kos
"This is not a good day to be a Republican. With Super Tuesday looming tomorrow and with Romney consolidating his position, the damaging poll out today suggests voters are rejecting the GOP in large numbers."
In GOP Circles, Some Wonder Whether the Party Needs to Lose Big to Eventually Win (Chris Cillizza) from the Washington Post
"As the Republican presidential race has worn on (and on), there are some within the party wondering — privately, of course — whether the only way for the party to face the growing divide between its moderate and conservative wings is for the 2012 election to be its Gotham moment."
Unfortunately, it is quite possible that the GOP WILL get a big thumping this Fall -- but the hard right will disown the result, blame the moderates, and double down in 2016 for a "true believer".
Romney: First Thoughts: Damaged Goods? (Chuck Todd et al.,) from MSNBC
"In fact, Romney's image right now is worse than almost all other recent candidates who went on to win their party's presidential nomination: Obama was 51%/28% and McCain was 47%/27%, per the March 2008 NBC/WSJ poll; Kerry was 42%/30% at this point in '04; George W. Bush was 43%/32% in 2000; and Bob Dole was 35%/39%. The one exception: Bill Clinton, in April 1992, was 32%/43%. That means that if Romney becomes the GOP nominee, he has a LONG WAY to go to rehabilitate his image."
The Cost of Romney's Success (Ronald Brownstein) from the National Journal
"The new NBC/Wall Street Journal national survey released Monday, like the NBC/Marist polls released yesterday in the key swing states of Ohio and Virginia, quantify the broad sense in both parties that Mitt Romney's slog toward the GOP nomination has come at a palpable price for November."
Romney, GOP Look Weak Ahead of Super Tuesday (Matthew Dowd) from ABC News
"All of the above, from the weak response to Limbaugh’s crazy remarks to a possible “damage-the-front-runner” game plan will only serve to make the likely Republican nominee very weak going into a tough battle against President Obama. And as of today, the polling shows that that has begun to happen. Romney looks to be the weakest Republican nominee coming out of this process in more than a generation. He needs to unite the Republican Party quickly but the “facts on the ground,” as they say in the military, certainly aren’t allowing him to do so."
SC County GOP: If You’ve Had Pre-Marital Sex, You Can’t Be A Republican from Talking Points Memo
"Before you can join the Laurens County Republican Party in South Carolina and get on the primary ballot, they ask that you pledge that you’ve never ever had pre-marital sex — and that you will never ever look at porn again. Last Tuesday, the LCGOP unanimously adopted a resolution that would ask all candidates who want to get on the primary ballot to sign a pledge with 28 principles, because the party “does not want to associate with candidates who do not act and speak in a manner that is consistent with the SC Republican Party Platform.” ... an unidentified potential candidate for office in Laurens County told the Chronicle that candidates will be interviewed by a three-person subcommittee, who will then recommend to the full executive committee whether to allow the candidate on the ballot."
Wisc. Republican’s Bill Condemns Single Parents for ‘Child Abuse and Neglect’ from Raw Story
"A Wisconsin Republican has introduced a bill to the state Senate that would force the state’s Child Abuse and Neglect Prevention Board to print literature that calls unmarried parents “a contributing factor to child abuse and neglect.” ... The requirement is a bit startling, especially to single parents who ended their marriage to prevent child abuse or neglect. And that’s not a small group of people either: 31 percent of Wisconsin parents are single, according to the Annie E. Casey Foundation."
Breitbart, Limbaugh and the Great Right-Wing Flame-out (Leslie Savan) from the Nation
"True, he wasn’t all exclamation points all the time, but Breitbart, the conservative blogger/impressario who died Thursday at age 43, had come to represent the tantrum at the heart of the right wing. That tantrum will not die with him, but his death—coming within hours of Rush Limbaugh’s “slut” tantrum that he later (and barely) apologized for—may have prefigured something about the future of hyperventilating right-wing extremism."
The GOP’s Rush Limbaugh Problem Deepens After His ‘Slut’ Attack (Howard Kurtz) from the Daily Beast
"Even Republicans say the ‘slut’ furor is hurting them. Howard Kurtz on how the party is wounded among women—and the damage to Limbaugh. Plus, Allison Yarrow on the fallout at Georgetown and John Avlon on the advertiser exodus."
Pamela Geller Spews Hatred at Sandra Fluke: ‘Banging It Five Times a Day’ (Charles Johnson) from Little Green Footballs
"The right wing blogosphere is in auto-hate mode."
It is time for Sandra Fluke to get some serious lawyers to start going after people like this.
KITTY NUGGET!!
Ready for the Catwalk...the Amazing 'Haute CAT-ture' for the Fashion-Conscious Feline from the Daily Mail [of the UK]
It's amazing what people do for a living!
"Forget a collar and bell, this stylish feline is turning heads with it's range of glamorous accessories good enough for any catwalk. The amazing 'haute CAT-ture' is the work of New Yorker Julie Song, who painstakingly designs and crafts the garments herself."
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