News Nuggets 912

DAYLEE PICTURE: King James' statue in the palace at Hatfield.  From the Daily Mail of the UK.

Deterring Iran is the Best Option (Fareed Zakaria) from the Washington Post
" It used to be the left that refused to accept the idea of deterrence — searching instead for options such as a nuclear freeze. And it used to be those on the right who would patiently explain the practical virtues of deterrence. ... Yet today it is the right that has decided that deterrence is a lie."

Americans Don't Want a War (Paul R. Pillar) from the National Interest 
"They are being swayed by mindless alarmism, not sober considerations of what a nuclear Iran would mean—which makes their expressed aversion to a war all the more telling."

A Year into Uprising, Syrian Protesters Say They Won’t Give Up from the Washington Post
"More than 8,000 people are dead, tens of thousands have been detained, untold numbers have been tortured, others are missing, and nearly a quarter-million have been displaced from their homes, according to the United Nations. Still, there is no end in sight."

Is Robert Kagan Obama's Guru? (Jacob Heilbrunn) from the National Interest 
"Kagan is not a partisan. Instead, he's interested in ideas. The main idea that he's interested in is a simple but powerful one—that America is, by and large, a force for good in the world. If it goes AWOL, then democracy, liberalism and the other good things that America stands for would take a pasting around the globe. Kagan is probably closer to the older Democratic Truman-Acheson tradition than he is to any Republican foreign-policy traditions."

Cameron Bets on Obama (Oliver Kamm) from Foreign Policy Magazine
"The British prime minister is a lot more like the American president than you think. And he clearly believes Barack is headed for victory in November."

Obama’s Love Fest with David Cameron (Jay Newton-Small) from Time Magazine 
"The visit, in contrast to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s tense reception last week, has been marked by the casual air between two men– “Barack” and “David,” they call each other–who seem to genuinely get along.  In fact, the trip has been so drama-free, it’s hardly made news in the U.S."

Ben Bernanke: The Villain (Roger Lowenstein) from the Atlantic
"The left hates him. The right hates him even more. But Ben Bernanke saved the economy—and has navigated masterfully through the most trying of times."

Republicans Losing on Birth Control as 77% in Poll Spurn Debate from Bloomberg News Service
"Americans overwhelmingly regard the debate over President Barack Obama’s policy on employer-provided contraceptive coverage as a matter of women’s health, not religious freedom, rejecting Republicans’ rationale for opposing the rule. More than three-quarters say the topic shouldn’t even be a part of the U.S. political debate."

But on the state level, GOP hard-liners are winning in their efforts to privatize higher ed.  Look no further than this item:
Pitt Officials Say University Could Drop State-Related Status from the Pitt News [of the University of Pittsburgh]
"Pitt’s 46-year run as a state-related institution might soon come to an end.
Since 1966, Pitt’s status as a state-related university has meant that in return for appropriations from the state, the University provides more reasonable tuition levels than Pennsylvania’s private universities. It also allows the University to run programs, such as public health outreach efforts, that benefit the Commonwealth."

Whether Romney or Santorum Wins, the Road to the Nomination Will be Ugly (David A. Fahrenthold and Philip Rucker) from the Washington Post
"A long series of primary fights would drain Romney’s campaign treasury and could tarnish his image before a general election against Obama. Already, Romney’s donors have grumbled that he doesn’t seem to be getting better as a campaigner. “He just doesn’t connect. He doesn’t draw energy from his crowds,” one of Romney’s donors said Wednesday. The donor spoke on the condition of anonymity to talk about private discussions within the campaign."

Mitt Romney: Planned Parenthood, We're Going to Get Rid of That from KSDK News [of Missouri]
""The test is pretty simple. Is the program so critical, it's worth borrowing money from china to pay for it? And on that basis of course you get rid of Obamacare, that's the easy one. Planned Parenthood, we're going to get rid of that. The subsidy for Amtrak, I'd eliminate that. The National Endowment for the Arts, the National Endowment for the Humanities," he said. "

Mitt Romney Meets ‘Peasants with Pitchforks' (E.J. Dionne) from the Washington Post
"Mitt Romney is still the Republican front-runner by virtue of the delegates he relentlessly piles up. But Romney keeps failing to bring this slugfest to a close. No matter how much he panders and grovels to the party’s right, its supporters will never see him as one of their own."

Ricky makes a powerful pitch for the Latino vote!!
Santorum to Puerto Rico: Speak English if You Want Statehood from Reuters 
"Republican presidential hopeful Rick Santorum told Puerto Ricans on Wednesday they would have to make English their primary language if they want to pursue U.S. statehood, a statement at odds with the U.S. Constitution."
Now, the question is: will Latinos listen to this clown and say, "Oh, that's just a clown," or will they, as I suspect, say, there goes another Republican disrespecting Latinos.  

I suspect the latter -- because of the following item..
How Mitt Romney Lost Latinos from Politico
"... with eight months to go before Election Day, Obama is on pace to match the 76 percent support he got from Latino voters in 2008 — and the GOP may be undoing a decade of work to attract Hispanics, thanks to its election-year rhetorical sprint to the right on immigration, a charge led by front-runner Mitt Romney."

The Dutch Euthanize the Elderly, and Other Lies About Europe (Heather Horn) from the Atlantic
"Santorum's strange claims are just the latest in GOP fear-mongering."

DOG NUGGET!!
Video: Tired of playing "ball" five times a day with your dog? This machine is for you from Americablog
"A friend recently asked me if my dog's ball was my her crack cocaine. He meant, does she want to play ball like a gazillion times a day, every day, non-stop, forever? Sadly, yeah."

http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2012/03/the-dutch-euthanize-their-elderly-and-other-scary-gop-lies-about-europe/254462/