UP-FRONT CONTRACEPTION NUGGET!!
"'We Have No Choice': One Woman's Ordeal with Texas' New Sonogram Law (Carolyn Jones) from the Texas Observer
"The painful decision to terminate a pregnancy is now—thanks to Texas' harsh new law—just the beginning of the torment."
BOMB-SYRIA PUNDIT NUGGET [of a sort]!!
The Pentagon’s Cold Feet on Syria (Max Boot) from the Washington Post
What follows is one of the clearest expositions demonstrating why the US gets itself entangled in unnecessary wars around the world. I can't recall the last time this neo-con, Max Boot, saw a war he didn't want the US to get involved in. Experience (no matter how recent or tragic) makes no difference for people like this. His meme for today: why Obama needs to ignore the advice of all of his military brass and go to war in Syria anyway. Absolutely incredible!
"It is understandable, and laudable, that military leaders are reluctant to send their troops into harm’s way. And just because defense officials tend to cry wolf doesn’t mean that they are always wrong or that their warnings should be disregarded. ... Today, in the case of Syria, any military action needs to be carefully thought through, but we should not refuse to act simply because of the worst-case scenarios being raised by the Pentagon."
And just to remind people:
An Unheralded Anniversary: Ending the Iraq War Has Strengthened Overall U.S. National Security from the Center for American Progress
"President Barack Obama came to office on a pledge to end the Iraq war, and his administration fulfilled that pledge—U.S. troops left the country last year rather than staying with an open-ended commitment that many had proposed. The redeployment of U.S. troops from Iraq from 2008 to 2011 strengthened overall U.S. national security in five key ways:"
The bin Laden Plot to Kill President Obama (David Ignatius) from the Washington Post
"Before his death, Osama bin Laden boldly commanded his network to organize special cells in Afghanistan and Pakistan to attack the aircraft of President Obama and Gen. David H. Petraeus. “The reason for concentrating on them,” the al-Qaeda leader explained to his top lieutenant, “is that Obama is the head of infidelity and killing him automatically will make [Vice President] Biden take over the presidency; Biden is totally unprepared for that post, which will lead the U.S. into a crisis. As for Petraeus, he is the man of the hour;. and killing him would alter the war’s path” in Afghanistan."
China Plans Faster Land Approval, Tax-Free Imports for Shale from the Bloomberg News
"China has yet to produce shale gas commercially as its explorers struggle to overcome the lack of domestic drilling expertise and geology that is tougher than in the U.S., where output has surged 15-fold in the past decade."
The Fracking Trade-Offs (David Sirota) from Salon
"The oil industry is muscling through pro-drilling legislation by tying it to appealing tax cuts and education bills."
Dharun Ravi Found Guilty in Rutgers Webcam Spying Trial from the Star-Ledger [of New Jersey]
"Former Rutgers University student Dharun Ravi was found guilty today of a hate crime, evidence tampering and invasion of privacy, for secretly using a webcam to spy on his roommate’s liaison with another man in their dorm room. In the high-profile case that sparked awareness of cyber-bullying and harassment of gay teenagers, Ravi, 20, was convicted on all 15 counts against him..."
‘Mediscare,’ Republican Style (Dana Milbank) from the Washington Post
"For years, Republicans have insisted that they would not end Medicare as we know it and that any changes to the program would not affect those in or near retirement. In the span of 20 minutes Thursday, they jettisoned both promises. “The president and Harry Reid have been licking their chops for over three years now waiting for Republicans to actually try to deal with the large problems like Medicare,” Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) told reporters. “So, this is the moment they’ve been waiting for.” He’s right about that. "
Poll: Majority Don’t See Loss of Liberty in Obama Contraception Rules (Kristen Powers) from the Daily Beast
"Some 56 percent of Americans believe their freedom of religion is secure, despite conservatives’ continued protests over new rules for contraception coverage. Bad news for the GOP on the religious liberty vs. contraception debate: Americans aren’t buying what you are selling."
Medical Community: Oppose the Mandatory Ultrasound Bills (Joan McCarter) from Daily Kos
"These mandatory ultrasound bills do directly jeopardize the doctor-patient relationship. They would also compel doctors to ignore the guidelines the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) on the use of ultrasound in pregnancy. ACOG's guidelines are very specific: ..."
Will Limbaugh, with the Help of Romney's Bain Capital, Bring Down Clear Channel? from Americablog
A bigger picture look at Limbaugh's parent company, Clear Channel. The kind and extent of Bain Capital's baneful (I'm sorry. I couldn't resist!) involvement with Clear Channel is news to me.
"So lets recap, Clear Channel is losing a large slice of advertising revenue for a broadcaster they are paying $38 million a year. The company has a market cap of $5.5 billion, and $19 billion in debt. Despite a junk bond rating, the company is planning to borrow another $2.2 billion to pay a $2 billion dividend to Bain Capital. That will leave the company with a market cap of $3.3 billion, and $21.2 billion in debt with $4 billion due in 2014 and another $12 billion up to 2016. And don't forget that in the increasingly likely case that these Vampire Capital tactics put Clear Channel into bankruptcy, Chapter 11 will allow the same management team who engineered it to stay in control and later find a new clutch of investors to bilk."
The Silence of the Lions (Kathleen Parker) from the Washington Post
"As many have observed lately, including Peggy Noonan, who this week wrote a powerful column about misogyny aloft in the land, Rush Limbaugh isn’t the only culprit to use the word “slut” and “prostitute” to describe a woman with whom he disagreed."
The Perils of Running Against a Fantasy Version of Obama (Jonathan Bernstein) from the Washington Post
"Want to see a great example of the closed GOP information feedback loop, and why it may prove dangerous for the Republican candidates? Think about the two Barack Obamas that Republicans are running against. One of them is basically a fraud; he’s never held a job before he somehow wound up the Democratic nominee in 2008. Or, as Mitt Romney asserted today: “It’s hard to create a job if you never had one.” Oh, and he’s entirely dependent on a teleprompter. ... the more important point is that neither version builds a convincing case against supporting Obama in 2012."
The GOP Can’t Win with Only the Hard-Core Base (Jennifer Rubin) from the Washington Post
"There is no guarantee the Republicans will win with Romney, but they will certainly lose with Santorum. If you doubt it, look where he can win and where he can’t."
In GOP Race, Voters Divided Over Religion’s Place in Politics from the Washington Post
"Faith has emerged as a significant fault line in the Republican race for president, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll, which shows that Rick Santorum’s supporters seek a much stronger role for religion in American politics than do voters who support rival Mitt Romney."
The Case for Crazy: What the GOP Would Learn by Picking Rick Santorum (John Avlon) from the Daily Beast
"The party faithful will get to experience the adrenaline rush of going off a cliff together, like Thelma and Louise—elation followed by an electoral thud."
WI-Legislature: State Sen. Galloway to Resign, Leaving Senate Split from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
"State Sen. Pam Galloway, who faces a recall election this summer, plans to resign from the Senate shortly, leaving an even split between Republicans and Democrats."
Daily Kos analyzes the consequences for the GOP recall elections.
Senator Pam Galloway Resigns Seat On Wisconsin Legislature, GOP Loses Senate Control (John Celock) from the Huffington Post
"A Wisconsin state senator facing a June primary election abruptly resigned Friday, plunging the Senate into a tie and shaking up the state's political landscape. Sen. Pam Galloway (R-Wausau) announced she would be resigning effective Saturday from the seat she has held since her November 2010 election..."
OBAMA BOOK NUGGET!!
"Showdown": Inside the Obama White House (David Corn) from Mother Jones Magazine
"My new behind-the-scenes book on how Obama reclaimed his presidency comes out next week. Here's an excerpt—on the night they got bin Laden."
No comments:
Post a Comment