News Nuggets 986

DAYLEE PICTURE: Skiing at sunset in Alta, Utah.  From National Geographic.

VACATION NOTE: The Nuggetsman will be away until June 6 -- so postings will be quite intermittent at best.  We'll be back daily next week though!

UP-FRONT ABORTION DEBATE NUGGET!!
I do like to think that I am a "reality-based" voter -- so when confronted with data that contradicts a stated position, I'm quite open to changing my mind.  Last week, a gallup poll was released that got a lot of attention showing that public support for the pro-life position was at a new high with a corresponding diminution of support for the pro-choice position.  I wrote at the time that I suspected that what we were seeing reflected a demographic issue where pro-choice support was dropping among the young even as the most passionate pro-choicers were women seniors who (of course) will slowly die off.  I shot Gallup an e-mail asking for the age demographics on that poll.  They got it to me yesterday.  And it turns out that the picture is much more complicated.  The full poll demographic breakdowns can be found HERE:

On the one hand, this breakdown clearly shows that younger voters very much support the pro-choice position.  Indeed, it shows clearly that (along with men generally) it is actually women seniors who are the most pro-life.  


On the other hand, for those who are pro-choice, the trend lines reinforce my initial argument.  This table shows some of the trend lines.

This table shows two things: first, that the drop in pro-choice support is quite broad-based, crossing all ages, sexes and regions.  Second, that, despite their strong support for choice, it is among younger voters that we have actually seen some of the biggest drops in support.  For me this clarifies what's missing from the pro-choice movement.  While advocates do need to be concerned about a demographic downturn, in the main the support is there among the young.  What seems to me is missing (and this is not something that emerges from this data) is young leadership on this issue.  As I noted in my original posting, all of the national advocates and meaningful public faces one sees on the issue are senior women.  This was not the case back in the 1970s.  

The Case Against Intervention in Syria (Fareed Zakaria) from Time Magazine 
"The U.S., the Western world, indeed the civilized world, should attempt instead to dislodge the Assad regime. Is there a smart way to do it? For a number of reasons, military intervention is unlikely to work in Syria."

China’s Economy: Seizure or Cancer? (Minxin Pei) from The Diplomat 
"The sharp slowdown in China’s economy has policy makers around the world watching carefully. Will the government have the courage to change course?"

A Family Affair: China's Princelings are Running Amok (John Garnaut) from Foreign Policy Magazine 
"...his success exemplifies the ability of regime insiders to work the system for their own personal gain -- and make a mockery of the legal system in China. Although the private wealth of the party's princelings -- the well-connected sons and daughters of top officials -- is usually well-concealed, they are increasingly dominating the market for blocking and lubricating the arteries of public- and private-sector wealth."

Is the Recession Redefining American Masculinity? from NPR's The Takeaway program
"Economists consider workers between 25 and 54 to be in their prime, and though America follows the national unemployment figures each month, a better indicator of economic health is the percentage of 25- to 54-year-olds who are working. When it comes to America’s men, the figures aren’t good. Fewer prime-age men are working than at any point since 1948."

DOMA Ruled Unconstitutional By Federal Appeals Court from the Huffington Post
"An appeals court ruled Thursday that a law that denies a host of federal benefits to gay married couples is unconstitutional. The 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston said the Defense of Marriage Act, which defines marriage as a union between a man and a woman, discriminates against gay couples."

DOMA On Life Support (Andrew Sullivan) form the Daily Beast
"If you believe in federalism, DOMA must go. But the GOP only believes in federalism when it allows for reactionary states to do as they will against minorities, not for conservative ones, seeking to encourage responsibility among all its citizens."

Right Fears Entitlements Are Killing American Dream (Ari Shapiro) from NPR's Morning Edition program
"Tens of thousands of manufacturing jobs have left this part of Ohio. But Malcolm says if the government steps in to help, that will just make people sit back and stop trying. She says she sees the impact of government assistance every day. "It's like they have a thousand dollars a month in food stamps. They have their nails done. They have really nice smartphones. And, you know, it's like here I am working my tail end off," she says. "I can't buy sushi. I can't buy filet mignon. I can't buy crab legs. ... It's just, it's very irritating." In fact, the average person on food stamps in Ohio gets $140 a month, according to Kaiser State Health Facts. But even if her statistics are off, Malcolm's strongly held belief is that government aid removes motivation to pursue the American dream.

An Open Letter to Journalists: President Obama Is A Politician (Andrew Romano) from the Daily Beast
"Breaking: President Obama is actually a politician. In an open letter to journalists, Andrew Romano says it's time to cut the crap and declare a moratorium on the false naiveté."

Michael Tomasky on the Audacity of GOP Dopes on Health Care (Michael Tomasky) from the Daily Beast
"After attacking the Affordable Care Act for three years, Republicans now say they’d like to keep its most popular provisions. How convenient—and how clueless."

Mitt Romney’s Rivals Should Hold Grudges (Matt Latimer) from the Daily Beast
"The sudden Republican rallying to Romney’s side lacks honor. Ex-Gingrich adviser Matt Latimer makes case for Mitt’s recent rivals holding grudges."

Stronger, Faster, Better? Tea Party Grooms A New Breed Of Candidate from Talking Points Memo
"But for the most part, the candidates FreedomWorks has mounted this year don’t appear set to fall into the O’Donnell/Angle category. Republicans are noticing the growing sophistication of the movement’s campaign operations. “The tea party has moved from the tricorn hat phase and into the killing-off-the-slow-and-complacent-establishment phase,” said GOP consultant Rick Wilson. “Viva la revolution!”"

Bush’s Hidden Legacy (Eleanor Clift) from the Daily Beast
"As Obama unveils Bush’s official portrait Thursday, partisans see hues of 43 in the current administration. Eleanor Clift on the former president’s surprising influence on his successor."

WI-Gov: Wisconsin Reaches for the Last Resort (E.J. Dionne) from the Washington Post
"Walker is being challenged not because he pursued conservative policies but because Wisconsin has become the most glaring example of a new and genuinely alarming approach to politics on the right. It seeks to use incumbency to alter the rules and tilt the legal and electoral playing field decisively toward the interests of those in power."

PRESIDENTIAL PORTRAIT NUGGET!!
Presidents Obama and Bush Forget About Campaigning for an Afternoon so that George W.'s Official Portrait Can be Unveiled from the Daily Mail [of the UK]
"Political rivals turned peers Presidents Barack Obama and George W. Bush traded compliments and a few laughs when they spoke at the ceremony to unveil Mr Bush's formal White House portrait.  In keeping with tradition, a portrait of each President and First Lady are added to the White House collection, and the Bushes returned to their former residents to see theirs adorn the walls."
I think W's portrait looks fine -- but Laura's does not impress.  The drab background does nothing for the black dress she's wearing.

MEDICAL BREAKTHROUGH NUGGET!!
Paralyzed Patients May get Revolutionary Treatment after Rats with Severed Spinal Cords Taught to Sprint Again After Just TWO WEEKS from the Daily Mail [of the UK]
"Paralysed patients have been given hope by a test in which rats with broken spines were able to walk again. Using a cocktail of drugs and electrical impulses, researchers were able to 'regrow' nerves linking the spinal cord and the brain. After just two weeks of intensive therapy, the animals were not only able to walk, but climb stairs and sprint while undergoing treatment."

FIFTIES INTERIOR DECORATING NUGGET!!
How Fifties Fanatic Transformed Her Home into Homage to Mid-Century Decor from the Daily Mail [of the UK]
"Thanks to the chic, stylised sets of Mad Men, everyone is cuckoo for mid-century interiors at the moment and in Tulsa, Oklahoma, one ranch home owner has perfected the look. Jennie Cluck, a vintage furniture enthusiast, bought her property seven years ago and quickly realised that the outdated fixtures gave her the opportunity to have fun with an aesthetic of which she had long been a fan."
It is SO Brady Bunch!!