News Nuggets 1013

DAYLEE PICTURE: A crocodile in Queensland, Australia.  From National Geographic.

How Obama’s Middle East Policy Has Worked (Peter Beinart) from the Daily Beast
"Despite America’s low popularity ratings in the Middle East, the president has succeeded in the region through actions like killing bin Laden, imposing sanctions on Iran, and withdrawing from Iraq."

Military Mentor to North Korean Leader Dismissed from the Associated Press 
"He was the guardian figure always at the side of North Korea's young new leader. As the top army official, his experience and position lent Kim Jong Un credibility with the troops. Now, Vice Marshal Ri Yong Ho is out, dismissed from several powerful posts because of "illness," state media said Monday in a brief surprise announcement just days after he last appeared in public."

It's Official: China Is Slowing Down (Matthew O'Brien) from the Atlantic 
"The signs of trouble are all too clear in the world's growth engine."

The 2012 Drought Reaches 'Dust Bowl' Proportions (Dashiell Bennett) from the Atlantic
"More than 50 percent of the United States is under drought conditions right now, putting 2012 in the same category with some of the worst droughts in the nation's history. The 54.6 percent figure (not counting Alaska and Hawaii) makes this year's drought the sixth worst on record in terms of area covered, behind only the brutal droughts of the mid-1950s and the "Dust Bowl" era of the 1930s."

Triangulators Panic: Obama Weakening Welfare Reform? (Alex Pareene) from Salon
"Why are conservatives and triangulating Democrats suddenly worried that Obama has killed Clinton's welfare reform? ... During the boom years, welfare reform succeeded largely in making the poor into the working poor. During the busts, welfare reform simply meant that it was effectively impossible for numerous people to receive assistance. The Third Way works again!"

Two Classes, Divided by ‘I Do’ (Jason DeParle) from the New York Times 
"They pass their days in similar ways: juggling toddlers, coaching teachers and swapping small secrets that mark them as friends. They even got tattoos together. Though Ms. Faulkner, as the boss, earns more money, the difference is a gap, not a chasm. But a friendship that evokes parity by day becomes a study of inequality at night and a testament to the way family structure deepens class divides."

Can Liberal Christianity Be Saved? (Ross Douthat) from the New York Times 
"Traditional believers, both Protestant and Catholic, have not necessarily thrived in this environment. The most successful Christian bodies have often been politically conservative but theologically shallow, preaching a gospel of health and wealth rather than the full New Testament message. But if conservative Christianity has often been compromised, liberal Christianity has simply collapsed. "

Retired High Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor Makes Civics a Personal Mission from the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
“Civics training is not really part of their learning in our schools today,” said O’Connor, 82, who lives in Washington and Arizona. “We need to tell every succeeding generation how government is structured.”

Richard Posner Bashes Supreme Court’s Citizens United Ruling (James Warren) from the Daily Beast
"Richard Posner is the most influential conservative judge outside the Supreme Court. And he thinks its campaign-finance ruling encourages bribery. James Warren on Posner's latest shot—and Scalia's gun love."

We’re Getting Wildly Differing Assessments (Tom Goldstein) from the SCOTUS blog
"A minute-by-minute account of the Supreme Court's ruling on the American Care Act, and how some news organizations got it initially wrong:"

How Big is 50.7 Million Uninsured? (Dylan Matthews) from the Washington Post
"...what else could we compare the insured population count to, to give a better sense of its sheer scale? The following infographic is the result of our extensive research."

White House to States: Time to Get on Board with Healthcare Reform (Sam Baker) from The Hill
"The Obama administration is aggressively pushing states to implement the healthcare reform law now that the Supreme Court has upheld it. In the two weeks since the court issued its decision, the Health and Human Services Department has pushed out new grants, new policies and a new rhetorical standby: It’s time to get onboard."

Texas' Poll Tax in Disguise (Bruce Ackerman and Jennifer Nou) from the Los Angeles Times
"A law requiring a photo ID to vote attacks a key achievement of the civil rights era."

14 Reasons Why This is the Worst Congress Ever (Ezra Klein) from the Washington Post
"Hating on Congress is a beloved American tradition. Hence Mark Twain’s old joke, “Reader, suppose you were an idiot. And suppose you were a member of Congress. But I repeat myself.” But the 112th Congress is no ordinary congress. It’s a very bad, no good, terrible Congress. It is, in fact, one of the very worst congresses we have ever had. Here, I’ll prove it:"

Why Obama May Be Stronger Than His Approval Ratings (Nate Silver) from the New York Times
"...there is a small slice of the electorate, about 4 percent, that has a favorable view of Mr. Obama, but does not approve of his job performance. Given how close the election is, the way they behave in November could be decisive."

Romney’s Palin Problem: Where’s Her Convention Invite? (Peter Boyer) from Newsweek
"Mitt still hasn’t invited Sarah to the GOP’s nomination assembly in Tampa, and the Tea Party is livid. Peter J. Boyer on how the snub could sabotage Romney’s tenuous ties to the grassroots—and why Palin is keeping the week open, just in case."

LGBT HISTORY NUGGET!!
The Chickens and the Bulls (William McGowan) from Slate
"The rise and incredible fall of a vicious extortion ring that preyed on prominent gay men in the 1960s."

BABY NAME NUGGET!!
Baby Names 2012: The Hottest Baby Names Of The Year (So Far) from the Huffington Post
Virtually all of these names seem to me to be just awful!!
"The hottest baby names 2012 -- those attracting the biggest spikes in views on Nameberry for the first six months of this year -- are an astonishing group: Highly unusual yet strangely familiar, heavily
influenced by pop culture yet boldly individualistic."