News Nugget 1039

DAYLEE PICTURE: A beach off of Kitaibaraki City in Japan.  From National Geographic. 

UP-FRONT PUNDIT-OF-THE-DAY!!
We Need a ‘Conservative’ Party (Thomas Friedman) from the New York Times 
"...we need more than debates. That’s all we’ve been having. We need deals on all four issues as soon as this election is over, and I just don’t see that happening unless “conservatives” retake the Republican Party from the “radicals” — that is, the Tea Party base. America today desperately needs a serious, thoughtful, credible 21st-century “conservative” opposition to President Obama, and we don’t have that, even though the voices are out there."

Democratic Convention To Feature Prominent Women Speakers from the Huffington Post
"The Democratic National Convention Committee Wednesday announced a lineup of convention speakers who will further solidify the party's standing with female voters."

GOP Rejects Rape Exception in Platform from Politico
"Even as Mitt Romney sought to quash the furor surrounding Todd Akin’s “legitimate” rape comments, the Republican platform committee here approved an abortion plank that includes no exemptions for rape, incest or even to save the life of the mother."

Signs of Divine Intervention for Republicans? (Dana Milbank) from the Washington Post
"Has God forsaken the Republican Party? Well, sit in judgment of what’s happened in the past few days: ..."

Eleven Reasons Akin Didn’t Quit (Jeffrey Smith) from Salon
"It's after 6 p.m., and Todd Akin is still on the Missouri ballot. Why did he remain in the race?"

Akin Is The Christianist Mainstream (Andrew Sullivan) from the Daily Beast 
"Lying behind all of this is some kind of notion that women claim they have been raped to get an abortion. It's this loophole they are trying to fill. It becomes much less obviously cruel or drastic if the odds of pregnancy by rape are close to non-existent."

Just Think No (Maureen Dowd) from the New York Times
"In asserting that women have the superpower to repel rape sperm, Akin ratcheted up the old chauvinist argument that gals who wear miniskirts and high-heels are “asking” for rape; now women who don’t have the presence of mind to conjure up a tubal spasm, a drone hormone, a magic spermicidal secretion or mere willpower to block conception during rape are “asking” for a baby."

Todd Akin’s ‘Legitimate Rape’ Timing Couldn’t Be Worse for Republicans (Mark McKinnon) from the Daily Beast
"Just as voters are taking a serious look at Romney and Ryan—and the Republican convention is finalizing its anti-abortion platform—Todd Akin’s stunning ignorance has women rushing for the exits, says former Bush and McCain adviser Mark McKinnon."

Todd Akin and Republican Men’s World of Unicorns, True Love—and No Rape (Judith Regan) from the Daily Beast
"Judith Regan counts the ways she loves Republican men—the guys who still believe in immaculate conception and Santa Claus, and think rape is sex between two adults and that women bewitch men."

Todd Akin's Words About Rape Aren't the Problem (Kathleen Parker) from Newsday 
"Whether mandating transvaginal probes prior to abortion under "informed consent" logic or misunderstanding basic biology, Republicans have managed to alienate a fair portion of the female population. Even pro-life women will have a hard time standing by men who are so willfully ignorant."

Akin to Romney: Mind your Business from Politico
"Rep. Todd Akin told Mitt Romney to mind his own business Tuesday, accusing the presumptive GOP nominee of “making a bigger deal” than necessary out of Akin’s comments about “legitimate rape.""

In Tight Race, Romney Faces Hurdles from the Wall Street Journal
"Mr. Romney's choice of Rep. Paul Ryan as his running mate has stirred excitement within the GOP that he can defeat the president. But the poll found little evidence the pick will affect the election, beyond helping unify Mr. Romney's conservative base."

WA-SEN: Michael Baumgartner, Washington GOP Senate Candidate, Admits Telling Reporter To 'Go F--- Yourself' from the Huffington Post
BOY -- GOP Senate candidates are really helping themselves this week!! 
"Michael Baumgartner, a Republican candidate for U.S. Senate in Washington State, took exception to an article written about him this week, emailing the author to tell him to "go fuck yourself.""

'POOR ROYALS' NUGGET!!
Naked Prince Harry Photos Shock (Tom Sykes) from the Daily Beast
The question of what to do about a problem like Prince Harry reared its ugly head again this morning, when photos of the third-in-line to the throne, butt-naked during a game of strip-billiards during his recent boozy trip to Las Vegas, appeared on the website TMZ."

IMPORTANT PITTSBURGH NEWS NUGGET!!
$40 Million in Pa. Transit Funding Delivered: Officials Dig Deep to Maintain Bus, Rail Service from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
"While many of the details haven't been worked out, state and local officials said Tuesday that they have forged a long-term solution for chronic funding problems at the Port Authority. For transit riders and advocates, it was one of the better days in a long time as these events unfolded:"
The Tribune-Review covers this story HERE.