News Nuggets 1034

DAYLEE PICTURE: A giant mola mola or sunfish off of San Diego.  From the Daily Mail of the UK.

Unlivable Cities: China's Megalopolises May Seem Impressive on Paper, but They are Awful Places to Live (Isaac Stone Fisher) from Foreign Policy Magazine
"Our traveler does not know whether he is in Changsha, Xiamen, or Hefei -- he is in the city Calvino describes as so unremarkable that "only the name of the airport changes." Or, as China's vice minister of construction, Qiu Baoxing, lamented in 2007, "It's like a thousand cities having the same appearance." Why are Chinese cities so monolithic? The answer lies in the country's fractured history."

The Incredible Shrinking GOP Foreign-Policy Expert (Michael Cohen) from Foreign Policy Magazine
"Mitt Romney's choice of Paul Ryan to be his vice president isn't surprising -- it's sadly indicative of the lack of worldly Republicans today."

What Does Paul Ryan Know About Foreign Policy? The same as Mitt Romney: Nothing. (Fred Kaplan) from Slate
"His recent European tour, ..., proved a disaster from start to finish. Had he wanted to challenge Barack Obama in this arena, he might have chosen a vice-presidential candidate with a strong foreign policy record, as Obama himself did when he picked Joe Biden. Instead, probably wisely (on political grounds anyway), he pretty much surrendered the realm, as Ryan also appears to know next to nothing about international affairs."

Pennsylvania Voter ID Law Should Go Forward, Commonwealth Court Rules from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
"A Commonwealth Court judge has ruled in favor of the state's new law requiring photo identification at the polls, declaring that acquiring and presenting the ID cards is not an unconstitutional burden on voters. ... The decision regarding the controversial statute is expected to be promptly appealed to the state Supreme Court in an effort to obtain a final ruling from the top court before the general election. That panel is evenly split between three Democrats and three Republicans with the suspension of Justice Joan Orie Melvin, a Republican. A majority vote of four justices would be needed to halt the law's implementation."
Daily Kos has some analysis HERE.

Man from Ireland Charged in Pitt Bomb Threat Case from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
"A federal grand jury today returned two indictments charging a resident of Dublin, Ireland, with emailing bomb threats targeting the University of Pittsburgh, three federal courthouses and a federal officer. One indictment charges Adam Stuart Busby, 64, of Dublin, with 17 counts of wire fraud, 16 counts of maliciously conveying false information and two counts of international extortion."
The Pittsburgh Tribune Review has more detail HERE.

This Congress Could be Least Productive Since 1947 (Susan Davis) from USA Today
"Congress is on pace to make history with the least productive legislative year in the post World War II era. Just 61 bills have become law to date in 2012 out of 3,914 bills that have been introduced by lawmakers, or less than 2% of all proposed laws, according to a USA TODAY analysis of records since 1947 kept by the U.S. House Clerk's office."

Tea Party Movement's Magical Thinking (Clarence Page) from Real Clear Politics
"In other words, Ryan brings to the Romney campaign the tea party's style of magical thinking, a blissfully simplistic, ideologically driven world view that seems to think candidates can win votes by promising to reduce popular government services. Or, at least that's the message that Team Obama can be expected to hammer again and again in its ad campaigns, speeches and sound bites."

The Republicans’ Budget Roulette (David Ignatius) from the Washington Post 
"The politics of “sequestration” illustrate the talent of congressional Republicans, led by Rep. Paul Ryan, for being on both sides of the budget issue: They play a game of “chicken” with federal outlays, demanding a balanced budget without tax increases, and then insist that it’s the Democrats’ fault if there’s a crack-up. This fiscal impasse will be a dramatic backdrop for the fall presidential campaign..."

Paul Ryan’s Fairy-Tale Budget Plan (David Stockman) from the New York Times
"Paul D. Ryan’s talk of shrinking Big Government and giving tax cuts to “job creators” will do nothing to reverse the nation’s economic decline."
Now, one should consider the source here.  Stockman, Reagan's OMB director back in the early 1980s has SOME street cred on this issue -- but has also spouted a lot of economic BS over the years and is a convicted felon to boot.

Our PUNDIT-OF-THE-DAY!!
Republicans, and the Romney Campaign, are Ambivalent About Ryan's Presence (Jamelle Bouie) from the Washington Post
"Thus far, Ryan seems to exist as a consolation prize to conservatives — a way to generate enthusiasm and keep them from abandoning his campaign. It’s not hard to see the problem with this strategy."

Paul Ryan’s Polling Problem (Douglas E. Schoen , Jessica Tarlov) from the Daily Beast
"Polls suggest Paul Ryan was a dubious strategic choice. Douglas E. Schoen and Jessica Tarlov explain."

Boehner Holds Call to Calm House GOP from Politico
"Jolted by concerns over the wave of Medicare-themed Democratic attacks sparked by Paul Ryan's vice presidential nomination, House Speaker John Boehner held a Tuesday evening conference call aimed at soothing jittery Republican members, POLITICO has learned."

Paul Ryan Grabs for the Gusto (Roger Simon) from Politico
"Some think Paul Ryan’s Medicare plan would “end Medicare as we know it.” Well, maybe it does and maybe it doesn’t. But you should have seen the plan we argued him out of. We don’t want to go into details, but let’s just say it involved ice floes."

CORPORATE CULTURE NUGGET!!
America’s Worst Companies to Work For from 24/7 Wall Street
"Companies often tout their workplaces as an inviting environment for employees. Yet many are far from it, and employees at many of America’s largest corporations dislike, or even hate, their jobs. With some of these companies in deep trouble, having disgruntled employees makes improving their operations that much harder."

MARS NUGGET!!
The Coolest Thing on Earth: Looking Around Mars on Your Phone (Robinson Meyer) from the Atlantic
"This is a 360 degree view of the planet Mars. If you move the phone in any direction, it acts as a window, and the view moves with it. If you look down, you see the rocks and gravel of Mars."