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Saturday, March 9, 2013

News Nuggets 1200


DAYLEE PICTURE: A lone acacia tree next to the Sossusvlei Sand 
Dunes in the Namib Desert in Namibia.  From National Geographic.

It’s Hard Being in Charge in Egypt from the Economist [of London]
"After years of being oppressed, the Muslim Brothers enjoyed a sheen of goodness and efficiency. Now that they are in power, they are rapidly losing it."
This was predictable.  For all those critics of Obama's response to the Arab Spring, this is what awaited on the other side: give the Islamist parties a chance to govern, it was almost a certainty that they would govern badly and create openings for the other more moderate parties.

Republican Splits Over Immigration, National Security Appear As Obama Comes To Deal from the Huffington Post
"Republican Party divisions over immigration, anti-terrorism and other issues are bubbling to the surface just as President Barack Obama shows a new interest in capitalizing on GOP differences."

Republicans and Gay Marriage: The Times Have Changed (Jennifer Rubin) from the Washington Post
"I’ve been saying for some time now that Republicans are out of step with their fellow citizens and even the younger generation in their party. Now there is some powerful polling evidence to back that up."

Gallup Presidential Poll: How Did Brand-Name Firm Blow Election? (Mark Blumenthal) from the Huffington Post
"Gallup, which has long touted itself as the most trusted survey brand in the world, is facing a crisis. If Barack Obama's reelection in November was widely considered a win for data crunchers, who had predicted the president's victory in the face of skeptical pundits, it was a black mark for Gallup, whose polls leading up to Election Day had given the edge to Republican nominee Mitt Romney."

Officer Who Fired Shot In New York High School Suspended from the Associated Press via Talking Points Memo
"A New York town that began assigning an armed police officer to guard a high school in the wake of the Connecticut massacre has suspended the program after an officer accidentally discharged his pistol in a hallway while classes were in session."
Once you started hearing all the chatter about putting armed guards in schools, this episode was perfectly predictable!

Priebus: GOP Needs New Strategy from the Des Moines Register
"“The issue is that in the past, it wasn’t just Iowa and New Hampshire and South Carolina. It used to be that we fought over states like Washington and California. We actually fought in the Northeast. And we were winning in places like Delaware and New Jersey. Now we’re not winning any of those places."

Two More News Outlets Had Been Told of Fake Menendez Claims, but Rejected the Story (Hunter) from Daily Kos
"It looks like the manufactured story of Sen. Bob Menendez supposedly visiting Dominican Republic prostitutes was shopped around quite a bit before finally finding a willing patsy in Tucker Carlson and his conservative Daily Caller site. ... ABC only said that "Republican operatives" assisted them in securing interviews with the women, but nobody involved will identify those operatives."

2016-PRES: Rand Paul: ‘Seriously’ Weighing 2016 Bid from Politico
"Before Thursday, Rand Paul — tea party firebrand — hadn’t vaulted into the top tier of Republican power players. But all that seemed to change this week. The Kentucky Republican senator showed serious clout by holding a 13-hour filibuster to delay the confirmation of President Barack Obama’s candidate to head the CIA, John Brennan."
OH GOOD!  The 2016 GOP presidential parade has its first clown! Who's next?  Rick Perry? Rick Santorum? Oh Herman Cain, where are you?!

SPEAKER-OF-THE-HOUSE NUGGET!!
Boehner Blasts 'Baseless and False' Book by Ex-colleague that Accuses Him of Being 'More Interested in Golf, Women, Cigarettes and Alcohol' from the Daily Mail [of the UK]
"House Speaker John Boehner is hitting back at claims by a former
colleague that he's more interested in women, golf and booze than his job, calling his book 'baseless and false.' The book was written by Bob Ney, the former chairman of the House administration committee, was forced to resign his post after he was wrapped in a corruption scandal."

STAR WARS NUGGET!!
How Disney Bought Lucasfilm—and Its Plans for 'Star Wars' (Devin Leonard) from Businessweek
"One weekend last October, Robert Iger, chief executive officer of Walt Disney (DIS), sat through all six Star Wars films. He’d seen them before, of course. This time, he took notes. Disney was in secret negotiations to acquire Lucasfilm, the company founded by Star Wars creator George Lucas, and Iger needed to do some due diligence."

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