News Nuggets 1213

DAYLEE PICTURE: Deer enjoying the wavy fields in southern Moravia in the Czech Republic.

UP-FRONT ECONOMICS NUGGET!!
The Urge to Purge (Paul Krugman) from the New York Times
"When the Great Depression struck, many influential people argued that the government shouldn’t even try to limit the damage. ... It turns out that the urge to purge — the urge to see depression as a necessary and somehow even desirable punishment for past sins, while inveighing against any attempt to mitigate suffering — is as strong as ever. Indeed, Mellonism is everywhere these days."

Why Dictators Don’t Like Jokes from Foreign Policy Magazine
"Pro-democracy activists around the world are discovering that humor is one of the most powerful weapons in the fight against authoritarianism."

To Create Jobs, the U.S. Must Spend (Dimitri B. Papadimitriou) from the Los Angeles Times
"The government can and should increase the deficit to return us to prosperity. Without such outlays we can't get enough GDP growth to seriously attack unemployment."

Why the Culture Wars Now Favor Democrats (Ron Brownstein) from National Journal
"Gay marriage, gun control, immigration—the wedge issues now divide Republicans."

Hillary Derangement Syndrome (Michael Tomasky) from the Daily Beast 
"Are Republicans really going to try to damage Hillary Clinton by digging up old non-scandals no one even remembers? They’ll do damage, all right, says Michael Tomasky, but not to Clinton."

Deep in the Red of Texas, Republicans Fight the Blues from the Wall Street Journal
"In no state is the Republican grip at once so firm, and under such challenge from Democrats, as it is in Texas. And nowhere is that grip of more consequence to the fortunes of the national GOP."

GOP Still Struggling With Outreach Initiative (Henry Decker) from National Memo
"The Republican Party’s “outreach” initiative is still struggling to gain traction, as major party figures can’t seem to stop themselves from offending the party’s target audience at every available opportunity."

Is This the Best the GOP Can Come Up With? (Eugene Robinson) from the Washington Post
"Republicans must be staging some kind of fiendishly clever plot to lure Democrats into a false sense of security. That’s the only possible explanation for some of the weirdness we’re seeing and hearing from the GOP. The party must be waiting to come out with its real candidates and policy positions at a moment when unsuspecting Democrats are in the vulnerable position of being doubled over with laughter."

AFRICAN AMERICAN HISTORY NUGGET!!
Alabama FINALLY Pardons the 'Scottsboro Boys'... 82-years after They were Falsely convicted of Raping Two White Women from the Daily Mail [of the UK]
"On the 45th anniversary of the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. new legislation is set to be passed that would pardon the Scottsboro Boys - nine black teenagers falsely convicted of raping two white women in 1931. The bill which was presented to the Alabama House today, passed 103-0 to applause from the chamber and Governor Robert Bentley has already said that he will approve the measure which passed through the state senate unanimously."

REAGAN FAMILY NUGGET!!
Patti Davis and Michael Reagan 'Feud' Over Gay Marriage (Lloyd Grove) from the Daily Beast
"Patti Davis thinks her dad would support gay marriage, and her brother Michael Reagan insists he

OBAMA POPULAR CULTURE NUGGET!!
President Meets “Kid President” from Talking Points Memo
"If you need a cuteness/heart-warmingness injection, click below …"