News Nuggets 1241

DAYLEE PICTURE: A Red Fox in Manitoba.  From National Geographic.

Sixth Night of Violence in Sweden from CNBC
"Rioting spread to several Swedish towns on Friday night as police stepped up arrests during a sixth night of unrest and far-right vigilantes chased non-whites in southern Stockholm. In Linköping, central southern Sweden, police responded to 120 incidents as cars, caravans and two schools were set alight. At one point a blazing truck was rolled into a building, which caught fire."
Sweden?!  As I have been noting for some time, the far right is experiencing a dramatic resurgence across the EU.  In my view, this is largely due to the Union's inability to deal with the recession.  The austerity programs imposed by northern Europeans on mostly southern Europeans have had the unintended consequence of causing a huge surge in migration out of southern Europe to the north thus escalating already tense anti-immigrant attitudes and increasing competition in job markets still suffering from the great recession's hangover.  I'm amazed that at this late date political leaders in Brussels and across the EU are still clinging to austerity measures that (a) have not improved their economies and (b) have profoundly imperiled the democratic political order and left them so vulnerable to the return of fascism.  They seem completely oblivious to this threat -- and yet the evidence is everywhere.

Rebooting the War on Terror (Doyle McManus) from the Los Angeles Times
"President Obama's speech last week on the future course of America's 11-year-old war against Al Qaeda was long overdue. Never before has he offered the public such a detailed explanation of his anti-terrorism strategy. In part, that's surely because so much of it was officially secret — but also because the public hasn't demanded a position more nuanced than "tough on terrorism.""

The Obama Riddle (E.J. Dionne) from the Washington Post
"He’s an anti-ideological leader in an ideological age, a middle-of-the-road liberal skeptical of the demands placed on a movement leader, a politician often disdainful of the tasks that politics asks him to perform. He wants to invite the nation to reason together with him when nearly half the country thinks his premises and theirs are utterly at odds. Doing so is unlikely to get any easier. But being Barack Obama, he’ll keep trying."

Is Obamacare A ‘Once-In-A-Generation Opportunity’ For Democrats? (Jason Sattler) from National Memo
"What happens when millions of voters find out that they’re being denied a federal benefit because of where they live? What happens when voters in Alabama discover that they won’t get the same subsidized insurance as their cousins in Kentucky because elected Republicans have decided it wasn’t a good idea?"

George Zimmerman Judge: No Trial Delay in Trayvon Martin Shooting from the Orlando Sentinel
"The George Zimmerman second-degree murder case will proceed to trial June 10, after his judge today denied his defense team's latest request for a delay. The ruling was among several important decisions by Circuit Judge Debra S. Nelson during a two-hour hearing this morning at the Seminole County Courthouse."
Good for the Judge!!  It is clear from this article that the Defense team was going to put the murder victim on trial!

Under the Cover of Scandals, Immigration Reform Chugs Along (Raul A. Reyes) from NBC Latino
"Conservative talk radio, which was credited with helping kill reform in 2007, has been abuzz about Benghazi, not “amnesty.”  Tea Party activists have been obsessed by the IRS hearings.  With the anti-reform crowd otherwise engaged, lawmakers have been able to get things done (one conservative website wondered if this was all part of a “fiendish” conspiracy by the Obama administration)."
It boggles the mind!  Real immigration reform may happen ... largely because the GOP is so busy chasing bullshit to really focus on undermining something that is quite substantive! 

How to Save the GOP: What Republicans Can Learn from the Democrats’ Revival (Molly Ball) from the Atlantic
"The party is in desperate straits. ... On nearly every issue of national significance—from social affairs to fiscal matters to foreign policy—its positions are increasingly out of step with those of the majority of Americans. Riven by factions, it sometimes seems more like a collection of squabbling interest groups than a coherent political entity. ... This is the plight of the Republican Party today."

The GOP’s Pitiful Reformers (Michael Tomasky) from the Daily Beast 
"A group of pundits is supposedly trying to inject some new thinking on the right. Michael Tomasky could not be less impressed—with their ideas or with their chances of success."

Why John McCain Hates Republicans Again (Jonathan Chait) from New York Magazine
"There is more going on here than just another dyspeptic outburst. McCain is displaying increasing signs of agitation with the ideological currents driving his party. His journey from orthodox Republican to the left edge of his party and back may have one more reversal yet."

Bob Dole: GOP Should be ‘Closed for Repairs’ (Lyndsey Layton) from the Washington Post
"The Kansas Republican said he was disturbed by his party’s obstructionist behavior on Capitol Hill.  “It seems almost unreal that we can’t get together on a budget or legislation,” he said. ... Dole said his party needs stronger leadership. “Somebody has to stand up and say, ‘We’re not going to do this,’” he said."
"Leadership"?!  I love it when GOP ex-Congress people and presidential candidates finally come and say what has been obvious for years.  Former Maine Senator Olympia Snow is out hawking her book and echoing some of what Dole says.  My response is: Who cares what these folks have to say now?  Where has their "leadership" been for the last 10+ years when GOP nutiness was clear for all to see?  Now that they personally are out of the asylum, what cred do they have to turn around now and say "Those people in there are really crazy"?

STAR TREK NUGGET!!
Star Trek' Brands: Sleek or Weak? from Entertainment Weekly
"ranchise takes many forms; two EW fanatics set up a pecking order of the movies, TV series, and more"