News Nuggets 1263

DAYLEE PICTURE:  The Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington DC.  From Daily Kos.

Due to periodic summer vacation days, the Nuggetsman will not be posting every day for this week.  Our regular schedule should resume on Friday.

The Bin Ladens' Life on the Run from Al Jazeera English
"Leaked documents give a fascinating insight into the life of the world's most wanted man."

The Age of Revolution: 1989-2013, and Counting from Salon
"From the Berlin Wall to Cairo, we live in an era of anti-authoritarian revolution that may transform the world."

TWO VIEWS ON THE ECONOMIC DATA!
I actually find myself largely in agreement with both of these perspectives.
America Is Not Doomed (Daniel Gross) from the Daily Beast
"The latest jobs numbers aren’t the only blow to the theory that the U.S. is doomed. Daniel Gross on why America’s prospects are brightening while other countries struggle."

Don’t Get Too Excited About Today’s Jobs Data (Daniel Klein) from Bloomberg News Service
"...  the U.S. is on track for a lost decade under the most optimistic assumptions. ... The composition of jobs being added is also a worry. Of the 195,000 jobs added last month, 112,000 were in the categories of “leisure and hospitality” and “retail.” Those positions usually pay less and have fewer benefits. The number of people working part-time who would rather be working full-time soared in June by 322,000."

Crucial Nuclear Option Decision Arrives for Majority Leader Reid
(Alexander Bolton) from The Hill 
"The Nevada Democrat must decide whether to trigger a controversial tactic known as the nuclear option to strip from Republicans the power to endlessly debate presidential nominees."

Senate Plan to Militarize Border Draws Backlash (Alex Altman) from Time Magazine
"Republican Senators have been boasting about spending $46 billion to enhance border security, but as the bill moves to the House, the excess is beginning to look like a liability."

Texas Republicans: Rick Perry Leaving Governorship to Run for President from the National Journal
"Perry believes that a second White House bid will be more successful because he'll have more time to prepare."
Yeah ... yeah ... that's it.  He didn't have time to prepare in 2012.  It wasn't that he was a dull-witted, ignorant clown who never had to face serious media scrutiny.  Perry so represents GOP thinking on how to win national elections right now -- he's like Sarah Palin disguised as John Wayne.  In 2012, he just needed a few more minutes with his note cards ... or his handlers ... or his doctors ... or his debate coaches.  Like so many Republican candidates, he simply doesn't believe that you need deep knowledge or curiosity about ANYTHING to win.  Like Herman Cain, Newt Gingrich, Rick Santorum, and so many others, what drives their candidacies is simply their own overblown self-regard.

Rush Limbaugh To Caller: Stop Watching Fox News (AUDIO) from the Huffington Post
For those still unconvinced that the Reagan era conservative movement is in serious decline, these two pillars of that movement now seem at war with each other.  
"Rush Limbaugh escalated his battle with Fox News on Monday when he told a caller to stop watching the network."

The Secular Society (David Brooks) from the New York Times
"Taylor’s investigation begins with this question: “Why was it virtually impossible not to believe in God in, say 1500, in our Western society, while in 2000 many of us find this not only easy but even inescapable?” That is, how did we move from the all encompassing sacred cosmos, to our current world in which faith is a choice, in which some people believe, others don’t and a lot are in the middle?"

BASEBALL NUGGET!!
How Smart Investing Made the Pittsburgh Pirates Baseball's Best Team (Allen Barra) from the Atlantic
"The team's front office turned the franchise from a punchline to a contender by using their revenue-sharing profits to build a promising farm system. MLB, take note."

GETTYSBURG HISTORY NUGGET!!
Found in the Attic? A Cowardly Soldier's Diary of Gettysburg (Gary Rotstein) from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
"Beneath the Honus Wagner baseball cards and next to the Andy Warhol high school journal containing doodles of soup cans was the Civil War diary of ancestor Rutherford B. Rotstein, a private in the 999th Pennsylvania Regiment and reluctant combatant at Gettysburg. He wrote better than he fought, which wasn't saying much."

BAD NEWS WORLD-CLASS LIBRARY NUGGET!!
New York Public Library Renovation Plan Sued By Preservationists Hoping To Halt Demolition Work from the Associated Press
"The books' removal is part of a $300 million plan to renovate the landmark Manhattan building. The plan would turn the main library into a circulating library by selling two nearby branches and folding their operations into the main building. The lawsuit was filed Wednesday in state Supreme Court in Manhattan. It seeks a court injunction to prevent the library from proceeding with the demolition work. It also seeks to bar the city from providing funding for the renovation. It says "destruction of the stacks ... will surely doom the NYPL's mission to serve the public's research and reference needs.""
I completely agree with the reasoning of the people filing the lawsuit.  Presently, the NYPL main building on Fifth Avenue is one of the best research libraries IN THE WORLD -- and it's breathtaking that the library folks want to convert it into just another circulating library.  One question not answered in the piece is where all the miles (no exaggeration) of unique research collections are going to go.