UP-FRONT ECONOMICS NUGGET!!
Six Reasons the U.S. Will Continue to Dominate the Global Economy (A. Gary Shilling) from Bloomberg
"Beyond the bright prospects for the return to rapid U.S. economic growth and the resulting decline in federal debt as a percentage of gross domestic product, the U.S. will enjoy six major long-term advantages over its competitors. ..."
UP-FRONT STATE GOV'T NUGGET!!
Pennsylvania DEP Attempted To Suppress Controversial Study That Criticized Shale Gas from State Impact PA
"A state report outlining how climate change will impact Pennsylvania is currently a year and a half late – and there’s still no indication of when it will be released publicly. The Department of Environmental Protection missed its legally-mandated deadline to publish the report in the spring of 2012. ... However StateImpact Pennsylvania has obtained a copy of the original draft climate report and internal DEP emails, which reveal an attempt by its Policy Office to suppress controversial research that questions the benefits of natural gas."
Another stellar accomplishment of the Corbet administration!
By Crossing Obama’s Red Line, Assad has Forced the US to Act (David Blair) from the Daily Telegraph [of the UK]
"For the world’s good, America’s credibility as a superpower must be maintained"
Here’s Why Obama is Giving Up the Element of Surprise in Syria (Max Fisher) from the Washington Post
"If his goal were to fully enter the Syrian civil war and decisively end it, then, yes, secrecy would be the way to go. But the administration has been very clear that it has a much more modest goal: to punish Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad for his suspected use of chemical weapons so that he, and future military leaders, won’t do it again."
Syria Debate Deepens Republican Divide from Buzz Feed
"The rapidly approaching conflict in Syria has begun to draw a deep rift between two sides of a Republican party that have long been drifting apart over foreign policy, pitting the hawkish holdovers of Bush-era neoconservatism against an ascendant libertarian wing that opposes humanitarian intervention."
A Brief History of How Living Alone Came to Seem Totally Normal from the Atlantic
"No change in the American household has been more pronounced over the last 40 years than the rise of people living alone. In 1970, only 17 percent of U.S. households contained such singletons, solo men and (more often) women getting by without kids, spouses, parents or unrelated roommates. Today, more than a quarter of all households (27 percent total) meet this definition."
Why Rebublicans Are Starting to Love Health Reform (Daniel Gross) from the Daily Beast
"Turns out a lot of Republicans love Obamacare, reports Daniel Gross. Or at least, they like coverage for their kids, health-care rebates and a ban on denying coverage for preexisting conditions."
In Dramatic Reversal, Michigan Senate Passes Obamacare’s Medicaid Expansion from Talking Points Memo
"The GOP-controlled chamber approved the bill by a 20-18 vote at about 8 p.m. Tuesday after being in session for more than eight hours, much of it spent in caucus debating how to get the expansion passed. Eight Republicans finally joined 12 Democrats to pass the bill."
Impeaching Obama May Be Absurd But That Won’t Stop the Right Wing Fringe (Michael Tomasky) from the Daily Beast
"The far right wants to impeach the president over Obamacare, but what truly matters is that this could become a real litmus test for conservatives. By Michael Tomasky."
A "real litmus test"? I would say "another litmus test." The defunding of Obamacare is right there staring at Republican lawmakers. There are a host of lesser issues (immigration, gay marriage, gun laws ... and impeachment) that are lurking just around the corner, and Republican lawmakers are going to be sorely tested in 2014 and 2016 to give lip service to a wide array of increasingly unpopular positions or (as in the case of impeachment) positions completely disconnected from reality. Indeed, even now Boehner and McConnell have so boxed themselves in rhetorically that is difficult to see how they will ever get through the budgetary battles that are coming up this Fall.
Need some evidence? See this item:
The Impeachniks Roar (Paul Waldman) from the American Prospect
"Before you know it, every Republican member of Congress is going to have to take a stand."
Just to get a fuller grasp of the "logic" concerning impeachment:
The Case for Impeaching Obama (Molly Ball) from the Atlantic
"Conservative activists across the country are more obsessed than ever with removing the president from office. What do they think he's done to deserve it?"
Even a cursory look at this list shows actions that don't or won't meet the test of "high crimes and misdemeanors". EVEN IF some of these actions were unconstitutional, it would actually take court rulings stating as much before any actual charges could *legitimately* be made in the House of Representatives. Such efforts (see the birther litigation) have never passed muster at any court in the land. It's no accident that the impeachment caucus has focused their efforts almost exclusively on Congress, the one place where judicial precedent doesn't matter. All you need is the votes. Technically, the GOP has the votes in the House -- but Boehner and the Republican leadership are not interested in wasting more time on a year+ long impeachment process. They know there is no case for impeachment. Moreover, they know that Obama is way more popular than they are -- and that, even if they could corral their caucus to pass out an impeachment resolution, it would die in the Senate. An ironic side light to this conversation: the Bush administration has already shown Obama and future presidents how to short-circuit virtually any impeachment proceedings before they even get started: get some justice department lawyers to write opinions that say a president's actions are actually legal. This is what happened with the torture issue (remember John Yu?) and with the federal attorney firings under Bush. As a constitutional lawyer, I would be amazed if Obama wasn't hip-deep in legal opinions justifying all of the things on Ball's list.
Embracing Misinformation on Obama (Dana Milbank) from the Washington Post
"... a large number of that 29 percent who said Obama was responsible for the Katrina response knew that he wasn’t but saw it as a chance to register their displeasure with the president. Obama has driven a large number of Republican voters — Jensen puts it at 15 to 20 percent of the overall electorate — right off their rockers. And to that, there is only one thing to say."
I have long suspected this to be the case.
The 1963 March on Washington Still Vividly Inspires Those Fighting for Change (Jon Favreau) from the Daily Beast
"Tone-deaf media coverage and indifferent politicians were no match for the thousands who marched on Washington in 1963 to support the Civil Rights movement. Jon Favreau on why the march continues to inspire us."
Attorney Of Brian Lewis, Fired Fox News Executive, Warns Roger Ailes from the Huffington Post
"In a statement to Gawker, attorney Judd Burstein said that Lewis is no longer bound by confidentiality and that "Roger Ailes and Newscorp have a lot more to fear from Brian Lewis telling the truth about them than Brian Lewis has to fear from Roger Ailes and his toadies telling lies about Brian Lewis." Click over for the complete statement."
This could get really interesting. In case you haven't been following this inside-media story, Lewis was Roger Ailes's right hand guy and overall hatchet man since the 1990s. He knows where ALL the bodies are buried there!
Searching For The Other Frank Girl (Jillian Cantor) from the Daily Beast
"Jillian Cantor discusses the inspiration for her new novel, which imagines a different fate for Anne Frank's older sister, Margot.
Vice President Julian Castro? (Scott Conroy) from Real Clear Politics
"Close your eyes for a moment and imagine it's the summer of 2016. Fresh off her victory in the primaries, presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton is searching for a running mate. ... It’s a hypothetical scenario, but not one that requires a stretch to think Clinton’s gaze might land here, upon the nation’s seventh largest city, where Mayor Julian Castro would be a few months shy of his 42nd birthday and have seven years in office under his belt."
Based on what I've heard about Castro, he and Clinton would make for an INCREDIBLE ticket in 2016!!
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