A New Cold War? (Anne Applebaum) from the Washington Post
"“Is this a new Cold War?” Every time I say anything to anyone anywhere about Russia nowadays, that’s what I’m asked. And there is a clear answer: No. This is not a new Cold War. Neither the United States nor Europe is locked in a deadly, apocalyptic competition with Russia, China or anyone else."
Iran Copes with Sanctions but Wants to Bloom (David Ignatius) from the Washington Post
"The true burden of sanctions is that this economy is a shadow of what it might be. This cost in lost opportunity will only grow if Iran can’t make a nuclear deal that would ease the squeeze on oil sales and banking. And Iranians know it..."
Obama’s Not-So-Terrible Year (Robert Perry) from Consortium News
"Official Washington is giving a big thumb down to President Obama’s performance in 2013. But his diplomatic breakthroughs in the Middle East and even some of his troubles with Obamacare and the NSA could ultimately make the year a historic turning point."
I largely share the view of this author.
America Joins the Developed World, Thanks to Obamacare (Michael Tomasky) from the Daily Beast
"For all its woes, real reform finally got underway in 2013. Some day in the future, this year will be remembered as the one when the U.S. recognized people’s birthright to health care."
Pope, Off Script, Nods to Atheists in Holiday Call for World Peace from the New York Times
"Pope Francis, celebrating his first Christmas as the Roman Catholic leader, called on atheists to unite with believers of all religions and work for a peace that can spread across the world."
I having been watching with great interest to see the right-wing response to Pope Francis, someone who is so clearly "off-message" with much of their moldering social agenda.
Obama Highlights Common Ground with Pope Francis from the Los Angeles Times
"The president praises and quotes the pontiff, and makes clear he sees him as a potentially useful ally in shrinking the gulf between rich and poor."
NSA’s Phone Data Collection Program Lawful, Federal Judge Rules from the Wall Street Journal
"A federal judge in New York on Friday ruled that the National Security Agency’s broad collection of U.S. phone customer data is lawful, dismissing a complaint filed by the American Civil Liberties Union."
Most People are Better and More Inclusive than We Believe (Egberto Willies) from Daily Kos
"This episode of John Quiñones' What Would You Do is telling. It shows the basic goodness of people and that real prejudice may be abating. It shows that more and more folks are willing to stand up for fairness."
The Fear Economy (Paul Krugman) from the New York Times
"The plight of the unemployed, of course, is terrible and getting worse. But the weak labor market is taking a toll on the employed, too."
The Spiraling Effects of Being Evicted (Karen Weise) from Bloomberg
"Eviction can, Desmond is finding, set off a cascade of problems, including depression and subsequent job loss, material hardship, and future residential instability.” People end up in shelters or other substandard living situations. Families don’t provide the support network evicted tenants need, and there’s not nearly enough housing assistance to go around."
Obamacare Enrollment Spiked Ahead Of Key Deadline from Talking Points Memo
"Evidence from the state-based Obamacare websites suggest that enrollment under the health care reform law accelerated ahead of the deadline to sign up for coverage that starts in January -- a much-needed spike that could go a long way toward getting the program back on track after its
disastrous launch."
ObamaCare Sales Surge (Brent Budowsky) from The Hill
"Remember Budowsky's first law of insider punditry: When the media and political herds are tripping over each other's hoofs while stampeding in a certain direction, the herds are almost always wrong. Take note of the fact that in recent days, the traffic to the Affordable Care websites has skyrocketed, and sales of insurance policies have surged nationally and in key states."
I am slowly becoming an adherent to Budowsky's "first law of insider punditry"!
With Health Law Cemented, G.O.P. Debates Next Move from the New York Times
"With the first enrollment deadline now passed, Republicans who have made the repeal of President Obama’s health care law their central aim are confronting a new reality: More than two million Americans are expected to be getting their health insurance through the Affordable Care Act come Jan. 1."
Living in a Red State is Hazardous to Your Health (Markos Moulitsas) from Daily Kos
"Environmental policies, access to health insurance, workplace safety regulations ... these things matter. They are literally a matter of life and death. And it's clear that conservatism is hazardous to your health."
Ticking off the Tea Party from The Economist [of London]
"The Republican civil war, as it is known to politicos, has now lasted five years longer than the cold war. It would be foolish to attach too much importance to a single battle. Even so, the budget vote in the House of Representatives at the close of 2013 marked an important shift."
Cruz Wannabes (Patricia Murphy) from the Daily Beast
"Come 2014, these five ambitious senate hopefuls might storm their way onto Capitol Hill and change the Republican Party, with Ted Cruz as their hero."
Chris Christie Officials Messed With Bridge Traffic Despite Being Warned About Congestion Problems from the Huffington Post
"According to The Record, a bridge official said Wildstein also specifically instructed him to keep the lane closures secret from Fort Lee officials. And records indicate, according to the paper, "that traffic engineers predicted it would lead to 600-vehicle back-ups during the morning rush hour that would not subside until noon." Wildstein and Baroni have since resigned and hired attorneys to represent them."
Chris Christie: Playing Into Their Hands from Talking Points Memo
"... he's managing so far to play into the hands of his political opponents and all national Democrats in the way he's handling the story. In fact, he's doing so so completely that I suspect he's in a situation in which he's simply not characterologically capable of behaving otherwise."
The good ship Christie is listing a bit right now! As I have noted before, what passes for politics-as-usual in New Jersey may end up being a "no pass" on the national presidential stage. Interestingly, when you look at the list of GOP potentials for 2016, most of them may end facing their own version of this. Think about it: Jeb Bush (former Gov of Florida); Bobby Jindal (Gov of Louisiana); Marco Rubio (Sen of Florida and former Speaker in the FL Legislature); Rand Paul (Sen of KY); and Rick Perry (Gov of TX) all come from states with LONG histories of corrupt, brass knuckles state-level politics. The Romney campaign (during its VP vetting process) already gave us the heads-up on Christie that he may have more substantive skeletons in his NJ closet. This Bridge-gate thing may just be a preview of things to come.
TECHNOLOGY NUGGET!!
Scientists Create New Robotic Terminator-style Muscle 1,000 Times Stronger than Humans from Raw Story
"Researchers have developed a tiny robotic muscle that’s 1,000 time stronger than a human muscle. The team of researchers at the University of California-Berkeley found that vanadium dioxide changes from an insulator to a conductive metal at about 152 degrees, which produced a huge amount of strength during the transition."
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