News Nuggets 1371

DAYLEE PICTURE: Ice drifts near Antarctica.  From the Daily Mail of the UK.

Major Newspapers Speak Out Against Iran Sanctions Bill from the Huffington Post 
"The editorial boards of multiple major newspapers have spoken out this week against a controversial Iran sanctions bill. ... The New York Times editorial board declared that "dangerously misguided forces, including leading Democrats and Republicans in Congress, are working to sabotage" an agreement."

Humble Pope Is Firm in Reshaping Vatican from the New York Times
"Pope Francis has taken on a bureaucracy plagued by intrigue and inertia, subbing moderates for traditionalists and upending the career ladder that many have relied upon."

The Death of Obamacare’s Death Spiral (Ezra Klein) from the Washington Post
"No one anywhere expected that the risk pool would be balanced by Jan. 1. Major health laws always follow the same pattern: The people who badly need insurance sign up first, and they tend to be older and sicker. Younger people sign up later -- typically right before the penalty hits."

According Animals Dignity (Frank Bruni) from the New York Times
"There’s ample evidence of a whole new respect for the feelings of the furry and the finned."

Senate Confirms Robert Wilkins, Completes Overhaul Of Key Appeals Court from the Huffington Post
"The Senate has confirmed one of President Barack Obama's key judicial nominees. The confirmation of Robert Wilkins to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia completes an overhaul of the country's second most powerful court. The Senate voted 55-43 to confirm Wilkins. He gives Democratic appointees a 7-4 majority on the politically influential D.C. Circuit, which hears appeals on White House actions and federal rules and regulations."

'Spiritual but Not Religious': A Rising, Misunderstood Voting Bloc. No, They're Not Just Atheists (Steven Barrie-Anthony) from the Atlantic 
"But while the evangelical bloc seems to have frayed a bit and liberal mainline religion continues to lose influence, another major religious category is gathering force and deserves politician and pundit
attention—the “spiritual but not religious” vote."

What Chris Christie bridge scandal? Benghazi, Benghazi, Benghazi from the Editorial Board of the New Jersey Star-Ledger
They’re circling the wagons and shoveling Benghazi and other old news at the public to divert attention from headlines coming out of New Jersey. What’s the difference? Here are three reasons the unrelated Bridgegate and Benghazi stories aren’t getting equal time – and shouldn’t.

President Chris Christie? A Laughable Idea Even Before the Bridge Flap (Charlie Cook) from National Journal
"Think for a moment who makes up the Republican Party, and most specifically the part of the GOP base that dominates the presidential nomination process. Think about the people they seriously considered for their party’s presidential nomination last time around. Think Michele Bachmann, Herman Cain, Rick Santorum, Rick Perry, and Newt Gingrich. Now, quickly, think Christie. Now think Sesame Street: “One of these things is not like the others; one of these things just doesn’t belong."
I completely agree with Cook's critique of the Christie-as-frontrunner meme.

If Christie’s Out, Is The GOP In Trouble In 2016? (Ed Kilgore) from Talking Points Memo
"So the ‘16 cupboard is suddenly looking a tad bare for the Republican Establishment. ... former Gov. Jeb Bush still gets some aged hearts beating quickly, but it’s increasingly hard to imagine him working the Pizza Ranch circuit in Iowa for two years to convince activists he’s not a Judas like his father and brother, before convincing a general electorate that they need a third Bush presidency."
As regulars know, I think Bush is very much looking at running. I suspect Jeb won't need to "work the Pizza Ranch circuit for two years" because by mid-2015, he may be the only plausible candidate out there who is neither a Tea Party/religious wingnut nor someone who has completely alienated that group.  My hunch is that if Bush decides to enter at all it will be a late decision and between now and then look for him to say very little.

It’s More than Likely Hillary Faces Little to No Dem Competition if She Runs (Chuck Todd et al.) from MSNBC
"It’s more likely that Hillary Clinton would face only gadfly opposition in a 2016 Democratic primary (we’re looking at you, Dennis Kucinich) -- rather than a competitive challenger."

Speed Read: 25 Extraordinary Roger Ailes Revelations From ‘The Loudest Voice in the Room’ (Lloyd Grove) from the Daily Beast
Ailes (not surprisingly) comes off as an exceptional swine of a semi-public figure.  Many of the disclosures here are almost unreadable. "You can see why he didn’t want it published. From allegations of violence and sexual advances to his controversial time at Fox, all the juiciest bits of the Roger Ailes biography."

ANCIENT EGYPT NUGGET!!
Ancient Tomb of Unknown Egyptian Pharaoh ‘Senebkay’ found in Abydos from the Agence France-Presse
"US archaeologists have uncovered the tomb in southern Egypt of a
previously unknown pharaoh who ruled 3,700 years ago, antiquities
officials said on Wednesday. The discovery by a team from the University of Pennsylvania provides new evidence that at least part of Egypt may have escaped the rule of the Hyksos, invaders from what is now Syria who dominated the Nile Delta between the 18th and 15th centuries BC, the officials said."