Can Libya's Rebels Go Pro? (Ryan Calder) from Foreign Policy Magazine
"A visit to the embattled city of Ajdabiya finds the anti-Qaddafi resistance slightly less ragtag than before, but still not quite professional."
Prisoner of Damascus (Yassin Al-Haj Saleh) from the New York Times
"A search for equality, justice, dignity and freedom — not religion — is what compels Syrians to engage in protests today. It has spurred many of them to overcome their fear of the government and is putting the regime on the defensive."
How African is the Arab Revolution? [Khaled Diab]from the Guardian [of the UK]
"The belief that countries need strong dictators runs deep in Africa, but Kenya, Namibia and South Sudan point to a freer future."
India Graduates Millions, But Too Few Are Fit to Hire (Geeta Anand) from the Wall Street Journal via YaleGlobal Online
"Huge youthful Indian population is poorly prepared for work – and firms even recruit abroad."
This story is a bit eye-popping! I wonder if China has the same problem. Wouldn't be surprised if they have their own version of this.
Global Military Spending Hits High But Growth Slows from Reuters via Huffington Post
""The United States has increased its military spending by 81 percent since 2001," SIPRI said. "At 4.8 percent of gross domestic product, U.S. military spending in 2010 represents the largest economic burden outside the Middle East," said SIPRI Military Expenditure Project chief Sam Perlo-Freeman."
As Services For Main Street Are Gutted, Richest Pay Lowest Taxes In A Generation from Think Progress
"As this chart from from Wealth for the Common Good shows, the top 400 taxpayers — who have more wealth than half of all Americans combined — are paying lower taxes than they have in a generation, as their tax responsibilities have slowly collapsed since the New Deal era as working families have been asked to pay more and more:"
Obama Puts Taxes on Table from the Wall Street Journal
"President Barack Obama will lay out his plan for reducing the nation's deficit Wednesday, belatedly entering a fight over the nation's long-term financial future. But in addition to suggesting cuts—the current focus of debate—the White House looks set to aim its firepower on a more divisive topic: taxes."
Last week, Paul Ryan got all kinds of credit for his budget plan from many in the punditocracy (much of it overblown in my view -- Ryan himself jeopardized nothing in putting it forth. His seat is safe). If Obama DOES come forth with serious tax increases (something that MUST happen in my view), will he get any praise? Don't hold your breath.
Boehner Will Need Dems To Pass Funding Deal from the Huffington Post
"Boehner would need 218 Republican votes to pass the House majority threshold, which he said earlier this week was his goal. But given the concessions in the final deal, that may be impossible. "218 Republicans? I don't think so," Jordan said."
Now HOLD THE PHONE! Boehner cut the deal on Friday with the promise that he had the votes! NOW he needs some Dem votes!? The article's wording is a little opaque. Investigating further.
Budgeting for Opportunity (Ross Douthat) from the New York Times
"...not every threat to the American dream comes from runaway spending. The United States was increasingly stratified, and the middle class increasingly squeezed, well before Barack Obama won the presidency. Against this backdrop, conservatives will deserve to win the looming fiscal battle only if they find a way to budget not only for austerity, but for opportunity as well."
Population Leaves Heartland Behind from the Wall Street Journal
"Census Shows Growth Fueled by Increasingly Diverse Metro Areas; in Kansas, a Small Town Tears Down Empty Homes."
As Latinos Go, So Goes the U.S. (Mary Sanchez) from the McClatchy News Service
"...enough talk of “browning.” Let’s rework the lingo. Hispanics are golden, as in golden opportunity. That is, if we seize rather than squander this moment as a country. Our destiny as a nation is tied up with Latinos’ destiny as an ethnic group. All Americans have an interest in seeing them integrated into national life and prospering along with everybody else."
In California, GOP Writes Off Latino Voters (Dan Morain) from the Sacramento Bee via McClatchy News Service
"Here's a portrait of two bills that are worlds apart, and two very different veterans of the political wars who have come to gain a common understanding."
What's Really Going On With Gabby Giffords? (Peter J. Boyer) from the Daily Beast
"Three months after the Arizona attack that left Rep. Gabrielle Giffords in a coma, she is walking, talking, and wants to attend her husband's space shuttle launch. But will she ever fully recover? In this week's Newsweek, Peter J. Boyer tells the untold story of the congresswoman's struggle."
The Fight That Just Won't Die (Richard Rapaport)from Salon
"FDR, Herbert Hoover and the New Deal argument that still animates American politics today."
Experts: Wisconsin Only ‘Republican Broke’ from Raw Story and the Wisconsin State Journal
"Governor Scott Walker's budget crisis is a fabrication invented out of whole cloth and predicated on a series of tax breaks for corporations and the wealthy. Walker has repeatedly asserted that the state is "broke", but using the word "broke" they say, is a political tool."
Wisconsin: How a 'Win' Portends Potential Losses for the GOP (Steve Singiser) from Daily Kos
"With the margin now presumably out of reach, the relief in Republican quarters was palpable. That relief is, in all likelihood, temporary. There are some real alarm numbers for the GOP in these numbers, even if they now appear to point to a decidedly narrow re-election for Prosser."
Romney Faces High Hurdle in South Carolina (Scott Conroy) from RealClearPolitics
"He may be the presumed national frontrunner, but when he launches his all-but-certain presidential campaign, Mitt Romney figures to be a heavy underdog in the historically decisive South Carolina presidential primary."
Trumpdate 2012: The Donald Gets 'Credible' (Elspeth Reeve) from the Atlantic
"Donald Trump might be viewed by some (many) as a wacky reality star greedily trying to hoover up headlines with a fake presidential bid, but now that he's become a hero to the Birther wing of the GOP (a not insignificant portion of the party, apparently) polls show him in second place for the Republican nomination."
This article includes this passage:
"Trump--who has donated tens of thousands of dollars to Democrats, written Nancy Pelosi to tell she's "the best," and praised Obama's accomplishments as "truly phenomenal"--is now polling well in Iowa and New Hampshire. And now the native New Yorker has solid conservative cred. He tells the Christian Broadcasting Network's David Brody that he's now opposed to abortion."
You have to ask yourself: What's The Donald up to?! Some GOP establishment types posit that he's actually working for the Dems. Hard to imagine. Gail Collins certainly doesn't think so. HERE's her latest missive in some serious back-and-forth between them.
SENIOR HEALTH NUGGETS!!
Two GREAT stories on health care, memory and getting older from NPR's Morning Edition.
Check'em out HERE and HERE!
KID'S TELEVISION NUGGET!!
Sesame Street comes to Pakistan from the Guardian [of the UK]
"US government aid agency sponsors $20m Pakistani remake of the American kids' TV show."
PUBLIC TELEVISION NUGGET!!
Upstairs Downstairs Returns to PBS’ Masterpiece (Jace Lacob) from the Daily Beast
"After 36 years, Upstairs Downstairs returns to American television on Sunday with new characters and the original co-creators checking into 165 Eaton Place. Jace Lacob talks to the cast."
US CIVIL WAR EDUCATION NUGGET!!
Teaching the Civil War, 150 Years Later (Nick Anderson) from the Washington Post
"The war’s sesquicentennial, starting Tuesday with the anniversary of the attack on Fort Sumter in South Carolina, provides a “teachable moment” for schools everywhere. But how and when students learn about slavery and secession, blue and gray, Ulysses S. Grant and Robert E. Lee, Bull Run (or Manassas) and Appomattox varies enormously from state to state, school to school and even teacher to teacher."
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