News Nuggets 615

The sun-touched Matterhorn looking out over Lake Zermatt in Switzerland.  From National Geographic.

Assad Dynasty Crumbles (Franck Salameh) from the National Interest
"This is the legacy of Arab nationalism in Syria; a legacy defined by despondency, servitude, suppression, and tragedy."

Syria Crackdown: Hundreds Resign from Ba'ath Party from the Guardian [of the UK]
"Members of president Assad's ruling party have resigned in protest as uprising claims at least 500 lives"
The situation seems to be slowly going to hell in a handbasket in Syria.

Iran's Ahmadinejad In Growing Rift With Top Cleric from the Associated Press via Huffington Post
"There is a growing rift between Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has final say in all Iranian state matters. The confrontation stems from Ahmadinejad's recent dismissal of the intelligence minister, Heidar Moslehi, who was ordered by the president to resign last week"

Ryan Dodges Protesters in Police Car from Politico
"GOP Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan had to leave his last and most raucous town hall meeting Tuesday Elvis-style — ducking out a back entrance on advice of police as protesters surrounded his car."

Reid: The Senate Will Vote On Paul Ryan's Budget (Sam Stein) from the Huffington Post
"Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) announced on Wednesday that he would host a vote on Rep. Paul Ryan’s (R-Wis.) budget as a means of forcing moderate GOP senators to weigh in on the legislation’s controversial proposals."
GREAT news!  Given the roasting GOP House members have faced lately, why not share the love with their Senate colleagues?

Paul Ryan's Plan Puts 2012 Elderly Vote in Play from Politico
"Ryan’s plan, embraced by most Republicans, gives Obama a big opportunity in 2012 to regain lost ground in key battleground states and narrow the generation gap. “It finally gives us an argument to make with seniors… It’s a godsend,” said a Democratic operative ..."

The Right Budget Battle to Watch (Doyle McManus) from the Los Angeles Times
There's no need to panic over raising the debt ceiling; the real sparks will fly later."

From Gulf Spills to White House Frills, Trump Offered his Services to Obama (Al Kamen) from the Washington Post
"“I know how to run big projects,” Trump told Axelrod. “Why don’t you put me in charge?”"

Obama and the Elusive Idea of Race (Mary Curtis) from The Root
"Scientists increasingly conclude that ethnicity cannot be defined scientifically, but that hasn't stopped the racists, the Birthers and the confused from casting their insecurities onto the president."

White House Releases Obama’s ‘Long-form’ Birth Certificate (Debbi Wilgoren) from the Washington Post
"The White House on Wednesday released President Obama’s long-form birth certificate, a stunning reversal after years of ignoring of rumors--widely discredited--that the nation’s commander-in-chief had been born in a foreign country."
"Long-form"?  It's one page -- and on it it says "certificate of live birth" -- just like the document Obama and the State of Hawaii has been showing for years.  Too absurd for words!

Why Did Obama Take on the Birthers? (David Corn) from Mother Jones Magazine
"Why did Obama finally play the ultimate card?  ... Obama was sending a message to the media: c'mon guys."

Releasing Birth Certificate is a Good Move (Markos Moulitsas) at Daily Kos
"Sure, it might seem like "giving in" to the enemy -- responding to right-wing hysteria and releasing the long-form birth certificate. But here's why the move is a canny one:"

The Wingnuts Who Still Don't Believe (John Avlon) from the Daily Beast
"Obama has released his birth certificate as birthers long demanded, but instead of standing down, right wing extremists, Donald Trump, and even mainstream Republicans are attacking the president and dredging up new conspiracy theories. It’s all too predictable—and shameful, writes John Avlon."

The Birther Disgrace (David Frum) from the FrumForum
"How did this poisonous and not very subtly racist allegation get such a grip on our conservative movement and our Republican party? I know there will be Republican writers and conservative publicists who will now deny that birtherism ever did get a grip. Sorry, that’s just wrong."

GOP Pivots Away from Birthers from Politico
"Here’s what leading Republicans were saying moments after President Obama released the long form of his birth certificate in an effort to quash the conspiracy theory that he wasn’t born in the United States:"

Confronting the Coded Racism of Donald Trump (Ari Melber) from the Nation
"Launching an investigation into Obama's birthplace in 2011 is not really objective journalism - it's an overreaction to conspiracy theories masquerading as fact-checking."

The Legacy of Malcolm X: Why his vision lives on in Barack Obama (Ta-Nehisi Coates) from the Atlantic
"Bull Connor’s world fell as the fortunes of Barack Obama rose. Yet its collapse was not assured until November of 2008. Now I see its amazing doom in ways both absurd and replete—Will Smith’s conquest of cinema, his son as the new Karate Kid, the wild utterings of Michael Steele, the kids holding out for Lauryn Hill’s mythical return. As surely as 2008 was made possible by black people’s long fight to be publicly American, it was also made possible by those same Americans’ long fight to be publicly black."
This is an EXCELLENT long-form contemplation of Malcolm's legacy and his link to Obama!

Donald Trump’s Circus Act (Ruth Marcus) from the Washington Post
"Trump makes Mitt Romney look unalterably steadfast in his positions. Trump was for abortion rights before he was against them. Ditto with a tax increase on the wealthy and universal health care. He makes Sarah Palin look like a deep thinker."

The NRA Abets Gun Violence (Joseph Bielevicz) from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
"What suggestions do you have that go beyond catching bad guys with guns and locking them up after the damage has been done? Because, I have to tell you, in my 18 years of law enforcement, I've seen that done to death, yet bodies continue falling, corner stores are still being held up and lately cops are getting shot more than ever. So give me something I can use. How do you suggest we keep guns away from people before they have a chance to threaten, rob, shoot and kill? And what role and responsibilities do you see for law-abiding gun owners in this effort? I won't hold my breath awaiting proposals, for the NRA has made clear it does not want the public to concern itself with how violent criminals gain access to guns."

In PA, Big Jump in Disapproval of Gov. Corbett from Quinnipiac University Survey
"Pennsylvania voters say 50 - 39 percent that Gov. Corbett's budget-cutting proposals are unfair to people like them, the independent Quinnipiac University survey finds."

ANCIENT EGYPT NUGGET!!
Pharaoh Statue Unearthed In Egypt from the Associated Press via Huffington Post
"Archaeologists unearthed one of the largest statues found to date of a powerful ancient Egyptian pharaoh at his mortuary temple in the southern city of Luxor, the country's antiquities authority announced Tuesday. The 13 meter (42 foot) tall statue of Amenhotep III was one of a pair that flanked the northern entrance to the grand funerary temple on the west bank of the Nile that is currently the focus of a major excavation."
FORTY-TWO feet tall!! That's as tall as a 3-4 story building!

TITANIC TRAGEDY NUGGET!!
Titanic's Unknown Child Given New, Final Identity from LiveScience
"...researchers believe that they have finally resolved the identity of the unknown child -- concluding that he was 19-month-old Sidney Leslie Goodwin from England. [Photo of Sidney Goodwin]"