FATHER'S DAY PHOTO NUGGET!!
Obama & Father's Day: Dad-In-Chief & First Daughters' Cutest Moments (PHOTOS, POLL) from the Huffington Post
"To celebrate dads across America, we're bringing you a slew of pictures of President Barack Obama and his adorable daughters."
Qaeda Woes Fuel Talk of Speeding Afghan Pullback from the New York Times
"As the Obama administration nears a crucial decision on how rapidly to withdraw combat forces from Afghanistan, high-ranking officials say that Al Qaeda’s original network in the region has been crippled, providing a rationale for an accelerated reduction of troops."
Why Europe No Longer Matters (Richard N. Haass) from the Washington Post
"...one reason for NATO’s increasing marginalization stems from the behavior of its European members. The problem is not the number of European troops (there are 2 million) nor what Europeans collectively spend on defense ($300 billion a year), but rather how those troops are organized and how that money is spent. With NATO, the whole is far less than the sum of its parts."
Moral Hazard at NATO (Robert Haddick) from Foreign Policy Magazine
"Europe may not be able to rely on America's free security guarantee forever."
Israel's Options for Dealing With a Nuclear Iran (Louis Rene Beres & John Chain) from US News & World Report
"With preemption obviated, the Jewish state will have to rely on a careful combination of active defense and reliable deterrence."
Read Me a Story, and My Rights (Dahlia Lithwick) from Slate
"Sonia Sotomayor shows Samuel Alito the value of judicial empathy."
Gay Congressman Defends Obama's LGBT Record from Huffington Post
"After heated criticism of President Barack Obama on gay issues at Netroots Nation, openly gay Congressman Jared Polis defended Obama on Saturday, calling him "the best president this country has ever had on LGBT issues."
The GOP's New 2012 Game Changer (Mark McKinnon) from the Daily Beast
"He’s presidential-looking, he’s cool, his reformist views are catnip to moderates—Jon Huntsman just shot past Tim Pawlenty to No. 2 on Mark McKinnon’s top 10 ranking of Republican hopefuls."
The audacity and simplicity of Huntsman's strategy is beginning to emerge. It is BRILLIANT. Huntsman is going to bypass Iowa completely (where Bachmann or Pawlenty will trounce Romney) and put ALL HIS EFFORTS into winning New Hampshire. Why NH? It is an OPEN PRIMARY and no democrats will be running. That means anyone can vote in the primary. Bachmann et al will get the hard right GOPers leaving Romeny and Huntsman to fight over the rest. Huntsman is banking on that moderate Republicans, independents and democrats will vote in droves in the GOP primary -- and that they will choose Huntsman. After New Hampshire comes South Carolina -- and can Romney win there if he has lost both in in Iowa and New Hampshire? Huntsman is betting not. As I say ... brilliant.
The Kossacks at Netroots Nation don't seem to share my sense of how the race will unfold, as described in this posting:
Netroots Nation 2011: Who is the GOP's Great Hope for 2012? (David Nir) from Daily Kos
"All the panelists, including Slate writer Dave Weigel, former DNC hands Matt Ortega and Kombiz Lavasany, and Dkos editor Jake McIntyre, agreed that Romney is by far the most imposing candidate the likeliest to score the GOP nod. But why?"
Others (many from the actual GOP) seem to think differently about Huntsman's chances:
Ron Paul Wins Republican Leadership Conf. Straw Poll; Jon Huntsman Second from CBS News
"Ron Paul won the presidential straw poll at the Republican Leadership Conference in New Orleans Saturday, easily beating out his rivals for the GOP nomination. Second place went to Jon Huntsman, the little-known former Utah governor who missed the conference with a cold."
SECOND!? The guy's nowhere in the polls -- and yet these "sages" from the RLC seem to like what they see. This is the first indication I've seen that actual Republicans are taking Huntsman seriously.
TX Gov Rick Perry Calls for Rightward Tilt (Jeff Zeleny) from the New York Times
"Gov. Rick Perry of Texas, the latest Republican to muse openly about exploring a Republican presidential candidacy, drew booming applause here on Saturday for not only assailing President Obama but also lecturing some members of his own party on the importance of socially conservative principles."
Want to run for the president? GO FOR IT! Word on the street is that Perry is a pretty dim bulb. You would think the Republicans would be a little more wary of nominating another witless Texas governor -- but maybe not!
THREE EDUCATION NUGGETS!!
(1) The Nation's Report Card: A 'F' in History (Michael Krasny) from NPR's Forum program
"The National Assessment of Educational Progress has released a report showing that the vast majority of students scored below "proficiency" in American history, with many fourth graders failing to recognize a picture of Abraham Lincoln. Critics say history has been shortchanged due to No Child Left Behind and its focus on math and reading scores. How important is a history education?"
(2) What's Your College Degree Worth? (Dave Iverson) from NPR's Forum program
"We know that in general, bachelor degrees pay off. But now a recent study confirms that how much you earn may depend on what you majored in. We discuss the findings with Anthony Carnevale, director of the Center on Education and the Workforce at Georgetown University."
The report mentioned in the program is HERE.
Don't Know Much About History: A Conversation with Historian David McCullough from the Wall Street Journal
"'We're raising young people who are, by and large, historically illiterate," David McCullough tells me on a recent afternoon in a quiet meeting room at the Boston Public Library. Having lectured at more than 100 colleges and universities over the past 25 years, he says, "I know how much these young people—even at the most esteemed institutions of higher learning—don't know." Slowly, he shakes his head in dismay. "It's shocking.""
OBAMA HISTORY NUGGET!!
Pre-presidential Obama: Test How Much You Know About His Early Life (David Karas) from the Christian Science Monitor
"You see him on television, hear him on the radio, and read about him in the papers. But how much do you really know about Barack Obama and his fast-track path to the White House? Test your knowledge of the man who became America’s 44th president – the fifth youngest ever elected – with our quiz on his life before taking office."
I got 7 out of 10 -- it was pretty challenging.
TWO OUTER SPACE NUGGETS!!
(1) Black Hole Fires Beam of Energy at Earth While Swallowing Star from the Christian Science Monitor
Black hole fires beams at Earth while destroying star: a massive black hole has been discovered devouring a star, causing the star to shoot beams of energy at Earth. The event is thought to occur only once every 100 million years."
(2) NASA Launches 100-Year Quest to Send Humans to the Stars from the Christian Science Monitor
"A joint NASA-Pentagon project, called the 100 Year Starship Study, aims to get inventive minds thinking about how human interstellar space travel can become a reality by next century."
CIVIL RIGHTS BOOK NUGGET!!
The Central Park Jogger Case Revisited: A Review of The Central Park Five by Sarah Burns from the Sunday New York Times Book Review
"“This,” rather than signifying a horrific gang rape in New York City’s bucolic backyard, here signifies a preventable miscarriage of justice that put five Harlem teenagers behind bars for a crime they didn’t commit."
DOG NUGGET!!
Well: Your Dog Is Watching You from the New York Times
"Dogs are constantly learning from the reaction of human owners, picking up facial cues and anticipating their owner's behavior, new research suggest."
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