A record 343 balloonists go up at the 12th Lorraine World Air Balloon Festival in Chambley-Bussieres, France. From the Daily Mail of the UK.Get Over It: This Is Who Obama Is (James Warren) from the Atlantic
""His ideological inclinations are liberal but, as far as being a politician, he's about getting things done. He was always pragmatic and about getting things done," said Peter Baroni, a Republican attorney-law professor-lobbyist in Chicago who had a bird's eye view of Obama while serving as legal counsel to Republicans in the Illinois Senate and to its Judiciary Committee."
Some VERY interesting and good) commentary on this article is at Daily Kos. Here's just one snippet to give you a sense:
"I'm afraid that too many on the left have been beaten down by decades of little or no progress. Losing has become part of their ideological identity to the extent that compromise is interpreted as failure . Progressives must learn to define success in ways other than losing righteously. There's a rising generation of progressives who aren't overburdened with cynicism and they're determined to get something done."
HERE! HERE!
Boehner Pulls Debt Limit Bill Again, With Days Left Before Default from Talking Points Memo
This article gives you the best sense of what happened last night.
"What was originally described as a brief snafu has turned into a stunning rebuke of House Republican leaders, who were unable Thursday to round up the minimum number of votes to pass Speaker John Boehner's debt limit bill."
John Boehner’s No-Confidence Vote (Dana Milbank) from the Washington Post
"“Get your ass in line,” Speaker John Boehner had told House Republicans who resisted his plan to raise the debt ceiling and avoid a default But really, it was Boehner’s butt that was on the line – and late Thursday night, he had it handed to him."
Five Reasons the House GOP Is to Blame (James Fallows) from the Atlantic
"...anyone who thinks I am mainly blaming the Republicans for the needless debt-ceiling fracas, especially the Tea Party-era House Republicans arrayed behind Rep. Eric Cantor (and Rep. Jim Jordan), is correct. To put the reasons in one place, as things go down to the wire, here they are:"
And what are congressmen from OUR area doing? LET'S GO TO THE VIDEOTAPE and see our GOP rep, Mike Kelly in the huddle yesterday with his House colleagues:
"Rep. Mike Kelly (R-Pa.), a bulky former Notre Dame football player, gave a rousing football-themed speech and said he would vote for the bill. He told colleagues they needed to do three things: Put on your helmet, put in your mouth piece and tighten your chinstrap. He gave out signs with the Notre Dame football saying, “Play like a champion today.” “Let’s kick the s—- out of them,” Kelly said in the meeting, according to several sources."
Oh.My.God. Mercer? Butler? Never heard of those places. They must be on the other side of the state.
A Conservative Revolt in Full (John Stanton and Humberto Sanchez) from Roll Call
"What for months had been a quiet campaign to pressure the GOP into a more conservative footing has, over the course of the debt limit negotiations, blossomed into a full-blown insurrection..."
House Republicans Unprepared For Senate Rejection Of Boehner Debt Limit Plan from Talking Points Memo
"...if it passes, Republicans will have to grapple with a key question -- one they haven't really considered, and which Boehner hasn't prepared them to answer: What happens when the Senate sends them back a different plan? ... "No, no discussion about that at all," Fleming said.""
S&P Softens Stance on Debt Rating Debate from the Washington Post
"The president of a major credit rating agency said Wednesday that some of the plans being considered by lawmakers to reduce the deficit by less than $4 trillion could still preserve the United States’ sterling credit rating."
Democrats Can Lose Debt Fight, Win on Bush Tax Cuts (Ezra Klein) from Bloomberg News Service
"Democrats will have their turn. On Dec. 31, 2012, three weeks before the end of President Barack Obama’s current term in office, the Bush tax cuts expire. Income tax rates will return to their Clinton-era levels. That amounts to a $3.6 trillion tax increase over 10 years..."
Can ANYONE be sanguine that Dems won't trade away that cookie at some point between now and then? Sadly, I'd actually bet that they will.
Quit Yer Whinin' (Roger Simon) from Politico
"Simon says Congress is a fantasy baseball camp where amateurs pretend they are major leaguers."
Here's What Happens if Ratings Agencies Downgrade U.S. Debt: It's Really Bad (Kevin Hall) from the McClatchy News Service
"The debt-ceiling debacle already is weighing on the economy. Here's a closer look at what a ratings downgrade would mean:"
A more alarming picture than the one presented by the NY Times yesterday.
Yes to Moderation, No to Centrism (E.J. Dionne) from the Washington Post
"What the country yearns for is moderation. What we hear about is the political center. But centrism has become the enemy of moderation."
Media Blows Debt Crisis Coverage With Balance Bias (Ari Melber) from the Nation
I have been seeing this everywhere!
"Balance Bias (bal-ance bi-as)
1. The assumption that there is truth and legitimacy to both sides of every dispute.
2. The iron law in political journalism that one side in a debate can never be exclusively right, or have a monopoly on the facts."
Obama, White House Seek to Reassure Base on Debt Ceiling Talks from the Washington Post
"The White House is waging an aggressive behind-the-scenes campaign to reassure core Democratic activists, following weeks of criticism from liberals who fear that President Obama has given too much ground in his debt-ceiling talks with Republicans."
Liberals Seek Boost From Debt Talks from Roll Call
"Two years ago, stimulus packages and bailouts fed a nationwide revolt that became the tea party movement. Now, liberal groups say frustration over the debt ceiling talks is fueling a left-wing equivalent."
Bachmann Declares Husband Off Limits In Campaign — After Slamming Michelle Obama In ‘08 from Talking Points Memo
"Bachmann has a very different take when it comes to other candidates' spouses: She's repeatedly attacked Michelle Obama in the harshest terms and specifically challenged the press to join in on her condemnations."
Sorry, honey! As Geraldine Ferraro could have told you from her experience in '84, spouses are FAIR GAME. Should have factored that one in a long time ago!! Kos (from Daily Kos) has a very nice summation.
Rep. Joe Walsh Defends Not Paying $117,000 In Child Support: ‘This Is Where Real America Is’ from Think Progress
"Last night the Chicago Sun-Times broke the story that Tea Party freshman Rep. Joe Walsh (R-IL), who has spent months lecturing President Obama and Democrats on fiscal responsibility, owes $117,437 in child support to his ex-wife and three children. ... Walsh not only refused to acknowledge his hypocrisy but insisted that being a deadbeat dad meant he understood the plight of average Americans:"
Read the whole story. I would be silent for weeks given how many ways this guy leaves me speechless!!
We haven't touched base with the Murdoch scandal for a while. Today, news that the Murdoch crew seemed to really outdo themselves in global shamelessness:
News of the World Targeted Phone of Sarah Payne's Mother from the Guardian [of the UK]
"Exclusive: Private investigator Glenn Mulcaire had personal details of murdered girl's mother."
Apparently, Rebekah Brooks befriended the family, provided them with a mobile phone and then hacked that phone.
BIG-NEWS-YOU-PROBABLY-MISSED NUGGET!!
Obama to Announce New Fuel Standards from National Journal
"In what will represent the administration’s biggest move on energy policy this year, President Obama on Friday will announce that his administration has struck a deal with the nation’s biggest automakers to ramp up vehicle fuel-economy standards to 54.5 miles per gallon by 2025..."
HISTORY OF MUSIC NUGGET!!
The Invention of Our Music: A Review of The Christian West and Its Singers: The First Thousand Years by Christopher Page from the New Republic
"Yet it puts the achievement of Page’s remarkable book into perspective, because just about every note under consideration in these six hundred pages was written before Hildegard was born. And so extremely esoteric is the subject matter in academic terms that it is no exaggeration to say the author has founded a new department of research."
HIGHER ED NUGGET!!
Liberate Liberal Arts from the Myth of Irrelevance from the Christian Science Monitor
"Today’s employers want workers who are thinkers. To meet the demands of the 21st century student and economy, a new model of liberal arts is emerging – one tied to hands-on experience."
STRANGE CHEMISTRY NUGGET!
‘It’s Alive! It’s Alive!’ Maybe Right Here on Earth from the New York Times
"Here in a laboratory perched on the edge of the continent, researchers are trying to construct Life As We Don’t Know It in a thimbleful of liquid."
FUN ADVERTISING NUGGET!!
The Science of Slogans: The Best and Worst Ad Campaigns of All Time from the Atlantic
"What's in a slogan? One part elegant phrasing, two parts brand positioning, and a glaze of virtue and idealism. Oh, and don't forget a pinch of good luck."
AMAZING BAT NUGGET!!
World's Largest Urban Bat Colony Forms in the City of Austin Texas (PHOTOS) from the Daily Mail [of the UK]
"Stand on a certain bridge in Texas, hold you breath and get ready to be amazed by what you see. There are 1.5 million bats living under a bridge in Austin that make up the world's largest urban bat colony, and a historic drought is making them hungrier than ever when they come out for food."
The photos here are AMAZING!!
SOVIET HISTORY NUGGET!!
'As Though the Residents Simply Vanished’: A Visit to Chernobyl, 25 Years Later from the Boston Globe
"The diary was lying face up on the floor of a kindergarten classroom that, save for the decay and peeling paint, was frozen in time, pretty much exactly as it was when the order came to evacuate that day a quarter-century ago."
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