News Nuggets 718

Lightening strikes in the South China Sea.  From Foreign Policy Magazine.

UP-FRONT POLLING NUGGET!!
Washington, D.C. Thinks the Economy is Doing Just Fine (Joan McCarter) from Daily Kos
"In case you’re wondering why Congress spent so much time twisting itself in knots over the long-term deficit, instead of over the current jobs crisis, this might help explain things: Washington, D.C., is the most economically optimistic area in the nation, according to Gallup.[...]"
A very telling indicator of extraordinary disconnect! May explain A LOT about where lawmakers have been on the jobs front.

Col Gaddafi Fires Scud Missile at Rebel Territory as Nato Braces Itself for Final Violent Showdown from the Daily Telegraph [of the UK]
"Col Muammar Gaddafi's Libyan government appeared to be preparing for a last violent final showdown after it emerged that his beleaguered regime had fired a Scud missile at rebel territory as opposition forces closed in on Tripoli."

Libya's Interior Minister Flies to Egypt in Apparent Defection from the Guardian [of the UK]
"Secrecy surrounding Nassr al-Mabrouk Abdullah's arrival in Cairo with his family raises suspicions of high-level defection."

Libya's Rebels Are Feeling Bullish (John Hudson) from the Atlantic
"Libya's civil war has a long track record of dubious claims from both sides and there are real questions about the rebel movement's unity, but the day's news has brought several signs that Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi is on his heels:"

No Stalemate in Libya – the Writing is on the Wall for Gaddafi (Brian Whitaker) from the Guardian [of the UK]
"A quick exit for the colonel matters less than a well-managed transition, preparing the country for representative government."

Phone Hacking: News of the World Reporter's Letter Reveals Cover-up from the Guardian [of the UK]
"Newly published letter claims intentional cover-up. ... Disgraced royal correspondent Clive Goodman's letter says phone hacking was 'widely discussed' at NoW meetings."

Stop Coddling the Super-Rich (Warren Buffet) from the New York Times
"Last year my federal tax bill — the income tax I paid, as well as payroll taxes paid by me and on my behalf — was $6,938,744. That sounds like a lot of money. But what I paid was only 17.4 percent of my taxable income — and that’s actually a lower percentage than was paid by any of the other 20 people in our office. Their tax burdens ranged from 33 percent to 41 percent and averaged 36 percent."

Congressional Job Approval Ties Historic Low of 13% from Gallup
"Disapproval rating of 84% highest in Gallup annals."

Chris Christie’s Cue (Ross Douthat) from the New York Times
"What Perry doesn’t have, though, is the kind of moderate facade that Americans look for in their presidents. He’s the conservative id made flesh, with none of the postpartisan/uniter-not-a-divider spirit that successful national politicians usually cultivate. Imagine if the Democratic Party nominated a combination of Al Franken and Nancy Pelosi for the presidency, and you have a sense of the kind of gamble Republicans would be taking with Perry. And even if that gamble worked, little in his record suggests that he’s prepared to preside over a polarized country, or negotiate his way through a divided Washington."

Republican Extremism, Bad Economics (Steven Rattner) from the New York Times
"Some of these views are to the right even of the Tea Party; they amount to the most radically conservative positions of any set of candidates at least since Barry M. Goldwater in 1964."

The Straw Poll Winner: Barack Obama (Eugene Robinson) from the Washington Post
"The Republican establishment, or what’s left of it, is nervous about this dynamic. But the establishment isn’t running the party anymore. The 16,892 Iowans who voted in the straw poll certainly didn’t intend to brighten Obama’s prospects of reelection, but that’s just what they might have accomplished."

Teavangelicals: in Capitalism and Free Markets They Trust (Anthea Butler) from the Guardian [of the UK]
"Nineteenth-century evangelicals were concerned with societal ills such as temperance, slavery, the rise of industrialisation and suffrage. The teavangelicals of the 21st century have flipped the script, turning their ideas about Christianity, social responsibility and care for the downtrodden into a mythology of Christian founding fathers. Add in some rugged selfish individualism, and the shameless promotion of a conservative prosperity gospel, and you have the modern day teavangelical that trusts in capitalism and free markets, and not the God stamped on American coins."

Tea Party Movement Getting Americans Steamed from Talking Points Memo
"The debt ceiling fight turned out to be a damper on the American economy, and for the approval ratings of political leaders in Washington. But it's starting to consume the same political entity that decided to make raising it a major issue: the Tea Party."

Thank You, Tea Party Know-Nothings (Greg Valliere) from CNBC
"It’s debatable whether a credit rating downgrade was warranted, but you have to conclude that the appalling indifference toward default – proudly embraced by a large percentage of House Republicans – surely spooked the S&P analysts. How stupid and reckless is the Tea Party? In addition to shrugging off a default threat – or perhaps welcoming one – they believe austerity is the correct medicine for a weak economy!! Where did they study economics, in a cornfield outhouse??"

Note to Pundits: The Problem Isn’t the GOP Field. It’s the GOP (Jonathan Bernstein) from the Washington Post
"The other thing I’d say to Republicans disappointed in the current choices (as Ross Douthat says he is today) is this: What you’re upset with isn’t the candidate — it’s the party. It’s inconceivable that anyone could get the Republican nomination while using anything but solid Tea Party rhetoric on pretty much every issue"

Rick Perry's Strength and Weakness: Jobs (David Frum) from CNN
"... if Texas has created many jobs, it has failed to create good jobs. Many of the jobs created since 2009 pay only minimum wage, and Texas, along with Mississippi, has the highest percentage of minimum wage workers in the U.S."

Why Rick Perry Won't Win (Kevin Drum) from Mother Jones Magazine
"Here are the top ten reasons why, despite all this, I think Perry is a weaker candidate than he's being made out to be:"

Perry Suggests that Bernanke's Policies Would be "Almost Treasonous" from Talking Points Memo
"Perry went on to suggest that a continuation of Bernanke's policies -- a so-called third round of quantitative easing -- would be "almost treasonous." Longtime Bush aide Tony Fratto later called Perry's remarks "inappropriate and unpresidential.""
WOW!  That didn't take long!  What a dumb thing to say!  The thing his promoters need to be concerned about is that this is EXACTLY the kind of "red meat" rhetoric that will get him the nomination (and would be a "no problem" message in Texas) BUT will sink any chance of winning in the general.  

James Fallows reacts to this and other aspects of Perry's opening plays:
Three Points on Rick Perry (James Fallows) from the Atlantic
"Just after Sarah Palin was nominated three years ago, I argued that anyone who moves all at once from state-level to national-level politics is going to be shocked by the greater intensity of the scrutiny and the broader range of expertise called for."

And then there's this:
Conservatives Begin to Fret About Rick Perry (Elspeth Reeve) from the Atlantic
"Eight years ago, Time magazine put Howard Dean on its cover with the question, "Does Howard Dean's renegade campaign stand a chance?" For Rove, it's a happy memory that the answer was "no." Clearly he doesn't want Republicans to wind up on the other side of that experience."
Check out the links that come with this article.

GOP Still Has No Chance (John Batchelor) from the Daily Beast
"Republicans are feeling giddy after the Ames Straw Poll. But the field offers little promise in the Rust Belt, where 2012 will be won or lost."

PRES-2016 Ed Rendell: Hillary Clinton Can't Resist White House Run from Politico
"I think the possibility of being president and being the first woman president in history would probably be too much for her to resist,” Rendell told POLITICO. ... Rendell was quoted in Monday’s New York Post as saying, “It’s going to be Hillary Clinton in 2016.”"
Now, I don't get that Ed Rendell has any insider info that tells him that Hillary is even remotely thinking about running in '16.  BUT he is a savvy pol who has a better sense of the Clintons and their instincts than most.  What he says here captures my own view: given a chance to rest and reflect, I could easily see Hillary going at it again in 2016, particularly given the weak field of prospects that have emerged so far on the Democratic side.

ROBOT NUGGETS!!
(1) Fast New Running Robot Is Terrifying (VIDEO) from the Atlantic
"Look at the way that thing runs! Pay special attention to the knees and its gait. MABEL's creators at the University of Michigan like to emphasize that the bot spends 40 percent of its time up in the air just like a real human runner."

(2) These Robots Can Hear Each Others' Robot Thoughts (VIDEO) from the Atlantic
"The future is now: Robots can communicate and join forces to take care of business, Voltron style, reports New Scientist."