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Thursday, July 8, 2010

News Nuggets 395


A young orang-utan and a three year old playing at an animal sanctuary in Florida.  It happens all the time.  See the great ape nugget below from the Daily Mail.
"For several weeks, the prospect of the fight raised racial tensions in cities and towns across the country and none more so than in Pittsburgh."
Why Obama Is in a Hurry to Make History (Howard Fineman) from Newsweek
"Obama is playing a deep, longer-range game, one that involves burnishing his identity as a "historical," history-making figure. The president is swinging for the fences because that is what home-run hitters do. ... To switch sports analogies, if he were an Olympic diver, he’d always be attempting the dives with the highest degree of difficulty. If the execution isn’t perfect, he gets a higher score anyway."
"BP hopes to completely shut off flow from its gushing Gulf of Mexico oil well by later this month -- weeks earlier than the company's previous public forecasts."
This is the first really decent news I've heard on the oil spill front in months!
Netanyahu's Second Chance from the Editorial Board of Al Haaretz [of Israel in English]
"Obama has made it clear that his goal was, and still is, the establishment of a Palestinian state alongside Israel. ... Netanyahu must take advantage of the chance he has been given, say yes to Obama, and act seriously and swiftly to end the occupation and establish an independent Palestine."
"That this national tragedy was followed by an otherwise unremarkable election is testament to Poland’s long road to political normalcy. The crash did not undo Poland’s political system, as many feared; it turned out to be the final step in its normalization."
Fascinating analysis.
Jobs Now, Deficits ... Soon (Matt Miller) from the Washington Post
"What would a radically centrist "Jobs Now, Deficits Soon" package look like?"
Obama's Lincoln Moment (Timothy Egan) from the New York Times
"As Abraham Lincoln had an Army of the Potomac that looked inert under Gen. George McClellan, Obama has an economy stalled and troubled, and two wars, one now branded as the nation’s longest, its outcome never more uncertain.  Alexander Gardner Abraham Lincoln Where to advance? Where to retreat? Who to fire? Who to hire?"
Fourth of July 1776, 1964, 2010 (Frank Rich) from the New York Times
"“The way to stop discrimination on the basis of race is to stop discriminating on the basis of race,” wrote our current Supreme Court chief justice, John Roberts, in a smug majority opinion nibbling away at Brown v. Board of Education in 2007. His conservative self-righteousness,
a product of his time, is as delusional as L.B.J.’s liberal faith in the efficacy of a federal “Community Relations Service” was in 1964. On this Fourth, as on the 233 that preceded it, America is still very much a work in progress."


US Pres-2012: Romney is a Non-STARTer (Baron Young-Smith) from the New Republic
"But the question at hand isn't necessarily whether Romney's ghostwriter "has even the vaguest acquaintance with the subject matter [the new START Treaty]." As with the "death panels," Romney's op-ed is an ideological statement, which does not require fealty to facts. And it has far-reaching implications for the way we should think about Mitt Romney the man, the 2012 election, and the future of American foreign policy."


LA-Sen: Vitter Claims Disgraced Staffer Didn't Work on Women's Issues; Records Show Otherwise from TalkingPoints Memo
"Facing reporters for the first time in weeks on Wednesday, Sen. David Vitter (R-LA) denied a key element in the controversy surrounding a former legislative aide who remained on Vitter's staff after pleading guilty to attacking his girlfriend with a knife in 2008. But records reviewed by TPM show clearly that Vitter's claim is false."
Hard to say if this will impact Vitter's re-election bid.  GOP voters seem fairly indiscriminate in issuing free passes to their Republican lawmakers.  As former LA Governor Eddie Edwards once said, "In order to really damage your political chances in Louisiana you need to be caught in bed with a dead woman or a live boy."  Vitter's been caught with several live women not his wife.  There's still a gap there.
COLD WAR HISTORY NUGGET!!
"Now it has been revealed that the highly erratic president's metaphorical digit was hovering even closer than was widely realised as his administration laid plans for an atomic strike against North korea in 1969 following the shooting down of a US spy plane."
GREAT APE NUGGET!!
"The three-year-olds spent a blissful afternoon climbing, swinging from rings and tyres, pedalling around on a plastic tricycle and sometimes pausing for a hug in scenes reminiscent of the 'I Wanna Be Like You' sequence in the Disney film of The Jungle Book."
The pictures for this article are really charming!
PRE-HISTORIC ANIMAL NUGGET!!
No -- this is not a headline from the Weekly World News!
"Remains of a probable Gomphotherium, aka "Welded Beast," were recently dug up at the site of a Tennessee swimming pool, according to a WHEC report, and other media sources. "

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Wednesday, July 7, 2010

News Nuggets 394


A rainbow caused by the midnight sun in northern Finland.  From the Daily Mail.  See the rainbow nugget below.

CORRECTION: I had said yesterday I'd be having an article in today's Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.  It's actually in today's Pittsburgh Courier and will be on their website [and this one] tomorrow.

US-Israel Reset (Michael Tomasky) from the Guardian [of the UK]
"I think what we have here is basically the end of the territory-marking phase of the relationship."

The Dance of the Peace Process (Jacob Heilbrunn) from the National Interest
"The idea that Israel is simply impervious to American, or international, pressure is mistaken. That’s why Netanyahu said that direct talks with the Palestinians could take place in a few weeks. The big news is that Obama backed him up. "

"Despite his wartime portfolio, Vice President Joe Biden seems to be one of the few people around the White House who is actually enjoying his job these days."
Given the positive press he's received in the last several weeks, he SHOULD be enjoying his job.

Pope Benedict XVI Lashes Out at Secular Justice from Der Speigel [of Germany in English]
"This spring, it looked as though the Catholic Church was finally going to confront charges of sexual abuse head on. Following recent police raids in Belgium, however, the Vatican has once again closed ranks. In the internal Holy See debate, the conservatives have regained the upper hand."
Dumb.  The Holy See's reaction right along has been, sad, pathetic and deeply counter-productive.

"As the weeks pass, Scott Nicholson, ..., has gradually realized that his career will not roll out in the Greater Boston area — or anywhere in America — with the easy inevitability that his father and grandfather recall, and that Scott thought would be his lot, too, when he finished college in 2008. “I don’t think I fully understood the severity of the situation I had graduated into,” he said, speaking in effect for an age group."

For African-Americans, A Virtual Depression—Why? (Orlando Patterson) from the Nation
"perhaps the most startling recent development has been the finding of several recent reports showing that the black middle class as a group is not only losing ground compared with other groups but is failing to reproduce itself. A 2007 Pew Foundation/Brookings Institution study found that a majority of black middle-class children earned less than their parents and, even more alarming, that almost half of downwardly mobile offspring had fallen to the bottom of the income distribution.
What happened?"

"A new rule aims to reduce emissions of sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide around and downwind of old coal-fired power plants east of the Mississippi, in keeping with an Obama campaign promise."
Here again -- this is one of the reasons that Obama got elected.  This could be excellent news.

"Recent polls indicate a slow but steady uptick in the popularity of healthcare reform. Despite Republican hopes that the law’s controversial passage will win them seats this fall, the Democrats’ actions show they still consider the issue a political winner."

It's Feds v. Arizona.  Bet on Feds (Jonathan Cohn) from the New Republic
"Arizona may have some success in the lower courts, but I don't believe that the Supreme Court Justices, whether conservative or liberal, will be at all sympathetic with the notion the federal control over immigration ought to delegated to 50 different states."

"As NBC pollster Peter Hart (D) reminded us, Democrats won California just ONCE in presidential contests from 1952 to 1988. But after Wilson’s Prop. 187, Republicans haven’t come CLOSE to winning the nation’s biggest state. It's not even remotely close to being a swing state."

"There is a civil war on the left over Barack Obama. The fault lines are jagged, and depending on the issue, porous, but broadly, the split is along two fronts:"

"The Democratic Party is moving faster and more aggressively than in previous election years to dig up unflattering details about Republican challengers. In House races from New Jersey to Ohio to California, Democratic operatives are seizing on evidence of GOP candidates' unpaid
income taxes, property tax breaks and ties to financial firms that received taxpayer bailout money."
Given the candidates the GOP is fielding, this should be like shooting fish in a barrel.  

RAINBOW NUGGET!!
"The pictures were taken in northern Finland, where the summer sun never sets and the light was still strong enough to form a rainbow in the middle of the night."
Truly breath-taking!



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Tuesday, July 6, 2010

News Nuggets 393

A cornfield in Sao Paulo, Brazil.  From National Geographic.

T Minus Two Years (Jonathan Alter) from Newsweek
"There are at least three reasons—military, financial, and -political—to take the president at his word that the current commitment of 100,000 troops will be of short duration."

A Quiet Diplomacy on the Mideast Peace Path (Martin Indyk) from the Brookings Institution
The current sturm und drang in U.S.-Israel relations cloaks a surprising development: President Obama and Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu are beginning to develop a constructive working relationship sensitive to the legitimate concerns of the other.

Houston, We've Got Zero Problems (Editorial) from Today's Zamen [of Turkey in English]
"Even the most enthusiastic supporters of the new air of confidence in Turkish foreign policy are being forced to admit that everything is not going as planned and that however appealing the Davutoğlu view of the world may be, there are real problems with its execution."

"Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel used a fence-mending session with President Obama on Tuesday to say that he intends to take “concrete steps” in the coming weeks to move the Israeli-Palestinian peace process “further along in a very robust way.”"

America May Never be the Same Again (William Galston) from the Democratic Strategist
"The just-released report from the Pew Research Center, "How the Great Recession Has Changed Life in America," is probably the most searching investigation of this question produced so far. Although some of the top-line findings have circulated widely, some of the less-noticed details are just as significant. Taken as a whole, the report suggests that the Great Recession will have a more-than-transitory effect on the outlook and psychology of most Americans, with significant consequences for our economy and society. Some key items:"

Impatient for Change (Neal Gabler) from the Boston Globe
"Americans want the economic disaster to be over now, and we are angry that it isn’t. We don’t have time for financial reforms or pump-priming or a long-term transformation to a green economy. We expect a magic wand. And who can blame us? Unlike our forebears, we live in a society in which nearly everything happens instantly. Impatience is the new American way."

The Case Against Arizona (Chris Good) from the Atlantic
"The Department of Justice filed its long-awaited lawsuit against the state of Arizona today in federal district court. How will Attorney General Eric Holder challenge the state's immigration law, specifically? The case rests on two points:"

A Reasonable Man: A Profile of David Brooks (Christopher Beam) from New York Magazine
"In a world of loud voices and extreme positions, David Brooks manages to be both irrelevant and absolutely essential."

What Do Liberals Want from Obama? (Jonathan Cohn) from the New Republic
"I’ve always thought the president’s biggest ability to shape the political conversation is by setting the agenda--that is, by choosing what causes to embrace and then elevating them issue through his speeches and actions. Critics on the left seem to think the choice was between a pretty good plan and a spectacular one. It wasn’t."

Culture War and Peace Regarding Mitch Daniels (Ed Kilgore) from the Democratic Strategist
"Given the newly rediscovered monomania for deficit hawkery among Republicans, buttressed by Tea Party demands for smaller government now, Daniels looks like someone who can credibly wear a green eyeshade at a time when that's the sexiest look around. But in the self-same Ferguson profile that exemplified the emergence of Daniels '12 buzz, the putative candidate himself (who has mastered a stance of disinterested availability for a White House run) tossed a little hand grenade into his own camp:"

CO-Sen: When Politics Goes Primitive (Richard Cohen) from the Washington Post
"Yet, because Bennet faces a primary, and if he survives that, a general election, none of these things could be mentioned. In the current political environment, it behooves the wise candidate to hide his qualifications. We have come to value ignorance."

BIG APPLE NUGGET!!
Take Me to the River.  Finally (Nathan Ward) from the New York Times
"THIS summer, with the debut of the Brooklyn Bridge Park, as well as the expansion of Manhattan’s Hudson River Park and Governors Island, New Yorkers have celebrated the reclamation of the waterfront. But the effort, laudable though it is, obscures a not-so-insignificant historical misunderstanding: we are in fact claiming the waterfront, not reclaiming it."

SPORT CENTENNIAL NUGGET!!
The Fight of the Century - Really (Henry Fetter) from the Atlantic
"On July 4, 1910, Jack Johnson beat James Jeffries—and sent white America into a rage that caused riots."
I'll have a piece in tomorrow's Pittsburgh Post-Gazette on one of these riots!

SCULPTURE NUGGET!!
"A sandstone sculpture of a kneeling man sharpening a knife could be a long forgotten work by Michelangelo, according to an Italian scholar who has rediscovered the statue in a private collection."

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Monday, July 5, 2010

News Nuggets 392

A lightening storm over Denver.  From the Daily Mail.  See the tornado nugget below.

UP-FRONT INDEPENDENCE DAY NUGGET!!
Pride and Independence in Provincetown (Phillip Hoare) from the Guardian [of the UK]
"This is small-town America, with all its good and bad. And this tawdriness, which old Europe may sneer at, is in fact extraordinarily reassuring."

Another appropriate opinion is voiced here:
The Meaning of the Forth of July Now (Jack White) from The Root
"The hopeful trope that got him elected is that these are the United States of America--one nation, one people, unified by a collective pursuit of a common dream. But while the vibrant, multicolored, more mature and just society that Obama evokes has been born, it could still be choked in its cradle."

The Afghanistan Endgame (John Barry) from Newsweek
"Most of the players in the region are already planning for it—except maybe the Taliban."

"The contrast in tone between the new national space policy unveiled by President Obama last week and the policy adopted by the Bush administration four years ago is striking. The Bush policy was jingoistic, unilateral in approach, and resistant to arms control in space. The Obama policy is cooperative, international in approach, and open to a verifiable arms control treaty to restrain the development of space weapons."

"Guys, Cool It" from True/Slant
"Of the unusually calm reaction on the Russian side, one former Russian intelligence officer told Newsweek, “This time, everyone is keeping quiet, even though there is a huge amount of people who want to play the anti-American card,” he said. “And they would have done it had there not been a command from the very top: ‘Guys, cool it.’”"

"Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has suddenly found himself reassessing his government's burgeoning ties with the Islamic Republic of Iran - and sooner than expected."
The moves of leaders of Turkey and Brazil to develop their own Iran program is looking dopier by the day.  They both are increasingly looking like fools.

The Right Kind of American Populism (Jon Meacham) from Newsweek
"Populism’s shift from economics to culture in America is as important a development in our politics as the rise of civil rights at home or the fall of the Soviet Union abroad. Without an effective progressive economic movement, questions about wealth and power become questions of degree, not kind. The status quo is accepted (that’s why it’s called the status quo), and even the ablest of modern Democratic politicians find themselves at work in an arena defined by those with an interest in limiting reform and thwarting revolutions."

"Vice President Joe Biden is using his political capital with Iraq’s leaders to urge them in starkly personal terms to break the four-month stalemate that followed their parliamentary elections. "

"A tough law against illegal immigrants in Nebraska could revive the whites-only-at-night towns of our Jim Crow past."

HORSE NUGGET!!
"Although horses can't talk (with the exception of Mister Ed naturally), they are able to pick up on subtle eye and body movements."

VOLCANO NUGGET!!
"Last month, British volcano photographer and Discovery News guest blogger Richard Roscoe ventured to the southern Pacific Island state of Vanuatu to get spectacular images of Yasur volcano, just as it was starting to boil over. The following is his account of photographing its eruption while dodging red-hot lava bombs, ash clouds, and volcanic lightning:"

AMUSEMENT PARKS NUGGET!!
The World's Worst Theme Parks from Foreign Policy Magazine
"Disneyland and Six Flags may conjure up images of log flumes and roller coasters, long lines and egregiously priced cotton candy, but it's not always fun and games. Here are six theme parks where it's more propaganda than Pinocchio, more geopolitics than Goofy."
This doesn't mean goofy is completely absent.  There are days where you think nothing can shock you.  Then you discover places like Love Island, a pornographer's Disneyland in South Korea.  It's no. 3 on this list. 

TORNADO NUGGET!!
"If you’re looking for a whirlwind holiday, a break in America’s Midwest might just fit the bill. Storm-chasers Roger and Caryn Hill are now taking British punters on the hunt of their lives following deadly and destructive tornados. Ploughing their way through 'Tornado Alley', the couple drive groups of up to 18 people in three buses and charge up to £230 a day for a ten-day chase."
Storm chasers are nothing new -- but the pictures here are pretty cool!

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Sunday, July 4, 2010

News Nuggets 391




In place of a regular pet photo day with dogs and cats, we're going to do somewhat more exotic pets today.  Here are two from Americablog.

How America Can Rise Again (James Fallows) from the Atlantic
"After a year of economic calamity that many fear has sent us into irreversible decline, the author finds reassurance in the peculiarly American cycle of crisis and renewal, and in the continuing strength of the forces that have made the country great: our university system, our receptiveness to immigration, our culture of innovation. "
As most of you know, I have been highly skeptical of the "sky is falling" alarmism one finds concerning the US's relative place in the world -- but Fallows is basically on the same page here with points that address the core issues in a fairly comprehensive, long-form article.

When an issue separates the majority from the truth ... (David Rothkopf) from Foreign Policy Magazine
"There are plenty of issues in the news right now where it is absolutely clear the public and the truth are on different sides of the argument. Take just these five:"
I think the author is off-base on some of these issues -- but the larger point certainly is true.

The Least Free Places on Earth: 2010 from Foreign Policy Magazine
"A look at 20 places with nothing to celebrate this weekend. The following images are from the bottom 20 countries and territories from Freedom House's Freedom in the World report, with text prepared by the staff of Freedom House."

It's Not Even Coded Bigotry Anymore (Joan Walsh) from Salon
"The GOP hits Elena Kagan for admiring Thurgood Marshall and hailing from "Manhattan's Upper West Side""

"The first hint of a nearing end to the massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico was voiced Friday by the Coast Guard admiral in charge there. By July 15, a new, better cap might replace the present leaky cap on the broken well -- temdporarily containing all of the oil, said Adm. Thad Allen."

"When Senate Republicans decided to turn the first day of Solicitor General Elena Kagan’s confirmation hearing into a referendum on her mentor, Justice Thurgood Marshall, they made two mistakes."

Surprise, surprise: Tea Partyers are Republicans (E.J. Dionne) from the Washington Post
"Last April, I argued that “both major parties stand to lose if they accept the laughable notion that this media-created protest movement is the voice of true populism. Democrats will spend their time chasing votes they will never win. Republicans will turn their party into an angry and narrow redoubt with no hope of building a durable majority.” I see no reason to change my mind on that."

GOP 'Keystone Kops' Candidates May Save Dem Majorities (J.P. Green) from the Democratic Strategist
"Despite the historical precedent of the party that holds the white house losing seats in their first midterm elections, Dems have a crop of exceptionally-solid candidates in high profile contests. In this context, a series of Dem campaign ads depicting the more clownish GOP statements, followed by a "Sober policies and serious leaders are needed for tough times" message might get some traction."

Three Reasons Why Dems in Better Shape Than in '94 (J.P. Green) from the Democratic Strategist
"Rhodes Cook, senior columnist at Larry J. Sabato's Crystal Ball, has some encouraging observations for Democratic candidates' mid term prospects. Cook sees 2010 Dems in much better shape relative to the 1994 disaster. First, it's about exposure, says Cook:"
See Cooke's original report HERE.

"The obvious factual mistake aside--the war began in 2001 under Bush--conservatives are furious that their party hard would condemn one of the few policies on which they agree with Obama."

"The “Draft Joe” movement has begun. Top West Virginia labor and business leaders are calling on Gov. Joe Manchin– who local Democrats say is highly interested in running for Senate—to reverse course and appoint himself to the seat held by the late Sen. Robert Byrd (D-W.Va.)."

HISTORY NUGGET!!
Twelve Unexpected History Trips from the New York Times
"From retro Palm Springs to Newport mansions, history is everywhere you look. Below are 12 ways to experience our geeky, gaudy, mystical, majestic, tough and tragic roots."

CIVIL WAR NUGGET!!
Lincoln Snatches Nomination (Harold Holzer) from American Heritage Magazine
"Bare-knuckles politicking and a brilliant campaign strategy enabled the dark horse to win ."
An appropriate Independence Day topic.

MOVIE NUGGET (I)!!
"You could always stay home and watch a film that just might make you genuinely proud to be an American. Need some options? That's exactly what this list provides."

MOVIE NUGGET (II)!!
"Two books, plus a movie that he wrote and co-directed (which debuted June 30), are about Barack Obama's childhood in Indonesia. Obama Anak Menteng, or Obama the Menteng Kid, may be a fictionalized account, but it's grounded in Dematra's real reporting. The film explores just one year, 1970, of Obama's past that the filmmaker says played an important role in forming the 44th President's character."

MOVIE NUGGET (III)!!
Cast in Asia's Image from Newsweek
"Five years ago, Hong Kong film director and producer Peter Chan got an intriguing call from Warner Brothers: would he be interested in remaking The Bridges of Madison County with Chow Yun-Fat reprising Clint Eastwood’s role and Chinese actress Gong Li stepping in for Meryl Streep?"

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Saturday, July 3, 2010

Due to the 4th of July holiday, the nuggets will not resume daylee service until Tuesday.
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Friday, July 2, 2010

News Nuggets 390

A bison and a prairie dog face off in Wyoming.

The Secret Agent Brouhaha from the National Interest
"Washington and Moscow shouldn’t let this dramatized spy ordeal affect relations.  ...  According to mainstream media and the FBI, a major Russian spy ring has been exposed and the members arrested. ... This story is simply bizarre, but it is also banal."

Why Job Growth May Be Better Than It Seems (David Leonhardt) from the New York Times
"Whatever happens tomorrow, though, it’s worth keeping something in mind: The official government statistics are probably understating job growth right now. That tends to be the pattern after recessions end."

Hey, On Health Care, Sometimes Government Works (Jonathan Cohn) from the New Republic
"Three months after health care reform became law, the political conversation hasn't changed all that much--except that, instead of arguing whether to pass reform, now we're talking about whether to repeal it. But, behind the scenes, the Obama Administration has been busy putting the law into effect."

"In its long struggle to grapple with sexual abuse, the Vatican often cites as a major turning point the decision in 2001 to give the office led by Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger the authority to cut through a morass of bureaucracy and handle abuse cases directly. ... But church documents and interviews with canon lawyers and bishops cast that 2001 decision and the future pope’s track record in a new and less flattering light."

Seven Days That Shook the Vatican from the National Catholic Reporter
"It’s customary for the Vatican to empty its pipeline of pending business before the pope heads for his annual summer retreat in Castel Gandolfo, which Benedict will do after his general audience next Wednesday. In itself, that usually makes for a flurry of news in late June, which was turbo-charged this year by dramatic events breaking in on the Vatican from the outside. Consider the torrent of big-ticket Vatican stories during the past week:"

"So, is Mr. Obama trying to form The Socialist Republic of America? Or are the accusations mainly a political weapon, meant to stick Obama with a label that is poison to many voters and thus make him a one-term president? As is often the case in politics, the answer is in the eye of the beholder."


"When President Barack Obama announced in the Rose Garden last week that he had sacked Gen. Stanley McChrystal, he also made a point of telling his fractious Afghanistan team that he welcomed “debate” but would not abide “division.”  The poster child for that all-for-one approach was standing directly on the president’s right: Vice President Joe Biden."

"A year and a half after the idea of a Tea Party burst into view, three of 10 Americans describe themselves in the USA TODAY/Gallup Poll as Tea Party supporters — equal to the number who call themselves Republicans — though many of them acknowledge they aren't exactly sure what that allegiance means."

OUTTER SPACE NUGGET!!
The First Photo of a Planet Outside Our Solar System from the Gemini Observatory via Gizmodo

"This isn't our Sun. This other sun is 470 light-years away from our home. Its name is 1RXS J160929.1-210524, and the orange sphere near it has been confirmed today as an orbiting planet. The first photo of an extra-solar planet."
Most cool!

AGING NUGGET!!
"A newly discovered suite of 150 "long life" variants in about 70 genes allows scientists to guess, with 77 percent accuracy, whether a person can live into their late 90s or longer, a new study says."
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Thursday, July 1, 2010

News Nuggets 389

A desert in Peru where new giant whale bones were discovered.  See the whale-of-a-whale nugget below.

"As prosecutors assemble their case, Mr. Obama has resolved not to let the ghosts of the 20th century get in the way of his goals in the 21st."

"From April of this year to the end of 2011, I predict GDP growth of 3 percent to 5 percent per year and five million net new jobs (about 250,000 jobs a month) from the lowest level of the downturn, along with an unemployment rate of 8 percent. The recovery should continue in 2012 and the unemployment rate should dip below 7 percent by the summer of 2012."

The Bush Administration's Fiscal Record (Ezra Klein) from the Washington Post
"One of the other takeaways from the Congressional Budget Office's long-term budget outlook is that the Bush administration really wasn't fiscally responsible, while the Obama administration pretty much has been."

"Americans who have been denied coverage because of a preexisting medical condition may begin applying Thursday under the new program. A tanning salon tax also takes effect."

"The US news media radically changed how it reported on the issue of waterboarding after it emerged that US forces had used the practice, says a new study from Harvard University."
Glenn Greenwald has a scathing commentary on this report HERE.

Have Obama and the Democrats Forgotten How to Fight? (E.J.Dionne) from the Washington Post
"Democrats wonder why the polls find an "enthusiasm gap" that suggests their supporters will sit around grumpily in November while Republicans flood the polling places. It might help if voters saw President Obama and his party in Congress fighting for something going into these elections (including their record on health care and financial reform) rather than reacting, retrenching and retreating."
E.J. is sooo on the money today!  The Dems have from the start looked weak, vacillating and timid in the face of GOP obstruction.

"Her infamy among conservatives is partly the product of her often-imperious manner, a rougher media culture and a superheated political climate. But it is also a backhanded acknowledgment of how effective she has been."

"Cantor is earning a reputation for pushing his ideas so hard and so often that some GOP colleagues are questioning his motives. Is he guided by a burning desire to help the party — or to boost himself? "
Another Newt Gingrich.

"Secretary of State Natalie Tennant, a Democrat, has confirmed earlier reports that the state won't hold an election to fill the seat until 2012. That's because the filing deadline for the 2010 election has already passed. As a result, Gov. Joe Manchin will appoint someone to serve the rest of the term, paving the way for a general election in two years."

"The juxtaposition of hateful, ignorant, or otherwise nonsensical rants with serene photos of JC himself isn't only funny, but says a lot about the people who claim to be Christians."

"The prospect that polling data in a Senate contest of national consequence may have been faked has sent shockwaves across the campaign world, raising disturbing questions not only about the reliability of suddenly ubiquitous public polls, but about a new media environment where polling numbers are accepted without question even as they threaten to influence the outcome of campaigns. "

HISTORY NUGGET!!
American Presidents: Greatest and Worst from the Siena Research Institute
"For the fifth time since its inception in 1982, the Siena College Research Institute’s (SRI) Survey of U.S. Presidents finds that experts rank Franklin D. Roosevelt as the top all time chief
executive."

GRIZZLY BEAR VIDEO NUGGET!!
"How’s that for some ursine velocity? You, dear human, will never ever out-run a grizzly bear, not even a year-old cub."

LIVING NUGGET!!
Are You Addicted to the Past? (Tom Perry) from the Huffington Post
"Have you ever spoken to someone and thought, "Do they even know it's 2010?"... because they're so stuck in the past. We all know someone (maybe even YOU) who's not living in 2010. Maybe they're stuck in the old market, old economy, their old decisions, their old career, an old relationship. Maybe it's the person who's stuck in their good ol' school days, and don't even get me started on people with old technology!"

WHALE-OF-A-WHALE NUGGET!!
Giant Whale-Eating Whale Found from Discovery News
"The skull of the 12–13 million-year-old sperm whale fossil found off the coast of Peru measures an astounding 10 feet long."

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