News Nuggets 471

The Empire State Building in New York City.  From National Geographic.

Indian Bonhomie from the National Interest

"Are the United States and India destined to become strategic partners?"

Obama's Diplomatic Masterstroke in India (David Rothkopf) from Foreign Policy Magazine

"In a single, unexpected stroke President Barack Obama may have made his trip to India one of the most important of his presidency. By announcing his support for Indian permanent membership in the U.N. Security Council, Obama advanced a number of important goals."

Obama's India Trip: What US May Get in Return from Time Magazine

"Obama then exceeded the Indian government's expectations for the trip and delivered the two most important items on India's wish list: he endorsed India's bid for a permanent seat on the U.N. Security Council and used strong language toward Pakistan, saying he would "insist to Pakistan's leaders that terrorist safe havens within their borders are unacceptable." Here's what the U.S. can look for in return."

Delusion Points (Stephen Walt) from Foreign Policy Magazine

"Don't fall for the nostalgia -- George W. Bush's foreign policy really was that bad."

A New Bush, a Lot Like the Old One from the New York Times

"He said he still felt sickened that no weapons of mass destruction were ever found in Iraq. Yet former President George W. Bush said that his worst moment in the Oval Office came when the rap star Kanye West claimed that the president didn’t care about black people."

The Real Choice Turkey Has to Make When it Comes to Israel (Michael Singh) from Foreign Policy Magazine

"Israel is involved in another diplomatic standoff whose consequences may be just as dire for the future of the Middle East. The impasse in question is between Turkey and Israel -- erstwhile allies whose deteriorating relations undermine the security of the entire region. This conflict -- more than Ankara's outreach to Iran or tensions with the EU -- calls starkly into question the role Turkey will play in regional politics and peacemaking."

Can We Trade Yudhoyono for Obama? (Editorial) from the Jakarta Post [of Indonesia in English]

"Many Americans, who have been outraged at Obama for defending the construction of an Islamic center near the Ground Zero site in New York City, will love Yudhoyono, who most likely would have refrained from making any comment that would upset the majority opinion if he was in Obama’s position. Many Indonesians, on the other hand, who feel that Yudhoyono has failed to protect the rights of religious minorities, would welcome someone like Obama to stand firmly by his principle of defending freedom of religion."

The Impossible Dream (Bob Herbert) from the New York Times

"What’s needed now is the same thing that has been needed for the past two years and more, a bold plan to put millions of Americans back to work and paying taxes, and a careful, thoughtful, strategic but unequivocal withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan and Iraq."

Boehner's Army (John Heilmann) from New York Magazine

"The Republican revolutionaries have problems with authority—and that may provide Obama an opening."

Boehner will Fail, and Democrats will Pounce in 2012 (Markos Moulitsas) from the Christian Science Monitor 

"Republicans didn't sweep these elections for grand ideological reasons, but because not enough of the Democratic base showed up to vote. Exit polls also show that angry voters who flocked to Republicans will end up disappointed in their actual policies. And in 2012, Democrats will be ready."

Hope so.  We'll see.

Democrats Consoled by Latino Vote in Republican `Game Changer' from Bloomberg News Service

"For Democrats, exit polling of voters in the Nov. 2 elections confirmed this positive trend for the party: For the third straight election, Latinos picked Democrats over Republicans by a ratio of about 2-to-1, strengthening the party’s hold on this increasingly important voting bloc."

Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi Would Play Rough with GOP (Greg Sargent) from the Washington Post

"All this seems to badly miss what one of the most important roles of the new minority leader will be: to draw a very sharp line against GOP efforts to roll back Obama's accomplishments."

In Alaska, a Preview of the GOP's Future (Anne Applebaum) from the Washington Post

"The hypocrisy at the heart of the Republican Party is starkest in Alaska."

SCULPTURE NUGGET!!

Sculptural Witnesses to Nazi Lunacy Go on Display from the Guardian [of the UK]

"Modernist sculptures confiscated for being 'degenerate' appear in exhibition after being unearthed on a Berlin building site."

CUTE BEAR NUGGET!!

Tagging Bears in Algonquin Park (VIDEO) from Americablog

"How amazing would that be to participate in such an event? The bear cubs are completely adorable though I can imagine how nervous the host must have been as they approached the den."

FIRST LADY NUGGET!!

Michelle Obama Travels in Style from the Washington Post

A WONDERFUL series of pictures of Barack and Michelle (mostly Michelle) on their Asian trip!

News Nuggets 470

A view of Italy and the Adriatic from the space station.  From National Geographic.

UP-FRONT SCIENCE NUGGET!!

Climate Scientists Plan Campaign Against Global Warming Skeptics from the Los Angeles Times

"The American Geophysical Union plans to announce that 700 researchers have agreed to speak out on the issue. Other scientists plan a pushback against congressional conservatives who have vowed to kill regulations on greenhouse gas emissions."

It is ABOUT TIME!!  Serious climate scientists have largely absented themselves from the public arena for decades, ceding the space to global warming critics and hacks.  It will take these folks years to make up the ground they've lost.

Obama's China Ambush (Peter Beinart) from the Daily Beast

"The President will skip China on his Asia tour, but his itinerary signals America's growing unease with the superpower's global clout. Peter Beinart on why Obama's cozying up to China's rivals this week—and how his policy is more hawkish than Bush's. "

Obama Backs India for Security Council Seat from the New York Times

"President Obama announced here on Monday that the United States will back India’s bid for a permanent seat on an expanded United Nations Security Council, a major policy shift that could aggravate China, which opposes such a move."

Obama Sends India a Signal of Partnership (George Condon) from National Journal

"Backing for Security Council spot is seen as affirming nation's emergence."

Long Overdue: Adding Permanent Members to the UN Security Council (Editorial) from the National Interest

"More significant, though, is that Obama’s endorsement sends a clear signal that the United States acknowledges India as not only a rapidly rising economic power, but a significant political and security player in the international system as well. The president’s comments also reduce concerns that the arms control crowd in his administration might roll back the improved relationship that had developed between the two countries during the Bush years."

How Obama Saved Capitalism and Lost the Midterms (Timothy Egan) from the New York Times

"If I were one of the big corporate donors who bankrolled the Republican tide that carried into office more than 50 new Republicans in the House, I would be wary of what you just bought.  For no matter your view of President Obama, he effectively saved capitalism. And for that, he paid a terrible political price."

For Afghan Wives, a Desperate, Fiery Way Out from the New York Times

"Even the poorest families in Afghanistan have matches and cooking fuel. The combination usually sustains life. But it also can be the makings of a horrifying escape: from poverty, from forced marriages, from the abuse and despondency that can be the fate of Afghan women."s

Here Come the Jobs! The Case for Economic Optimism in 2011 (Derek Thompson) from the Atlantic

"If it's not easy to find evidence of a strong economic recovery next year, it's not impossible either. So I'm rounding up whispers, rumors and green shoots for a surprising economic bounce back and making a list you can use as a resource or a rebuttal to the doom and gloom."

Personally, I'm a convinced doom-and-gloomer at this point -- but I'm open to being wrong!

Health Care Reform Challenge Rejected by Supreme Court from the Associated Press via Huffington Post

"The Supreme Court has turned down the first preliminary challenge to President Barack Obama's health care overhaul….Of more significance is the sign that all the justices took part in rejecting the appeal."

Hispanic Vote a 2012 Wild Card from Politico

"Hispanic voters saved the Democratic Party Tuesday — buoying Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, keeping California blue, playing an outsize role in preserving the party’s Senate majority and demonstrating a partisan loyalty Democrats didn’t exactly earn in two years of inaction on immigration policy.  But that support is anything but certain for 2012, and both parties face difficult and immediate choices when it comes to the Latino vote as they

position themselves for the presidential election."

Obama's Populism Problem (Christopher Orr) from the Atlantic

"resident Obama is a black man--and, as such, has unique cause to be wary of the adjective "angry."  Even when Obama has been at his cucumber-coolest--and has earned abuse from the left and center for it--figures on the right have aggressively tried to hang the "angry black man" label on him. "

I agree with the general idea here.  Obama can't do Huey Long or William Jennings Bryan -- because in the eyes and ears of many whites he wouldn't come off as Long or Bryan -- but simply as a 1960s radical "angry black guy".  Black populism is simply to threatening to many working-class whites.

The Unready Republicans (Ross Douthat) from New York Times

"Instead, they tend to fall back on the reassuring story they’ve been spinning for the last two years, in which they lost to the Democrats only because they failed to hold the line on spending. It’s a narrative that flatters conservative self-regard, while absolving Republicans of the obligation to think too deeply about policy."

The Tea Party: Old Whine in New Bottles (Gary Younge) from the Guardian [of the UK]

"This incoherent group has no leaders, no policies, no headquarters. It is held together by Fox TV and big money."

JFK NUGGET!!

JFK's Election: On 50th Anniversary, Never-Seen Photos Emerge from the Atlantic

"While his 1,000 days in office are well-documented, Life magazine has just released never-before-published photos that cover the campaign of 1960."

BOOK REVIEW NUGGET!!

George Bush's Unmemorable Memoir (Jacob Heilbrunn) from the National Interest

"George W. Bush's book is an inadvertent reminder that you needn't be an interesting leader to be a terrible one."

OUCH!!

News Nuggets 469

Lily pads at sunset in the Okefenokee Swamp in Georgia.  From National Geographic.

President Obama Hasn't Changed, We Have (Jon Meacham) from the Washington Post

"I would not hold out for a fundamentally New Obama. For better or for worse, Obama is today - and will be tomorrow - what he has always been: a bright man engaged in an endeavor that rewards luck and happenstance more often than it does intellect and good intentions."

Texas Considers Medicaid Withdrawl from the New York Times

"Far-right conservatives are offering that possibility in impassioned news conferences. Moderate Republicans are studying it behind closed doors. And the party’s advisers on health care policy say it is being discussed more seriously than ever, though they admit it may be as much a huge in-your-face to Washington as anything else."

It would be huge political disaster for the TX GOP as well.  For the sake of finally blowing out the underpinnings of the GOP there, it wouldn't be an entirely bad thing if it actually happened.

New Day Rising (The Case For Democratic Optimism--Real or Fake) (Jonathan Bernstein) from the New Republic

"Democrats should pound the 1996-2012 analogies, remind themselves that reversals are not only possible but happen all the time (...), and convince themselves and anyone who will listen to them that good times for Dems are, once again, right around the corner. "

Inside The Bruising Democratic Leadership Fight: Pelosi Moves To Box Out Hoyer from TalkingPointsMemo

"Part of the reason, according to a third Democratic aide, is that Hoyer and Pelosi still don't really get along. But it's more complicated than just personal rivalries. For one thing, after Tuesday's losses, Hoyer doesn't really represent a significant portion of the caucus anymore."

Ahhh!  So that's what's going on!  I think I shall avert my eyes until it's over.  

To Hell With the Press (Mark McKinnon) from the Daily Beast

"Rick Perry won an unprecedented third term as Texas governor while actively shunning the press corps. Mark McKinnon on the GOP's trendy tactic—and how newspapers are fighting back."

America's Vote for Maturity (Peggy Noonan) from the Wall Street Journal

"in the future the tea party is going to have to ask itself: Is this candidate electable? ...  This is the key question the tea party will face in 2012. And it will be hard to answer it, because the tea party doesn't have leaders or conventions, so the answer will have to bubble up from a thousand groups, from 10,000 leaders.  Electable doesn't mean not-conservative. Electable means mature, accomplished, stable—and able to persuade.."

I DON'T agree with Noonan's implication that somehow this last election cycle somehow produced a crop of "mature" lawmakers -- and I suspect the Tea Partiers could not care less what conservative intellectuals like her think of their maturity.

Mid-term Election Results Not a Mandate for GOP, Poll Shows from Raw Story

"It's the economy, stupid. That catchphrase from the 1992 election -- which saw Bill Clinton propelled to the Oval Office on a wave of discontent over unemployment -- applies just as strongly in 2010, a new poll indicates."

UK NUGGET!!

Breathtaking Britain: Nature's Beauty from Dusk til Dawn from the Daily Mail [of the UK]

"Using a panoramic film camera in the magic hours of sunrise and sunset, Mark Denton has captured England’s greatest landscapes for his new book England: The Panoramas."

BASEBALL OBITUARY NUGGET!!

Postscript: Sparky Anderson from the New Yorker

"When I heard the news yesterday that Sparky Anderson had died, I thought immediately of the opening of “Agincourt and After,” Roger Angell’s account of the 1975 World Series, in which Anderson’s Cincinnati Reds defeated the Boston Red Sox in seven games."

News Nuggets 468

Aspens in autumn in the Elk Mountains of western Colorado.  From National Geographic.

Shhh, Don't Tell the Scaremongers, But Things Are Getting Better (Elizabeth Renzetti) from the Globe and Mail [of Toronto, Canada]

"It takes guts to be an optimist in this climate, to proudly wear pink-tinted glasses and, toting a sheaf of statistics and historical knowledge, shout: “People, chillax. It's not so bad, and it's getting better.”"

While I agree with the general sentiment, as long as people are seeing and experiencing a 9.6 unemployment rate, I would avoid an excessive "things are getting better" message.

Obama Can Grab Opportunities in Asia (Editorial) from the Korea Times [of South Korea in English]

"Over the next week or so, our troubled American President, fresh from that unmistakable midterm elections rebuke, will hit the foreign-relations trail. All the stops are in Asia, the world’s fastest rising region that is perhaps slowly becoming its most important.  Thankfully, many parts of Asia are not so antagonistic to America these days. Barack Obama should find it a relief to spend time with people who like him. "

In Russia, Search for Identity is Caught in Swirl of Symbols from the New York Times

"As Russia shut down this week for the Day of National Unity on Thursday — a state holiday instituted to substitute for the Nov. 7 commemoration of the 1917 October Revolution — the tussle between Byzantine, czarist and Soviet symbols as beacons for the new, post-Communist Russia was in full view."

The Do-Lots Congress (Ezra Klein) from Newsweek

"The votes are (mostly) counted. The Republicans have clearly and decisively won. But did the Democrats actually lose? They lost the election, certainly. And many of them lost their jobs. But the point of legislating isn’t job security. It’s legislation. And on that count the members of the 111th Congress succeeded wildly, even historically."

America the Volatile (Reid Wilson) from National Journal

"American politics is in a state of upheaval not seen since the end of the Second World War. That upheaval is by no means unique; voters tend to be equally angry at both parties, and equally willing to kick the bums out, during periods following wars and recession. This time, the country is experiencing both at once."

Repeal and Replace? from Newsweek

"Not so fast. An insurance-company defector explains why the most controversial provision of the health-care law will survive."

Why Democrats Should Make Nancy Pelosi House Minority Leader (Ben Adler) from Newsweek

"Pelosi would be perfect as minority leader. Matheson has it precisely backward when he reasons that the Democrats must elect a moderate after suffering a loss. You govern from the center, to look effective and protect vulnerable incumbents, but you oppose with partisanship, to make the majority look ineffective and drive down their approval ratings."

Interesting theory.

Why Nancy Pelosi is Running for House Minority Leader (E.J. Dionne) from the Washington Post

"I spoke with Pelosi less than 24 hours before she announced she wanted to stay on as Democratic leader, and everything she said made clear that she's not ready to allow millions of dollars in Republican attack ads to drive her from public life. She wants another crack at winning electoral vindication for a record she believes stands well on the merits."

Pelosi Unlikely to Face Challenge (Major Garrett) from the National Journal

"Without Hoyer, no one is likely to step forward."

Nancy Pelosi, Undone by Her Own Success (Eugene Robinson) from the Washington Post

"Amid the wreckage of Tuesday's GOP rampage, there's one person for whom I feel awful: House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. She's losing her job not because she does it poorly but because she does it so well."

A House Divided (Eleanor Clift) from Newsweek

"How the GOP will need to work with the Tea Party and the president."

HOLLYWOOD NUGGET!!

Debra Winger Drops Back In from the Sunday New York Times Magazine

"The actor fled from fame and into happy obscurity. More than a dozen years later, she’s tiptoeing back into view."

CHINA CULTURE NUGGET!!

The Rise of the Tao from the Sunday New York Times Magazine

"China is in the grips of a religious revival. But can the country handle the return of its most venerable faith?"
Wow!  Taoism in China is suddenly hip! Who knew?!

US CIVIL WAR NUGGETS!!

Civil War 150 from the Washington Post

The Washington Post has developed a page/section of their website devoted to commemorating the 150th anniversary of the Civil War.  Lots to read for Civil War buffs!

News Nuggets 468

Aspens in autumn in the Elk Mountains of western Colorado.  From National Geographic.

Shhh, Don't Tell the Scaremongers, But Things Are Getting Better (Elizabeth Renzetti) from the Globe and Mail [of Toronto, Canada]

"It takes guts to be an optimist in this climate, to proudly wear pink-tinted glasses and, toting a sheaf of statistics and historical knowledge, shout: “People, chillax. It's not so bad, and it's getting better.”"

While I agree with the general sentiment, as long as people are seeing and experiencing a 9.6 unemployment rate, I would avoid an excessive "things are getting better" message.

Obama Can Grab Opportunities in Asia (Editorial) from the Korea Times [of South Korea in English]

"Over the next week or so, our troubled American President, fresh from that unmistakable midterm elections rebuke, will hit the foreign-relations trail. All the stops are in Asia, the world’s fastest rising region that is perhaps slowly becoming its most important.  Thankfully, many parts of Asia are not so antagonistic to America these days. Barack Obama should find it a relief to spend time with people who like him. "

In Russia, Search for Identity is Caught in Swirl of Symbols from the New York Times

"As Russia shut down this week for the Day of National Unity on Thursday — a state holiday instituted to substitute for the Nov. 7 commemoration of the 1917 October Revolution — the tussle between Byzantine, czarist and Soviet symbols as beacons for the new, post-Communist Russia was in full view."

The Do-Lots Congress (Ezra Klein) from Newsweek

"The votes are (mostly) counted. The Republicans have clearly and decisively won. But did the Democrats actually lose? They lost the election, certainly. And many of them lost their jobs. But the point of legislating isn’t job security. It’s legislation. And on that count the members of the 111th Congress succeeded wildly, even historically."

America the Volatile (Reid Wilson) from National Journal

"American politics is in a state of upheaval not seen since the end of the Second World War. That upheaval is by no means unique; voters tend to be equally angry at both parties, and equally willing to kick the bums out, during periods following wars and recession. This time, the country is experiencing both at once."

Repeal and Replace? from Newsweek

"Not so fast. An insurance-company defector explains why the most controversial provision of the health-care law will survive."

Why Democrats Should Make Nancy Pelosi House Minority Leader (Ben Adler) from Newsweek

"Pelosi would be perfect as minority leader. Matheson has it precisely backward when he reasons that the Democrats must elect a moderate after suffering a loss. You govern from the center, to look effective and protect vulnerable incumbents, but you oppose with partisanship, to make the majority look ineffective and drive down their approval ratings."

Interesting theory.

Why Nancy Pelosi is Running for House Minority Leader (E.J. Dionne) from the Washington Post

"I spoke with Pelosi less than 24 hours before she announced she wanted to stay on as Democratic leader, and everything she said made clear that she's not ready to allow millions of dollars in Republican attack ads to drive her from public life. She wants another crack at winning electoral vindication for a record she believes stands well on the merits."

Pelosi Unlikely to Face Challenge (Major Garrett) from the National Journal

"Without Hoyer, no one is likely to step forward."

Nancy Pelosi, Undone by Her Own Success (Eugene Robinson) from the Washington Post

"Amid the wreckage of Tuesday's GOP rampage, there's one person for whom I feel awful: House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. She's losing her job not because she does it poorly but because she does it so well."

A House Divided (Eleanor Clift) from Newsweek

"How the GOP will need to work with the Tea Party and the president."

HOLLYWOOD NUGGET!!

Debra Winger Drops Back In from the Sunday New York Times Magazine

"The actor fled from fame and into happy obscurity. More than a dozen years later, she’s tiptoeing back into view."

CHINA CULTURE NUGGET!!

The Rise of the Tao from the Sunday New York Times Magazine

"China is in the grips of a religious revival. But can the country handle the return of its most venerable faith?"

US CIVIL WAR NUGGETS!!

Civil War 150 from the Washington Post

The Washington Post has developed a page/section of their website devoted to commemorating the 150th anniversary of the Civil War.  Lots to read for Civil War buffs!

News Nuggets 467

A baby sloth eating a carrot at a sloth sanctuary in Costa Rica.  

See the Sloth Nugget below.  From the Daly Mail of the UK.

Obama's Asian Tour from Foreign Policy Magazine
"Washington may have just gotten a lot less friendly for the president, but he still has plenty of fans in Asia. A look at where he's going, who he's meeting, and what it means."

Obama’s Visit to Indonesia: What is at Stake? (Editorial) from the Jakarta Post [of Indonesia in English]
"In a clichéd world of rising, stagnating and declining powers, there is one country whose rise has not received sufficient recognition, and another whose decline has been much exaggerated.  The first is Indonesia and the second is the United States. … American foreign policy, although marked by its high-handedness as the sole superpower, helps to sustain what order there is in global politics by providing many of the essential public goods of international life."

The Land of Opportunity (Editorial) from The Hindu [of India in English]
"The U.S. has lived up to its name as the land of opportunity, thanks to a variety of features. India has made great strides, but it has a long way to go to become one."

Iran is Drying Up: ‪‪Sanctions Forming Chokehold Around Iranian Regime, Forcing It to End Fuel Subsidies‬‬ (Op-Ed) from Y-Net News [of Israel in English]
"Don’t buy into Iranian propaganda and Ahmadinejad’s diversionary visit to Lebanon. The sanctions are forming a chokehold around the Ayatollah regime and Tehran doesn’t know how to free itself."

Midwest at Dusk (David Brooks) from the New York Times
"If America can figure out how to build a decent future for the working-class people in this region, then the U.S. will remain a predominant power. If it can’t, it won’t."
It has been ages since Brooks said anything worthwhile -- but he puts his finger on a major set of issues here!

Obama Aide Adjusts Course for a Comeback from the New York Times
"At a time of tumult, the corner office in the West Wing is a center of calm. With the rest of Washington in a frenzy over the “shellacking” President Obama’s party took in this week’s elections, his new chief of staff quietly and methodically plots out a refashioned White House to manage his recovery."

Election Results Fueled by Jobs Crisis and Voter Apathy Among Progressives (Ruy Teixeira & John Halpin) from the Center for American Progress
"Experts and pundits will float many interpretations of the 2010 midterms over the next few weeks, each of which progressives should consider carefully. But the most parsimonious explanation of how 2010 unfolded in terms of lessons for progressives going forward lies in a few fundamental factors: the poor state of the economy; the abnormally conservative composition of the midterm electorate; and the large number of vulnerable seats in conservative-leaning areas."

Pelosi Delivered: The Democrats' Hold on the House Didn't Last. Their Landmark Legislation Will (Robert Shrum) from The Week
"Let us now praise Nancy Pelosi. Long after the midterm stories have faded, and the predictions of the president’s political demise prove as facile and false as they were with Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton, history will accord Pelosi an unprecedented scale of achievement for a House speaker."

Pelosi to Run for Minority Leader from Huffington Post
"House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) will make a bid to be Democratic minority leader, she announced Friday via Twitter. "Driven by the urgency of creating jobs & protecting #hcr, #wsr, Social Security & Medicare, I am running for Dem Leader,""
I have to say -- I like Pelosi.  By all intents and purposes, she SHOULDN'T get the position given what the dems just endured at the polls.  But I will not be disappointed if she wins the coming leadership fight.  Who would take her place? National Journal's analysis HERE seems confident she will prevail.  I was surprised to see that Pelosi's historic rival, Steny Hoyer is NOT challenging here.  See the next item.

James Clyburn, Steny Hoyer May Face Off for House Minority Whip from Huffington Post
"Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-Md.), Nancy Pelosi's second in command, will not challenge Pelosi for the House minority leader job but is considering a bid for minority whip. "Hoyer has received a lot of support from members over the past several days urging him to stay as a part of leadership.""

The Worst Post-Election Advice Ever (Barbara Slavin) from AOL News
"Broder suggested that Obama would have strong Republican support for the military option and that the nation "will rally around Obama because Iran is the greatest threat to the world in the young century." There is so much that is wrong with this analysis that it's hard to know where to begin."

Howard Dean Rules Out 2012 Bid from the Wall Street Journal
"Former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean, the unofficial general of the liberal movement, has ruled out posing a primary challenge to President Barack Obama, according to his office."
Wise move on his part.  There has been some loose chatter about Obama getting a challenger from the left in the 2012 primaries.  It would be a ludicrous challenge.  Let's wait and see if Russ Feingold now says the same thing.

GOP Senators Fight Over Failure from Politico
"Long-simmering tensions within the Republican Party spilled into public view Wednesday as the pragmatic and conservative wings of the GOP blamed each other in blunt terms for the party’s failure to capture the Senate."

Another take on the same issue:
Tea Party Moves Quickly to Flex Muscle from the New York Times
"The incoming leadership of the new House Republican majority hardly had a chance to relish its dismantling of the Democrats before the Tea Party came calling in the form of Representative Michele Bachmann."

And a further reality check:
For GOP, Big Ambitions Face Daunting Obstacles from the New York Times
"Republicans are standing by their campaign vows to slash spending for domestic programs immediately by at least one-fifth — $100 billion in a single year — even as many mainstream economists say such deep cuts could further strain the economy and should await its full recovery. Republicans also say they will try to deny money to put Mr. Obama’s new health care law into effect, though they have not made clear what they would do to make up the cost savings that would be lost if they succeeded in repealing the law."

SLOTH NUGGET!!
Life in the Slow Lane: Hundreds of Orphaned Sloths Given a New Lease of Life at Costa Rican Sanctuary from the Daily Mail [of the UK]
"Tucking into a tasty carrot snack, this bright-eyed baby sloth is making a happy recovery after being orphaned just days into its young life. The adorable creature is just one of 100 being cared for by volunteers at the Aviarios Sloth Sanctuary in Costa Rica, Central America."

TRAVEL NUGGET!!
Lonely Planet Dubs Albania #1 Hot Country to Visit in 2011 from the Atlantic
"Every fall, travel fanatics and tourist bureaus eagerly await Lonely Planet's publication of the hottest spots to visit in the coming year."
Albania?  Who knew?

BEAUTIFUL PLACES NUGGET!!
21 Insanely Gorgeous Valleys Around the World (PHOTOS) from Huffinton Post
"Here are 21 valleys around the world that are, in a word: stunning."

News Nuggets 466

Moscow's famous Saint Basil's Cathedral. from National Geographic.

Reflections on the elections: Thank God that's over!!

What Now? An Epic Election Meets the Future (Marc Ambinder) from the Atlantic
"Privately, White House officials hope that Republicans immediately adopt a celebratory, no-compromise, "we're back!" posture, and hope that they don't take the advice of Sen. Mitch McConnell, who will call the election a mere "course correction." "
A long interesting take on the next several months.

A Wave (with an Undertow), But No Tsunami (Ed Kilgore) from the Democratic Strategist
"Last night's returns contained a few surprises, but for the most part, were only surprising to people who hadn't been paying much attention, and to those conservative commentators who had been predicting a Republican takeover of the Senate and House gains in the neighborhood of 80-100 seats. It was indeed a Republican "wave" election, but not what you'd rightly call a tsunami."

Blue Dog Coalition Crushed by GOP Wave Election from the Huffinton Post
"One group hit especially hard was the Blue Dog Coalition, with half of its members losing their seats. According to an analysis by The Huffington Post, 23 of the 46 Blue Dogs up for re-election went down on Tuesday."

The GOP's Senior Moment (Andrew Romano) from Newsweek
"The GOP owes its victory in large part to seniors. Why that could spell trouble ahead."

Jubilant Tea Party Eyes GOP with Suspicion from Politico
"Emerging from its first election with a string of major victories – and two glaring defeats – leaders of the tea party movement wasted no time claiming credit and taking names, signaling to the Republican establishment that they intend to remake the GOP, not merely help it regain power in Washington."

John Boehner Inherits Troubled House from Politico
"Now, he has the top job in Congress, but with a rotten, if not impossible task: Running the House in a divided Washington while carrying incredible, almost unrealistic expectations of his entire party."

Tea Party Backlash (David Frum) from The Week
"On the whole, these insurgents lost big. And that's good news for the Republicans.

Bush: 'I Was a Dissenting Voice' on Iraq from TalkingPointsMemo
""I was a dissenting voice. I didn't want to use force," Bush said. "I mean force is the last option for a President. And I think it's clear in the book that I gave diplomacy every chance to work. And I will also tell you the world's better off without Saddam in power. And so are 25 million Iraqis."  Bush went on to say that he still feels like going to war was the right decision."
INcredible!!  I'm sorry but -- what a shameless sack of @#$%!!  "I gave diplomacy every chance to work" -- he DID NOT.  I can guarantee that this "rehabilitation" tour will only reinforce the dominant memes about his tenure if this is what he has to say about Iraq.  [See the REVIEW NUGGET below] I recall reading about Kennedy's times during the Cuban Missile Crisis when he was the ONLY MAN IN THE ROOM saying we shouldn't go to war.  The President can't come back later and say that he was a "dissenting voice" -- when his voice is the only one that really matters!!  We need to whistle up the Bush posse again!

BOOK NUGGET!!
The Woman Who Had the World Enthralled: A Review of Cleopatra: A Life by Stacy Schiff from the New York Times
"She gives us a cinematic portrait of a historical figure far more complex and compelling than any fictional creation, and a wide, panning, panoramic picture of her world."

BOOK REVIEW NUGGET!!
Meanwhile, Back in 2000-2008: A Review of Decision Points by George W. Bush (Juli Weiner) from Vanity Fair
"As a strange and unfamiliar Republican party takes power, many may be tantalized to wax nostalgic about the rose-colored days of the GOP’s statesman-like old guard. The perfectly timed release of Decision Points appears to be a powerful corrective to this temptation."

HOLLYWOOD NUGGET!!
Marilyn and Her Monsters from Vanity Fair
"For all the millions of words she has inspired, Marilyn Monroe remains something of a mystery. Now a sensational archive of the actress’s own writing—diaries, poems, and letters—is being published. With exclusive excerpts from the book, Fragments, the author enters the mind of a legend."

CELEBRITY PROFILE NUGGET!!
Cher on Chaz, Sonny, and Staying in the Spotlight from Vanity Fair
"Of her secret to remaining in the spotlight for the past five decades, Cher tells Smith, “I feel like a bumper car. If I hit a wall, I’m backing up and going in another direction. And I’ve hit plenty of fucking walls in my career. But I’m not stopping. I think maybe that’s my best quality: I just don’t stop.”"
While Cher certainly has her faults (self-absorption being one), you've got to admire her for her perseverance.  This link has excerpts from the article.  The full article is in the newsstand edition.

News Nuggets 465

Monet's Garden in Giverny, France.  From the Huffington Post.

 President Obama, Asia is Calling (Fareed Zakaria) from the Washington Post
"Barack Obama will get a chance to follow a long line of American presidents who have had setbacks at home. He will go abroad. His long-delayed Asian trip this week - India, Indonesia, South Korea and Japan - is by chance perfectly timed. Asian powers are showing a striking - and growing - interest in American power."

The East China Sea Dispute: Short-Term Victory and Long-Term Loss for China? from the Brookings Institution
"Other long term trends may go against China, despite its superficial victory. On other issues—overall relations with Japan, territorial disputes in the South China Sea, a dispute over currency exchange rates with the United States, business and commerce practices, and even with the Norwegian Nobel Committee which awarded the Nobel Peace Prize to a Chinese dissident—it is questionable whether China’s recent tough tone and actions will be beneficial to China."

A Plan B for Obama from Foreign Policy Magazine
"A stagnant economy. Declining American influence. Dictators on the march abroad. And a more Republican Congress coming soon. Barack Obama is in big trouble. But it's never too late. Foreign Policy has a plan, 14 in fact, for how the president can find his mojo again."
A number of both good and bad proposals put forth here.

The Economy is Growing -- But Jobs Aren't Following from Huffington Post
"An economy growing 2 percent a year might be tolerable in normal times. Today, it's a near-disaster. A growth rate of 5 percent or higher is needed to put a major dent in the nation's 9.6 percent unemployment rate. Two reasons why that's unlikely well into next year and maybe beyond:"

What's Really Behind that $1.3 Trillion Deficit? (Justin Fox) from Reuters
"Why is it so big, though? Is it because of all that stimulus and bailout spending? Or is something else going on?"

Why I Still Love Obama (Curtis Sittenfeld) from Slate
"When I see Obama on television, I'm unfailingly struck by his intelligence and charisma, by his easygoing humor, by the magnificence of his megawatt smile. He just makes me proud, and perhaps this is where I should admit that if there are two categories of Obama critics—conservatives who never liked the guy and have in some cases become unhinged since he was elected, and centrists or Democrats who voted for him but now feel let down—I suspect that, in the visceral nature of my response to our president, I have more in common with the unhinged nut jobs. By this I mean that my Obama admiration is a kind of emotional inverse of the right-wing Obama antipathy."
HERE! HERE!

What Heads Will Roll? (Michael Tomasky) from the Guardian [of the UK]
"There's a case to be made, of course, for dumping the whole lot of them, up to and including Axelrod. Yes, this was going to be bad in any case with 9.6. unemployment. But it didn't have to be this bad."
I agree that heads DO need to roll at this point.

Sarah Palin: Ms. Conspiracy for President? (Richard Cohen) from the Washington Post
"The mind of the demagogue is a foreign country. It has a strange culture, enemies that only the natives can see, a passion about the ridiculous and a blowtorch kind of sincerity that incinerates logical thinking."

The Anti-Palin Cabal (Jonathan Chait) from the New Republic
"I see two serious problems with the establishment's anti-Palin campaign. The first is a coordination problem. Palin has very intense support…."

MARTIAN NUGGET!!
Slug-like Dunes on Mars from Discovery News
"Just in case you didn't think Mars could get any more alien, here's an intriguing photograph taken by the HiRISE camera aboard the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) in 2007. What are those dark objects?"

News Nuggets 464

A very revealing chart.  See the analysis in the Mother Jones editorial below.

US Elections: A Tilt to the Right (John Donnelly) from the International Relations and Security Network
"When it comes to security and foreign policy, a 2011 Republican surge in the US Congress - particularly if it involves GOP control of one or both chambers - will mean harder-line rhetoric and several shifts in policy and funding."

The New American Isolationism: The Cost of Turning Away from War’s Horrific Realities (Lt. Col. William Astore) from TomDispatch.com
It is extremely RARE that I post items that are pure products of unknown folks posting to an unknown blog -- but this one warrants an exception.  Scroll down a bit to see Astore's full piece.
"A new isolationism is metastasizing in the American body politic.  At its heart lies not an urge to avoid war, but an urge to avoid contemplating the costs and realities of war.  It sees war as having analgesic qualities -- as lessening a collective feeling of impotence, a collective sense of fear and terror.  Making war in the name of reducing terror serves this state of mind and helps to preserve it."

How Do You Say the N-Word in French? (Jake Lamar) from The Root
"Does the French word nègre translate directly to the epithet Americans refer to as the n-word? The most accurate answer would be "Yes, but ... " "

The Benjamin Button Election (Jennifer Senior) from New York Magazine
"Rage, powerlessness, magical thinking—why is how we think about politics increasingly mirroring the mind-set of a small child?"
What a great question!!

Next for GOP Leaders: Stopping Sarah Palin from Politico
"There is rising expectation among GOP elites that Palin will probably run for president in 2012 and could win the Republican nomination, a prospect many of them regard as a disaster in waiting."
Well, this would be ONE thing to savor after tomorrow.  Michael Tomasky at the Guardian comments on this item HERE.

Are the Tea Partiers Being Taken for a Ride? (Editorial) from Mother Jones Magazine
"Voters beware—the head you're putting on the chopping block may be your own. … the defenders of the überrich pulled off an amazing bit of jujitsu. Just two years after the collapse, a vast percentage of those who got screwed are mad as hell—not at the bankers who did the screwing, but at a government that was left to clean up the mess."

The Party Crashers: Behind the New Republican Revival (David Von Drehle) from Time Magazine
"The date was May 5, 2009. Looking back, that was the day the 2010 election truly began — not just the campaign for a Senate seat from Florida but the broad national campaign for control of Congress and the direction of the country."

HISTORY NUGGET!!
TR and the Tea Party Last Time (Edmund Morris) from the New York Times
"Having ridden, in a sense, on the campaign train of Theodore Roosevelt, as the former president barnstormed in behalf of Congressional candidates in 1910, I am struck by some parallels between then and now."

DAY-AFTER-HALLOWEEN NUGGET!!
The Obamas Do Halloween at the White House (PHOTOS) from the Huffington Post
"President Barack Obama and his wife, Michelle, handed out Halloween treats to area children and military families at the White House Sunday evening."
The White House looked pretty cool last night -- as did the Obamas!

OBITUARY NUGGET!!
Theodore C. Sorensen, 82, Kennedy Counselor, Dies from the New York Times
"Theodore C. Sorensen, one of the last links to John F. Kennedy’s administration, a writer and counselor who did much to shape the president’s narrative, image and legacy, died Sunday in Manhattan. He was 82."
A wordsmith of the highest order.  James Fallows has a remembrance HERE at the Atlantic.

BIOGRAPHY NUGGET!!
"Cleopatra": Sex and Sovereignty in the Ancient World (Laura Miller) from Salon
"From a master biographer, a shrewd and worldly tribute to history's most notorious queen."
I have been hearing amazing things about this bio.

GERMAN HISTORY NUGGET!!
The Fuhrer in the Making: A Review of Hitler's First War by Thomas Weber (Norman Stone) from the Wall Street Journal
"Brigitte Hamann's extensive research revealed that Hitler was not really an anti-Semite until after World War I. What had happened in those crucial wartime years is the question that Thomas Weber now answers in "Hitler's First War." Like Ms. Hamann, he has searched out original documents and found new material. Like her, he fundamentally alters our understanding of one of the most studied figures of the 20th century."
I've read quite a bit about Hitler's bio over the years, and his World War I-years have always been an enormous black hole for historians -- so I marvel at the herculean efforts Weber must have gone through to locate NEW revelatory documentation.  Extraordinary.