News Nuggets 153

A to-scale model of an Indricotherium, the largest land mammal that ever lived, on display at the National History Museum in New York as part of their "Extreme Animals" exhibit.

UP-FRONT MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND NUGGET!

President Obama and the Confederacy (Kirk Savage, a professor at University of Pittsburgh) from the Washington Post

"In 1914, President Woodrow Wilson dedicated a large bronze memorial to the Confederate dead in a special section of Arlington National Cemetery, ...  U.S. presidents since then have continued to pay tribute to this narrative of "sectional reconciliation" by sending a wreath of flowers to Arlington's Confederate Memorial once a year.  The question for this upcoming Memorial Day is whether Barack Obama will continue the traditional offering or put a stop to it."

Interesting editorial.  My money is on 'yes, he will -- and if he speaks, he'll give a BRILLIANT speech showcasing the power of reconciliation.

Obama Works with Graham on New Detainee Policy from the McClatchy News Service

This is good news.

"Graham is helping a Democratic president shape a new system for holding and prosecuting detainees amid challenges from all directions."

US Signals Willingness to Reopen Talks with Cuba from the New York Times

"In a new gesture toward Cuba, the Obama administration signaled willingness on Friday to reopen a channel with Havana that was closed under President George W. Bush by scheduling high-level meetings on migration between the two countries."

Obama's Real Hundred Days (Michael Tomasky) from New York Magazine

LOTS of truth to this piece.

"With health care and climate change on the agenda, the next hundred are more important than the first. Get ready for the Summer of Shove."

The American Dream and the Romanian Sleep (Editorial) from Evenimentul Zilei [of Romania in English]

"Whereas 77 percent of young Americans believe that they will go on to achieve the American Dream, 36 percent of young Romanians want to emigrate. … In a country in which politicians feel obliged to present themselves to the electorate as 'the Obama of Romania,' there is a long distance between the American dream and the sleep of Romania … as long as a nightmare."

Obama's 'None of the Above' Terror Policy (Ruth Marcus) from the Washington Post

"Obama inherited a minefield of difficult legal issues entwined in the war on terrorism, and he has picked his way carefully, intelligently and -- for the most part -- correctly through them."

An Obama-Cheney Thought Experiment (David Ignatius) from the Washington Post

"When you watch ... the Obama-Cheney great debate ..., try to imagine how these issues would play if America should be hit by another 9/11-level terrorist attack.  You hope the country would unite behind President Obama in crisis, the way it did behind President Bush. But watching the poison darts fly Thursday, I’m not so sure. I worry that this time the country could split down the middle like an empty gourd, with the right blaming the left, and the left blaming the right."

Guantanamo Bay: Using the Unusable from the Editorial Board of the Guardian [of London]

"Mr Obama undoubtedly believes what he says, and he is treating his audience as adult by admitting to being troubled by some of the answers. But as a politician, ... Mr Obama's instinct is to compromise. The question is whether the practice of indefinite detention, which runs counter to the entire US legal pro­cess, is susceptible to compromise."

Obama Argues for Closing Gitmo (Walter Shapiro) from Politics Daily

"The problem -- as Cheney inadvertently illustrated -- is that without an investigation on par with the 9/11 Commission, there will always be political support for the cynical argument that torture works."

The Land that Republicans Forgot (Charles Blow) from the New York Times

"It was apropos that Powell delivered this rebuke in the Northeast since that’s where “their version” of the party is facing its most daunting challenges."

Republicans Purge Their Own Over Taxes and Spending from the Huffington Post

"In California, the purging of Republican pols unwilling to take the party line on economic issues is becoming systemic. Under the national radar but making news in the state, recall efforts have been launched targeting several GOP officials for voting with their Democratic colleagues on Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's budget."

This suggests that the REAL ACTION for Republicans in 2010 and 2012 will be in the primaries.  If the ultra-orthodox of the party win in the primaries, defeating the "fit for their districts" types, the GOP will be slaughtered in the next two general elections.  

HISTORY/POLITICS NUGGET!

Mississippi Town Breaks with its Past to Elect First Black Mayor from the Guardian [of London]  A related historical perspective piece from the Guardian is HERE.

"James Young's victory stands in stark contrast to climate which bred racism and segregation in the 1960s."

VIDEO NUGGET! (OF A SORT)

Conservative Radio Host Waterboarded -- Admits That it is Torture from Huffington Post

"Erich "Mancow" Muller, a Chicago-based conservative radio host, recently decided to silence critics of waterboarding once and for all. He would undergo the procedure himself, and then he would be able to confidently convince others that it is not, in fact, torture.  Or so he thought. Instead, Muller came out convinced."

PREVIEW-OF-COMING-ATTRACTIONS NUGGET!

In TV Appearance, Powell Plans To Answer Right-Wing Critics from the Washington Post

"Under intense fire from the right, former secretary of state Colin L. Powell is preparing to answer his Republican critics this weekend in a television appearance that is likely to add fuel to his long-standing feud with top conservatives in his party."

'LET-THE-PUNISHMENT-FIT-THE-CRIME' NUGGET!

McCain Volunteer Gets Probation for False Report from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

"A woman who falsely claimed she was attacked on a Bloomfield street by a supporter of Barack Obama was approved today to enter a probation program for first-time offenders."

Along with some much-needed therapy, part of her punishment was 50 HOURS OF COMMUNITY SERVICE!  How appropriate, given her hit job on Obama, great exponent of, you guessed it, community service.

News Nuggets 152

An amazing and unusual image of Michelle from Time Magazine.  See the related Michelle news nugget near the end of today's list.

UP-FRONT VIDEO NUGGET!!

If you haven't seen Obama's address yesterday about the detainees and torture, see it HERE at C-SPAN as well as Cheney's response HERE.  Obama's is thoughtful and compelling -- and thus is the REAL nugget.  Most of today's nuggets deal with people's responses to these two addresses.

But before we get those response, here are a few REAL news items.

World Economies Plummet from the Wall Street Journal

"Steep declines in the economies of three of the U.S.'s biggest trading partners -- Mexico, Japan and Germany -- underscored the severity of the global recession and put pressure on major industrialized nations to revive moribund global trade talks."

America's Poor Are Its Most Generous Givers from the McClatchy News Service

"The generosity of poor people isn't so much rare as rarely noticed, however. In fact, America's poor donate more, in percentage terms, than higher-income groups do, surveys of charitable giving show. What's more, their generosity declines less in hard times than the generosity of richer givers does."

How much you want to bet that conservatives will turn this into a slam against poor people!  They wouldn't be so poor if they didn't give it away!  Giving it away to those people is such a waste anyway!

Climate Bill Clears Hurdle, but Others Remain from the New York Times

Very, very good news here!

"The House Energy and Commerce Committee, splitting largely along party lines, approved on Thursday the most ambitious energy and global warming legislation ever debated in Congress."

Pelosi's Probably Right (Jay Newton-Small) from Time Magazine

"House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has had a tough week -- much of it her own making. But in looking at the substance of the accusations, it increasingly looks like she was right."

NOW, responses and related content:

Cheney Lost to Bush (David Brooks) from the New York Times

A fairly insightful contextualizing of Cheney's speech yesterday and how Obama hasn't changed very much of the LATTER half of the last administration's policies.

"When Cheney lambastes the change in security policy, he’s not really attacking the Obama administration. He’s attacking the Bush administration. In his speech on Thursday, he repeated in public a lot of the same arguments he had been making within the Bush White House as the policy decisions went more and more the other way."

The Unbalanced (Andrew SUllivan) from the Atlantic

"A simple note having now read the former vice-president's despicable and disgraceful speech. It confirms the very worst of him, and reveals just how callow, just how arrogant, and just how reckless and unrepentant this man is and has long been.  ...  fear always beats reason, that violence always beats dialogue, and that torture is always an American value."

Another Round for Democracy (Joe Conason) from Salon

Conason may be prematurely optimistic -- but I like the sentiment.

"In his landmark speech on terrorism and the Constitution, President Barack Obama sought to draw the sharpest contrast possible between his policies and those of his predecessor on the critical issues of secrecy, torture and the rule of law ... The commitment delivered again today by the president at the very least provides a benchmark for evaluating his performance and a restoration of the idea that Americans stand for fairness and decency."

Dick Cheney's Dangerous Game (Michael Tomasky) from the Guardian [of London]

"While Obama's speech on national security was judicious, Dick Cheney's riposte was sleazy, dishonest and divisive.  There are two issues at play in the intense, fascinating and potentially very dangerous debate taking place between President Obama and former Vice President Dick Cheney."

Mano-a-Mano (Jacob Heilbrunn) from Talking Points Memo

"Cheney began his speech by presenting himself as a simple, plainspoken fellow who had no office to seek, no grudges to settle. But by the end, his mask slipped and the culture warrior appeared. His war isn't against terrorism. It's against Obama."

The Bruiser Back from the Political Dead and Spoiling for Another Fight from the Independent [of London]

"If the 44th President is an optimist, who believes in compromise and the middle ground, and that good sense will ultimately conquer all, Cheney is the polar opposite.  And yesterday his bleak, Hobbesian view of the human condition was on full and familiar display."

Meet the Real RNC (Howard Fineman) from Newsweek

"Right now there are two RNCs here in Washington, side by side. The contrast is instructive.
One, the Republican National Committee, is a clueless self-parody. The other, the (R)ush-(N)ewt-(C)heney tag team, is providing the real muscle as the Republican right begins to build traction in taking on President Obama and the Democrats."

For GOP, A Southern Exposure (Ronald Brownstein) from National Journal

"Today the GOP holds a smaller share of non-Southern seats in the House and Senate than at any other point in its history except the apex of President Franklin D. Roosevelt's popularity during the early days of the New Deal."

22 Percent and Out of Ideas (Harold Meyerson) from the Washington Post

"There's a reason they enumerate old themes and gravitate to the most peripheral ones imaginable -- a reason that's neither old nor peripheral. The economic crisis has plunged their worldview into crisis, if not negated it altogether."

The Right is on the Wrong Track (Editorial) from Politico

"The continued ascent of the GOP’s fringe elements — and their unwillingness to embrace any sort of political compromise — are bringing the sort of political marginalization that Obama’s victory only hinted at."

The Meaning of Michelle Obama from Time Magazine

"Of all the revelations of her first 100 days, the most striking was that she made it seem natural. She did not spend decades dreaming of this destination, and maybe that's the secret. "I'm not supposed to be here," she says again and again."

ANOTHER NATURE NUGGET ABOUT WHALES!!

Evidence of Right Whales Found Off Greenland from the Associated Press

"Scientists ... said Wednesday they have found evidence of a significant right whale population in waters off the southern tip of Greenland. The whale was thought to have largely disappeared from that area decades ago."

News Nuggets 151

Mineral springs in the Black Rock Desert of Nevada from National Geographic

For an Obama on the Make, Egypt is the Wise Choice (Editorial) from the Kuwait Times [of Kuwait in English]

"Public opinion in Egypt has its own logic and rationale, yet sentiments on the streets of Cairo usually spread quickly to other parts of the Islamic world. At this point, it is these sentiments that Obama is after."

Upping the Ante on Israel (David Ignatius) from the Washington Post

"The Israeli leader faced an unusual test in his meeting this week with Barack Obama. The new president is not the poker-player sort of politician: When he decides to do something, he goes straight at it, laying his cards on the table face-up. That direct style is becoming an Obama signature, and it has subtly changed the dynamics of the U.S. dialogue with Israel."

Pakistani Clerics Back Gov't Offensive, Denounce Taliban Tactics from the McClatchy News Service

Wow -- this could be a very important development.

"Pakistani religious leaders and scholars Tuesday issued a strong denunciation of the tactics of Taliban militants, providing what could be major boost to the country's U.S.-backed battle against Islamic extremism."

The Miracles of Realism (Roger Cohen) from the New York Times

"Pyle’s zeal was also the Manichean change-the-world zeal of post-9/11 America, a disoriented nation striking out to deliver liberty, democracy and the rule of law to the Middle East and western Asia, but falling short and betraying those ideals in the process."

Obama Huddles with Human Rights Groups Before Security Speech from the Huffington Post

"Under heavy criticism for a series of decisions on national security that resembled, for some, those of the Bush years, President Barack Obama hosted a lengthy meeting on Wednesday with the leaders of several key human rights and civil liberties groups."

The Past's Agenda (E.J. Dionne) from the Washington Post

"Obama is caught between two powerful forces and two conflicting ideas.  Republicans want to change the subject from their own party's failures and distract from the progress Obama and Democrats in Congress are making on health care and cap-and-trade legislation. Their slogan might be: Bring on the past!"

Earth Wins One from the Editorial Board of the New York Times

"The nationwide automobile mileage and emissions standards announced by President Obama on Tuesday represent a huge step forward in the effort to limit greenhouse gases and reduce America’s dependence on foreign oil. They also represent a departure from the Bush administration’s indifference on these issues and an important down payment on Mr. Obama’s pledge to fashion an aggressive and imaginative energy policy."

Obama Leads Dramatic Change on North American Roads from the Globe and Mail [of Toronto, Canada]

"As in the whole battle against the carbon dioxide emissions that cause climate change, the U.S. under President Barack Obama is leading, and Canada under Prime Minister Stephen Harper is following."

Military Attorney: Waterboarding is "Tip of the Iceberg" from RawStory

I had suspected this for some time.

"Bradley told CNN that when she was first assigned to represent Mohamed, she did not question he was a hardened terrorist, because “my government was saying these were the worst of the worst.” However, she now says, “There’s no reliable evidence that Mr. Mohamed was going to do anything to the United States.”"

US Drivers Express Enthusiasm for Obama's Proposed Efficiency Standards from the Guardian [of London]

"Customers filling up their vehicles were enthusiastic about Barack Obama's proposed fuel efficiency standards, saying they accepted the anticipated hike in new vehicle costs if it would bring promised improvements in air quality, fuel efficiency and fuel costs."

Chris Kennedy Will Run for US Senate from the Chicago Sun-Times.  See Lynn Sweets' analysis of this prospect HERE.

"Merchandise Mart’s Chris Kennedy, son of the late U.S. Sen. Robert F. Kennedy, will announce next week he is running for the U.S. Senate."

Shorting Obama (Jonathan Chait) from the New Republic

"It's amazing how confident Republicans are in their belief that Obama's agenda will become unpopular. ...  I understand that conservatives think his agenda is substantively bad. But it's just amusing that they can't even imagine that it will become popular."

The Republicans' China Syndrome from the Guardian [of London]

"When a moderate Republican chooses a foreign post over a 2012 presidential bid, you know the GOP is in a mess."

To Fight Bill, GOP Turns on Business from Politico

"Senate Republicans have come up with a novel way to fight the climate change bill working its way through the House: Tee off on Big Business, and tie it around the neck of the Democrats. "

Steele, But No Magnet (Kathleen Parker) from the Washington Post

"The party is roiling between the purgers (good riddance to anyone who thinks outside the pup tent) and the bingers (we love everybody!). Within those two groups are subsets: the sane people who are not afraid of paradox or advanced degrees, and the "Billy Bobs" who think it's terribly clever to pass a resolution insisting that the Democrats rename their organization the "Democrat Socialist Party.""

Ah, I've been using the term 'Billy Bobs' for years to describe the GOP -- first time I've seen a conservative columnist use the term the same way.

HUMOR NUGGET!!

Obama Organic Garden causes cancer, starvation AND obesity!

For the second time, Jon Stewart makes an appearance here.

News Nuggets 150

The northern lights in Manitoba, Canada from National Geographic

As President, Obama is Unafraid to Disappoint His Allies from the Washington Post

"The decisions underscored an important facet of Obama's decision making, which is his capacity to rethink positions and to change his mind as he learns more or conditions change. And he tends whenever possible to seek consensus. Those on the left and right often overlook this aspect of his governing style, though it was one of the factors that drew many people during the campaign."

Obama: 100 Days, 100 Ways from the Independent [of London]

"From closing down Guantanamo and banishing lobbyists, to dressing down in the Oval Office and planting vegetables on the South Lawn, the Obama presidency is reshaping America."

Obama's More Effective 'War on Terror' from the New Republic

"Almost all of the Obama changes have been at the level of packaging, argumentation, symbol, and rhetoric. This does not mean that the Obama changes are unimportant. Packaging, argumentation, symbol, and rhetoric, it turns out, are vitally important to the legitimacy of terrorism policies."

Obama's Message to Israel: Seize This Moment from the Independent [of London]

"While the tone after their White House summit was friendly, there was no mistaking the pressure that Mr Obama was applying to his Israeli guest with so bluntly spoken words delivered before the cameras. "We have seen progress stalled on this front, and I suggested to the Prime Minister that he has a historic opportunity to get a serious movement on this issue during his tenure," President Obama said."

Middle East Peace: Obama's Mission Impossible from Der Spiegel [of Germany in English]

"Obama isn't distancing himself from Israel, nor is he making advances towards Palestine. He wants to force both sides to get off the hamster wheel and take some real steps forward."

Hit Obama for the Right Reasons (Dimitri Simes) from the National Interest

"Richard and Liz Cheney’s offensive and nonsensical statements damage the Republican Party by reminding the American people of the narrow-minded viciousness that was far too often associated with the George W. Bush Administration. A smart course for the Republicans is to run away from this legacy rather than advertising it on every television talk show as something that may represent not only Republican leaders’ troubling past, but also their future."

Getting to Know Obama: The Sides We're Just Starting to See (Jacob Weisberg) from Newsweek

"After four months in office, here are some emerging themes."

Obama's Stealth Campaigning (Amy Walter) from National Journal

"Behind the scenes, the President begins to assume the role of campaigner in chief."

You'll Simply Love Azerbaijan from Slate

"The great American tradition of sending your political rivals overseas."

Club for Growth Wears on Some Republicans from the Wall Street Journal

"Pennsylvania Sen. Arlen Specter's switch to the Democratic Party underscores the clout of Club For Growth, a conservative group that targets Republicans it brands insufficiently committed to low taxes and small government. The move also has inflamed a debate within the party: Are the group's tactics good or bad for Republicans?"

New Survey Reveals Obama Closing the Democrats Historical National Security Gap from Democracy Corps

"A new Democracy Corps poll released by Greenberg Quinlan Rosner today shows that after 100 days in office, President Barack Obama has, at least for now effectively erased doubts that Americans have historically harbored about the Democratic Party’s vision and competence on national security."

The Cheney Dare (Lanny Davis) from the Washington Times

"I have changed my mind about the need to indict former Vice President Dick Cheney for complicity in illegal torture.  His insistence on putting himself on multiple TV programs and conservative radio talk shows, not only defending torture but offering the defense that it worked, has changed my mind."

The GOP Needs Its Own 'Secret Speech' Repudiating the Cheney Era (Jacob Heilbrunn) from TalkingPointsMemo

"This is a big week for the GOP. Two events suggest that it isn't detached from reality. It's oblivious to it."

FOREIGN POLICY NUGGET!

An interesting "big picture" view of the US's international relationships and why the US will be difficult to "unseat" as the world's big power.

A Subversive on a Hill (Lawrence Freedman) from the National Interest

"DESPITE REGULAR reports of terminal decline, the United States continues to hold on to its preeminent international position. It has been able to do this because of two features which distinguish it from the dominant great powers of the past: American power is based on alliances rather than colonies and is associated with an ideology that is flexible, potentially universal and inherently subversive of alternative ideological forms."

MOVIE NUGGET!!

Spielberg to Chronicle Martin Luther King's Life from the Independent [of London]

"Martin Luther King is to receive perhaps the ultimate recognition of his standing as a modern American icon: a Steven Spielberg film chronicling his life and times."

News Nuggets 149

A close look at a Blue Whale, a species that got some GOOD NEWS today!  See the Nature Nugget below.

Obama Lays Down the Law... (Editorial) from the Jerusalem Post

"The reality of Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu's first White House meeting with President Barack Obama was immediately plain for all to see and hear at their joint mini-press conference. This was a meeting of unequals, a meeting in which the head of the world's most powerful nation, however battered of late, firmly asserted its primacy in the face of a supplicant ally, however feisty."

China and US Held Secret Talks on Climate Change Deal from the Guardian [of London]

There is SO MUCH about this little story that is surprising and leaves me almost incredulous.  WHY would Republicans be so engaged on an issue where the unofficial position of the party and the administration was that global warming was a crock?!  Indeed the former administration maintained a system of soviet-style "monitors" on gov't scientists who openly supported global warming.  And YET behind the scenes, they are working with China's communist regime to deal directly with the issue!  I'm glad for it -- AND I don't get it.

"A high-powered group of senior Republicans and Democrats led two missions to China in the final months of the Bush administration for secret backchannel negotiations aimed at securing a deal on joint US-Chinese action on climate change, the Guardian has learned."

Obama Ignores the 'Rules,' Stirs the Pot (Gloria Borger) from CNN

An on-the-money assessment of Obama's approach to hot-button issues!

"When President Obama went to Notre Dame to deliver the commencement address over the weekend, he threw the conventional rules away, or at least ignored them. ... He doesn't shy away from this kind of controversy, but chooses to confront it civilly. He makes decisions (eliminating military tribunals), then decides to change his mind (he'll have another version of them) when he's wrong."

Spy vs. Speaker: The Panetta-Pelosi Snipefest from Politics Daily

An interesting look at the recent dustup between Pelosi and Panetta!

"It's not symmetrical, but the Democratic Party is split into three camps."

How Obama Plays the Middle Against Both Sides from Politics Daily

Another insightful look at Obama's handling of controversial issues.

"Ever since Obama became nationally known with his keynote speech at the 2004 Democratic National Convention, his rhetoric has been countercultural. While other politicians and pundits speak with raised voices and razor-wire phrases, his words seem measured and intended to produce light rather than heat. That was the case, again, at Notre Dame."

The Day the Bloggers Won from Salon

"With no traditional-media allies or lobbying money, the netroots was able to alter the debate about wiretapping in the 2008 campaign. Leading the charge: Salon's Glenn Greenwald."

GOP Losses Span Nearly All Demographic Groups from the Gallup Organization

"The decline in Republican Party affiliation among Americans in recent years is well documented, but a Gallup analysis now shows that this movement away from the GOP has occurred among nearly every major demographic subgroup."

The GOP's Paranoid Foreign Policy (Editorial) from Newsweek

"To the Republicans, everything Barack Obama does is a sign of weakness and a threat to American sovereignty."

NATURE NUGGET!!

This is SO GREAT!

Blue Whales Returning to Former Alaska Waters from the Associated Press

"Blue whales are returning to Alaska in search of food and could be re-establishing an old migration route several decades after they were nearly wiped out by commercial whalers, scientists say."

News Nuggets 148

Antelope Canyon in Arizona from National Geographic

The 13 People Who Made Torture Possible from Salon

"The Bush administration's Torture 13. They authorized it, they decided how to implement it, and they crafted the legal fig leaf to justify it."

Twelve Lawyers Face Disbarment Complaints from RawStory

"A liberal activist group has filed disciplinary complaints in four states and the District of Columbia calling for the disbarment of twelve lawyers they say are associated with the Bush administration’s position on torture."

Quintessential Obama [and other postings here] (Chuck Todd et al.) from MSNBC

"Anyone who didn't think President Obama would give a speech that would aim to rise above the back-and-forth over his commencement speech yesterday at Notre Dame hasn't been paying attention over the last two years. It was quintessential Obama."

Environmentalists Happy with Obama; Industry Less So from the McClatchy News Service

"In the nearly four months since taking office, the Obama administration has moved quickly, relentlessly and without apology to roll back the natural resource and public lands policies of its predecessor. Though they have yet to lay out their own vision in detail, Salazar and other administration officials have left no doubt that they consider the Bush approach misguided and unfairly weighted toward timber, mining, oil and other interests."

Obama's Slow Go on Cities from The Root

"Valerie Jarrett, the big boss of Urban Affairs at the White House, explains what the president has in store for cities."

Obama Makes Quiet Play for GOP Aid from Politico

"Obama is trying again — more quietly and with a smaller group of moderate Republicans who might be more willing to say yes. The goal: Try to get at least some Republicans to back big-ticket items such as Obama’s health care plan, but avoid the public spectacle of being rejected a second time around."

Huntsman Strategist: If Palin and Limbaugh Dominate, the GOP 'Headed for a Blowout'

in 2012 from the Washington Examiner

"The Republican strategist who helped Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman prepare for a possible presidential run says the Republican party is in for a devastating defeat if its guiding lights are Sarah Palin, Rush Limbaugh and Dick Cheney."

Republicans Fear Latino Flight from Politico

As they should.

"The Republican Party has scarcely begun to repair a wound that threatens to confine it to minority status: its 2006 collapse among Hispanic voters. "

Conciliatory Fighting Words (E.J. Dionne) from the Washington Post

A good comment on Obama's views on the culture war issues generally.

"There were many messages sent from South Bend. Obama's opponents seek to reignite the culture wars. He doesn't. They would reduce religious faith to a narrow set of issues. He refused to join them. They often see theological arguments as leading to certainty. He opted for humility."

That's Whassup from The Root

"So another week passes in the life of Barack Obama. He’s still cool, calm and debonair—a regular “Barry” Grant—and he’s already brought a lot of change to the White House. But some things won’t ever change: Like Rémy in the liquor cabinet, Frankie Beverly on the iPod and Y&R on the tube at your auntie’s house, there are some things about the Obama flow that are just, well, black..."

Graham Heckled, Jeered for Supporting 'Open-Tent' GOP from The State [of South

Carolina] via Huffington Post

More from the trenches of the budding civil war in the GOP.

""You're a hypocrite!" one man yelled.  "I'm a winner, pal," Graham shot back. "Winning matters to me. If it doesn't matter to you, there's the exit sign.""

VISUAL NUGGET!!

Economic Stress Map of the United States by the Associated Press with analysis HERE from the Huffington Post

THIS is really fascinating!  Check it out!

News Nuggets 147

The Hudson River, a stretch currently being cleaned up of PCBs and other toxic waste.  It's been waiting for decades to happen.

Helping Obama to Help Us (Editorial) from Al-Ahram [of Egypt in English]

VERY INTERESTING perspective on what Obama has been doing on the Arab-Israeli front.

"One informed senior Arab diplomat told Al-Ahram Weekly that during their extraordinary meeting on the situation in Palestine last Thursday, Arab foreign ministers shied from even suggesting tough stances on Israel, "in order to avoid a tone, or an atmosphere, of confrontation that could pre-empt any positive position that Obama might be taking"."

Obama Makes His Bid for Middle East Peace from the Guardian [of London]

"Tomorrow the Israeli prime minister meets the US president at the White House. The following week Obama will also meet the Egyptian and Palestinian leaders. America has signaled it wants solutions in the Middle East, but are the president's guests ready to make concessions?"

Obama to Visit Ghana in First Official Trip to Sub-Saharan Africa from the Washington Post

I keep saying this -- but it is AMAZING the pace Obama is keeping up since he was elected!

"President Obama will make his first official trip to sub-Saharan Africa this summer, the White House announced today, spending two days in Ghana with his wife, Michelle, after visiting Russia and Italy.  The visit of the first African American U.S. president will be heavy with symbolism. Obama is likely to draw a huge crowd from across the continent during the brief stay."

Obama Can't Turn the Page on Bush (Frank Rich) from the New York Times

"TO paraphrase Al Pacino in “Godfather III,” just when we thought we were out, the Bush mob keeps pulling us back in. And will keep doing so. No matter how hard President Obama tries to turn the page on the previous administration, he can’t."

Into the Thicket on Torture (Jim Hoagland) from the Washington Post

"President Obama's effort to block the release of photographs of U.S. prisoner abuse is a mistake that can be corrected. The president acts with good intentions -- and a profound understanding of the overstimulated times and society in which he lives. That alone represents progress at the White House."

And He Shall Be Judged [the article] and Onward, Christian Soldiers [the slides] (Robert Draper) from GQ

"Documents from Rumsfeld's Pentagon mixed religion and war."

WTF were they thinking?!  THIS is creepy and weird!

A Dark Lord Comes Shrieking Into the Light (Andrew Sullivan) from the Times [of London]

"Cheney is afraid. He knows he is losing the argument about his record. The cumulative effect of leaked reports detailing the torture of prisoners at Guantanamo Bay has altered public perceptions."

Sullivan is very much on the money here.

Cheney Said Gitmo Detainees Revealed Iraq-Al Qaida Link from the McClatchy News Service

"Cheney's 2004 comments to the now-defunct Rocky Mountain News were largely overlooked at the time. However, they appear to substantiate recent reports that interrogators at Guantanamo and other prison camps were ordered to find evidence of alleged cooperation between al Qaida and the late Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein."

Cheney, Master of Pain (Maureen Dowd) from the New York Times

"Nancy Pelosi’s bad week of blithering responses about why she did nothing after being briefed on torture has given Republicans one of their happiest — and harpy-est — weeks in a long time. They relished casting Pelosi as contemptible for not fighting harder to stop their contemptible depredations against the Constitution. That’s Cheneyesque chutzpah."

Crist's Senate Run Provokes Backlash in his Own Party from the McClatchy News Service

As predicted ...

"A Republican backlash is brewing against the state and national party as they anoint Gov. Charlie Crist's U.S. Senate campaign — thereby dissing that of his rival, former state House Speaker Marco Rubio."

Potential Republican 2012 Nominee Joins Obama Administration from Daily Kos

Some free-wheeling analysis on this fascinating "flip" with a supporting link.

"It's gotten so bad that one of the most impressive potential presidential candidates who might have run against Barack Obama in 2012, a Republican from Utah, has not only given up his presidential aspirations, he's joining the Obama administration!"

Huntsman to China: It's About Romney from Narconews.com

Some interesting speculation about why Obama offered the envoy job to Huntsman and why he accepted.

"It speaks volumes of the outside-the-box tendencies of the President and his team that the thought would even occur to them to appoint such an unexpected envoy, that they would know that Huntsman - a former LDS missionary in Taiwan - speaks Mandarin, and that they'd be able to convince the Governor to switch jobs for a post that is not necessarily a promotion."

Randall Terry No Match for Obama from Salon

An interesting - if perhaps premature - analysis of Obama's impact on anti-abortion extremism.  I suspect this is premature because it seems to me that most flavors of extremism both on the left and right are coming back into vogue right now.

"The man who destroyed the antiabortion movement with his extremism is trying to use the president's visit to Notre Dame to advance his cause, but he will fail -- again."

US Churches Bid for - and Squabble Over - Obama from Le Monde [of France in English]

A very odd article to appear in a French publication.

"Every Sunday, full of hope, Washington's parishioners wait. Will he come? Barack Obama hasn't yet chosen a church. … In Obama's case, the choice is even more delicate because of the divisions between communities. Black church? White? Mixed? ... Meanwhile, traditionalists reproach Obama for reestablishing U.S. subsidies for family planning and with authorizing federal support for stem cell research."

VIDEO NUGGET!!

Michelle Obama's Commencement Address at UC Merced from the Huffington Post

CULTURE NUGGET!!

Who is a Real Catholic? (Op-Ed) from the Washington Post

"Is this what Catholicism in America has come to? Bickering about whether Notre Dame is really Catholic, or whether a priest can make out on the beach with his gal pal? Well, yes. And that should come as no surprise."1

News Nuggets 146

The Man in the Red Room of the White House from Time Magazine

Familiar Obama Phrase Being Groomed as a Slogan from the New York Times

"He told graduating college students on Wednesday that “we need to build a new foundation.” He told consumers on Thursday that protecting them was vital “to the new foundation we seek to build.”"

Obama's Delicate Balance on National Security from Time Magazine

"The new President's decision was just the latest in a series of steps he has taken that move him decidedly toward the political center on issues of national security. No longer a mere senator representing a single state, Obama is now the commander-in-chief, and his reversal highlights the unique burdens that he alone now shoulders."

Spanish Probe Paints Grim Picture of Gitmo Abuse from Raw Story

"An ongoing Spanish investigation is painting a devastating picture of the brutality exercised by the US military over detainees at Guantanamo and elsewhere."

It's fascinating to see the dynamic between the US's pursuit of the detainee abuses and the Europeans via the Spanish court.  It seems like every time US authorities flag in their investigations, the Spanish court kicks their own efforts up a notch.  When the US gets more vigorous, the Spanish court seems to back off.

Obama Commission Stance Not Surprising from FirstRead via MSNBC

"Today's announcement about military commissions is in many ways not surprising: The Obama administration signaled from the beginning that it wanted to retain the option of trying some Guantanamo Bay detainees before military tribunals."

Obama to Seek Expanded Strategic Partnership with India from the Times of India

This is LONG OVERDUE in my view.

""In addition to our shared democratic values, we have common interests in combating terrorism, stopping spread of weapons of mass destruction, getting global economy back on track, addressing global climate change, and reinvigorating global trade talks," said ambassador Robert O Blake."

Obama Said to Pick Utah Gov. as China Envoy from the New York Times

If you have not been following, this is HUGE NEWS!  Not only is Jon Huntsman a Republican, he is one of a tiny handfull of people being highly touted as a future leader of the GOP and a SERIOUS potential contender against Obama in 2012.  I would love to know more about what happened here.

"A Republican governor whose name has come up as a potential challenger to President Barack Obama in 2012 intends go to work for the president as ambassador to China, a source close to the governor said."

Hearing Lays Groundwork for Torture Prosecutions from the Washington Independent

"A Senate panel appeared to lay the groundwork on Wednesday for a possible prosecution of former Bush administration officials for the torture and abuse of detainees in the “war on terror,” despite strong opposition from Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.)."

How to Fix a Party from the Economist [of London]

"Here is a modest suggestion for the Republicans: why not learn from the Democratic Party? The Democrats have had much more experience of defeat than the Republicans."

MUSEUM NUGGET!!

Come Meet Your Folks: Warm Blood is Required from the New York Times

"Step right up, folks! Never before seen by human eyes! — but the playful tone of its fine new exhibition, “Extreme Mammals,” comes close. It boasts “the biggest, smallest and most amazing animals of all time.”"