News Nuggets 751

The Centoes Cavern in Chichen-Itza, Mexico.  From National Geographic.

U.S. Is Quietly Getting Ready for Syria Without Assad from the New York Times

"Increasingly convinced that President Bashar al-Assad of Syria will not be able to remain in power, the Obama administration has begun to make plans for American policy in the region after he exits."

Why Euro Breaking Up Is So Hard to Do from the Financial Times [of the UK] via CNBC
"Members of the euro zone are suffering from a severe bout of buyers’ remorse. Many would like to disassemble the kit they bought almost 20 years ago and put together in the late 1990s and 2000s. But they can only break it, together with the entire structure of European co-operation. Meanwhile, the world looks on in horror at the possibility that the euro zone is about to unleash a wave of sovereign debt and banking crises. If so, it would not be the first time that European folly has brought ruin on the world."

Building on Daniel Yergin's "Peak Oil" item from two days ago:
New Fields May Propel Americas to Top of Oil Companies’ Lists from the New York Times
"Brazil has begun building its first nuclear submarine to protect its vast, new offshore oil discoveries. Colombia’s oil production is climbing so fast that it is closing in on Algeria’s and could hit Libya’s prewar levels in a few years. ExxonMobil is striking new deals in Argentina, which recently heralded its biggest oil discovery since the 1980s. Up and down the Americas, it is a similar story..."

Speak of the devil!!
The Pursuit of Energy and Visions of a Post-Oil Age: A Review of The Quest: Energy, Security, and the Remaking of the Modern World by Daniel Yergin from the New York Times
"Mr. Yergin is back with a sequel to “The Prize.” It is called “The Quest: Energy, Security, and the Remaking of the Modern World,” and, if anything, it’s an even better book."

The Firsthand Experience of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" from Time Magazine
"In the 18 years under the policy, nearly 14,000 gay and lesbian service men and women were discharged. A new book, Our Time: Breaking the Silence of “Don't Ask, Don't Tell,” chronicles the experiences of both gay and straight service members through first person essays, detailing how the policy affected their careers and their lives. TIME spoke with Our Time's editor, Josh Seefried..."

President Obama's Deficit Plan Puts Him Back in Sync with Progressives from Politico
"President Barack Obama finally gave his liberal critics exactly what they wanted. His tough opening bid on deficit reduction and his feisty, defiant speech from the White House Monday were greeted with almost incredulous joy by progressives who have urged Obama to take this kind of hard line with Republicans since the day he was elected."

David Brooks Gets it All Wrong on Obama's Tax Plan (Steve Kornacki) from Salon
"Is calling for higher taxes on the rich popular with the Democratic Party base? Sure. But what Brooks doesn't mention -- and may not even be aware of -- is that it's also popular with just about everyone else ... except for the conservative base of the Republican Party."

Polls Suggest Voters Supportive Of Obama’s Jobs Pivot from Talking Points Memo
"The jobs plan the President has touted is on solid ground in the polls: Gallup showed that a 45 percent plurality of Americans support it, as did a 43 percent plurality in a recent CNN/ORC survey. Within that jobs plan there are popular individual proposals -- a CBS/New York Times poll on Friday showed majorities supported all the components tested. It has the feeling of a brick-by-brick strategy: the President can build his standing on the economy by singling out issues that are popular on their own."

Mark Penn and Mark Halperin Agree: Economic Justice is Bad Politics (Alex Pareene) from Salon
"If Mark Penn and Mark Halperin are against it, his decision to endorse a millionaires' tax was obviously right."

The Road to Treadmill Serfdom (David Frum) from the Frum Forum
Our ON-THE-MONEY PUNDIT OF THE DAY!
"What you are hearing here is the secret of the Tea Party. Americans do not clearly distinguish in their minds between “rights” in the James Madison sense and what we might call “folkways.” The ability to live in a large suburban house, drive to work on a highway without tolls, buy a sausage and egg biscuit for a dollar, eat in the car, park for free at the office, and send the bill for any negative consequence to a solvent Medicare program – there are many people to whom that pattern of life means more than trial by jury or even freedom of the press."

I Love You, Ralph (Nader), But ... (James Fallows) from the Atlantic
"Maybe a primary challenge to Obama would not weaken him (unlike the situation with Carter and the first Bush) and would in fact push him in the direction you suggest and energize the party as a whole. It's true that Tea Party pressure has moved the entire Republican party to the right. But it's not obvious that it would work the same way with the Democrats. And even though the "intent" might not be to defeat Mr. Obama, that is likely to be one effect."

Five Things All the GOP Candidates Agree On. (They’re Terrifying) (Ed Kilgore) from the New Republic
"But the fact that the Republican Party has reached such a stable consensus on such a great number of far-right positions is in many ways a more shocking phenomenon than the rare topic on which they disagree. Here are just a few areas of consensus on which the rightward lurch of the GOP during the last few years has become remarkably apparent:"

Advantage: Perry (Charlie Cook) from National Journal
"Governor could cinch the GOP nomination if he steps out of Texas."

Stopping the Perry Steamroller (Howard Kurtz) from the Daily Beast
The frontrunner for the 2012 nomination has dipped in the polls and faces a Google gauntlet at Thursday’s debate. Howard Kurtz on why Perry’s rivals need some fresh ammunition—and fast."

MA-Sen: Elizabeth Warren Leads Scott Brown in New Poll from Daily Kos
Well, that didn't take long.  I said polling would indicate if I were wrong on Warren's chances in MA -- and it looks like I'm wrong.  Warren is looking remarkably competitive against Brown!
"Back in June, Elizabeth Warren was in the same low-30s, largely unknown, Democratic placeholder-type position as every other possible candidate. But because national Democrats and an array of progressive organizations took Warren's candidacy seriously, the local press was forced to as well. So even though Warren has yet to air a single ad on TV, her favorability rating jumped from 21-17 to 40-22."
This polling is open to several different interpretations.  First, that there is a frustrated inchoate anti-Wall Street sentiment out there just waiting to be tapped.  That view is reinforced by responses to the poll from business insiders cited HERE.  Another (not mutually exclusive) possibility is that an unusually raw and reductionist form of anti-incumbent attitude may be brewing among average voters.  If it is more the former, than Obama and the Dems might be on the right track with Obama's "class warfare" speech.  If more the latter, than incumbents from both parties and Obama need to be concerned.  I see lots of evidence for both possibilities.

DISEASE CURE NUGGET!!
Building a Better Bug: Can Scientists Beat Malaria by Reengineering the Mosquito? from the Atlantic
"The scientist in charge of the lab, Andrea Crisanti, a parasitologist and microbiologist at Imperial College London, has developed a technique that can spread a genetic modification through generations of the insects. “In one or two seasons, you can thoroughly attack an entire wild population at a chosen site,” he says. This breakthrough, heralded in Nature last spring, opens the possibility of replacing a region’s malarial mosquitoes with genetically modified competitors."

News Nuggets 750

Sharks swimming in the Bahamas.  From National Geographic.

How Can China Save Europe When It's Defaulting On Its Own Debt? (Gordon Chang) from Forbes Magazine
"The central government’s National Audit Office said these companies, at the end of last year, had taken on 10.7 trillion yuan of debt.  No one, however, knows the true amount of LGFV indebtedness, and some have calculated the real amount to be more than double the official figure. Why the disagreement as to the amount of debt?  Local governments have gone out of their way to hide borrowings, perhaps in part because of their doubtful legality."
As we've tracking for some time at this blog, one of the most under-reported  global economy stories in the last several years has been the funny economic data coming out of China.  In dozens of different ways, it doesn't add up -- and this article is the latest evidence of fishiness in that arena.

I Am a Gay Airman (Josh Seefried) from the Daily Beast
"Today 'don't ask, don't tell' officially ends—and I, along with untold numbers of other gay service members, can finally defend my country without hiding who I am. By Josh Seefried."

Back to School, Back to U.S. History Basics (George Nethercutt) from Real Clear Politics
"U.S. students have returned to school this year at a moment of crisis in American education. As the recently released National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) found, only 12 percent of high school seniors, 17 percent of eighth-graders and 20 percent of fourth-graders qualified as proficient in U.S. history. How can a country expect to survive when nearly nine out of 10 seniors don't know their basic history? Answer: It can't."
Ah, ye of little faith!  There's always Glenn Beck University to fill in all those blank spaces!

There is A LOT of commentary on Obama's jobs speech yesterday.  Here are some of the best articles I've seen:
Obama Throws `Class Warfare’ Charge Back in GOP’s Face (Greg Sargent) from the Washington Post
"This has to be the clearest sign yet that Obama has taken a very sharp populist turn as he seeks to frame the contrast between the parties heading into 2012. During his remarks this morning, Obama directly responded to Republicans accusing him of “class warfare,” but rather than simply deny the charge, he made the critical point that the act of protecting tax cuts for the rich is itself class warfare, in effect positioning himself as the defender of the middle class against GOP class warriors on behalf of the wealthy."
It's ABOUT TIME someone said the obvious!!

Further emphasizing this view is this item:
Class Warfare? Obama's on Defense to Protect Middle Class from the Editorial Board of the Newark Star-Ledger
"But is Obama picking a fight? Or did Republicans throw the first punches? The facts on America’s growing class divide are irrefutable. ... During the past two decades, the wealthiest 10 percent of earners have captured 100 percent of the gains from our economic growth. Despite the fact that worker productivity has risen steadily, none of the gains in that period went to the bottom 90 percent. This isn’t the fault of Republicans. But Republicans have responded by making it worse."

Obama’s Tax Plan is Common Sense, Not Class Warfare (Eugene Robinson) from the Washington Post
"This is just a campaign initiative, they say, not a “serious” plan to address the nation’s financial and economic woes. But that’s pure solipsism: Whatever does not fit the GOP’s worldview is, by definition, illegitimate. By this standard, Obama could propose only measures that are in the Republican Party’s platform — which obviously would defeat the purpose of being elected president as a progressive Democrat in the first place. Outside of the Republican echo chamber, polls consistently show the American people consider unemployment to be the nation’s most urgent problem, not deficits and debt."

GOP’s 'Class Warfare' Sham (Michael Tomasky) from the Daily Beast
"The GOP calls it 'class warfare,' but the president’s proposal to raise taxes on millionaires is actually a move toward fairness and fiscal sanity, says Michael Tomasky." from the Daily Beast

Why the White House Changed Course (Ezra Klein) rom the Washington Post
"...  the “grand bargain” ultimately fell apart. Twice. The collapse of that deal taught them two things: Boehner doesn’t have the internal support in his caucus to strike a grand bargain with them, and the American people don’t give points for effort."

Behind Obama’s Newfound Aggressiveness: GOP Fear of the `Trigger’ (Jonathan Bernstein) from the Washington Post
"What I think is really driving all of this is that Obama doesn’t fear the supercommittee trigger — and he suspects that the GOP might. This is a real contrast with the spring showdown over appropriations and the threat of a government shutdown, and with the confrontation over the debt limit last month."

Obama's Deficit Plan Revs Up Democrats from CBS News
"Democrats in Congress today were energized by President Obama's deficit reduction plan, which in part calls for higher taxes on the wealthy, and called on Congress to get to work on Mr. Obama's proposals right away."
Other interesting commentaries were made by Dana Milbank and Eugene Kane.

Democratic panic: Enough with the Circular Firing Squad (Jonathan Capehart) from the Washington Post
"Ralph Nader and Cornel West are banding together to field a primary challengeragainst the president. While the former elicited eye rolls, the latter had me spitting expletives. Listen, people. If you want to ensure Obama’s defeat to either the King of Death Row, the man of mailable beliefs or whoever else the far right deems acceptable for the Republican Party, keep the circular firing squad going."

Health Care Puts Mitt in Political ICU (Holly Robichaud) from the Boston Herald
"One word describes former Gov. Mitt Romney’s presidential campaign — stagnant. Whether possessing the front-runner status or not, his polling numbers have hovered at 18 percent since entering this race."

ODD FERTILITY/BABY NUGGET!!
Sperm Bank Turns Down Redheads from the Daily Telegraph [of the UK]
"The world's largest sperm bank has started turning down redheaded donors because there is too little demand for their sperm."
Even in Scotland!?!

News Nuggets 749

Girls crossing the desert in Rajasthani, India.  From National Geographic.

As on Saturday, due to technical breakdowns, today's post is shorter than usual. 

Normally, I do not post stories relating to Israel.  Why? Thomas Friedman captures succinctly my sense of resignation about what their government has been up to.
Israel: Adrift at Sea Alone (Thomas Friedman) from the New York Times
"I’VE never been more worried about Israel’s future. The crumbling of key pillars of Israel’s security — the peace with Egypt, the stability of Syria and the friendship of Turkey and Jordan — coupled with the most diplomatically inept and strategically incompetent government in Israel’s history have put Israel in a very dangerous situation."

A related item:
The Tsuris (John Heilemann) from New York Magazine
"Barack Obama is the best thing Israel has going for it right now. Why is that so difficult for Netanyahu and his American Jewish allies to understand?"

The End of an Era in Iran (Ray Takeyh) from the Washington Post
"As with the Soviet Union, the theocratic regime needs more than brute force to survive. Its viability rests on its ability to permeate society with its hypocrisy. ... In clerical mystification, fabricating electoral results is called safeguarding elections. The regime’s manufactured reality rarely observes limits. The state claims to uphold human rights standards, yet it presents show trials and other transgressions as sanctioned by divine ordinance. The regime claims to seek diplomatic accord with the West, yet its conduct is an affront to international convention. The clerical oligarchs claim to fear nothing, yet in fact they fear everything: their citizens, their neighbors, each other. The real question is: Why does the regime hold so tenaciously to a narrative that convinces no one?"

Predators and Robots at War (Christian Caryl) from the New York Review of Books
"Drones are not remarkable because of their weaponry. There is nothing especially unusual about the missiles they carry, and even the largest models are relatively lightly armed. They are not fast or nimble. What makes them powerful is their ability to see and think."

There Will Be Oil (Daniel Yergin) from the Wall Street Journal
A good long-form examination from a pulitzer-prize winning analyst!
"For decades, advocates of 'peak oil' have been predicting a crisis in energy supplies. They've been wrong at every turn, says Daniel Yergin. ... Things don't stand still in the energy industry. With the passage of time, unconventional sources of oil, in all their variety, become a familiar part of the world's petroleum supply. They help to explain why the plateau continues to recede into the horizon—and why, on a global view, Hubbert's Peak is still not in sight."

When the Parts are More Popular than the Whole (Steve Benen) from Washington Monthly
"A CNN poll this week found similar results — the public generally approved of the American Jobs Act, but really approved of what’s in the Americans Jobs Act. This may seem counter-intuitive — if people like the parts, they should like the whole — but it makes a lot of sense."

Can Obama Calm Democratic Panic? (E.J. Dionne) from the Washington Post
"Obama and his party are grappling with the “tragedy of the commons” in a classic form. Obama, who has been so happy to stay distant and above the concerns of his Democratic allies, cannot afford to lose them now. Democrats in Congress have a long list of reasons for being resentful. The special elections will aggravate their fears of embracing the president too closely. Yet if Obama’s presidency is weakened further, the resulting damage will afflict Democrats as a whole. However justified their past grievances might be, they have a powerful collective interest in seeing the fighting Obama get his new act off the ground."

Obama and the Art of Picking a Fight (Steve Kornacki) from the Salon
"Obama’s only recourse is to do everything he possibly can to convince swing voters that their anxiety is mainly a product not of his own stewardship but of Republican obstructionism. The jobs plan fits into this nicely. "

Usually, I am loath to post items from hyper-partisan blogs such as Daily Kos -- I rarely find them very edifying.  But today there are TWO (2) exceptions!  Check out the following:
Political Strategery: It is About Getting More Votes from Daily Kos
"Earlier this week, Matt Yglesias continued his argument that presidential speeches do not matter: ... I think this type of thinking is emblematic of a serious failing in Beltway Democratic political thinking in two ways."

The Tea Party Death Cult from the Daily Kos
"Don't get sick. And if you do get sick, die quickly." This gave the DC chattering class a massive case of the vapors and resulted in calls for Grayson to apologize. Grayson did apologize, of course: to those who have died because they lacked health insurance. ... It's now a simple fact that a good number of tea party voters actively like to see people die. It doesn't matter if they're innocent or guilty. It doesn't matter if there were circumstances beyond the control of those they hope will soon be deceased. It doesn't matter if sane public policy could have prevented them from dying of a painful disease.  They just need to die. And die quickly."

News Nuggets 748

A sunset over Boracay in the Philippines.  From National Geographic.

UP-FRONT MUST-READ COLUMN
Eggheads and Blockheads (Maureen Dowd) from the New York Times
Our PUNDIT-FOR-THE-DAY!!  [It's been forever since Dowd got anywhere near this award]  She really hits a key issue with Perry's background and (more to the point) how he relates to it now.  Here's a big sample:
“Four semesters of organic chemistry made a pilot out of me,” said Perry, who went on to join the Air Force.  “His other D’s,” Richard Oppel wrote in The Times, “included courses in the principles of economics, Shakespeare, ‘Feeds & Feeding,’ veterinary anatomy and what appears to be a course called ‘Meats.’ He even got a C in gym. ... Our education system is going to hell. Average SAT scores are falling, and America is slipping down the list of nations for college completion. And Rick Perry stands up with a smirk to talk to students about how you can get C’s, D’s and F’s and still run for president. ... The Republicans are now the “How great is it to be stupid?” party. In perpetrating the idea that there’s no intellectual requirement for the office of the presidency, the right wing of the party offers a Farrelly Brothers “Dumb and Dumber” primary in which evolution is avant-garde."

Benghazi, Libya: A City in Foul Disrepair, but its People Share Euphoria from the McClatchy News Service
"In the vast empty spaces that abut Benghazi's tangle of elevated highways, garbage is strewn as far as the eye can see. At the city's two showpiece hotels, located on an otherwise charming lake, the raw sewage that pollutes the water is enough to keep any visitor indoors. ... But make no mistake: this is one of the happiest and most exciting cities in the world."

Obama Tax Plan Would Ask More of Millionaires from the New York Times
"President Obama on Monday will call for a new minimum tax rate for individuals making more than $1 million a year to ensure that they pay at least the same percentage of their earnings as middle-income taxpayers, according to administration officials."

The Main Lesson from a Down Job Market? Stay in School. As Long as You Can. from the Washington Post
"...among college grads, the outlook is gloomier for one critical segment: recent graduates. A study this year put their unemployment rate at 10 percent among men and 8 percent for women. ... So what happens to the Class of 2015 — the students who have just moved into their dorm rooms and are settling into introductory lectures this fall? What should they do? They should stay put."

One other note raised by the Post article: "A long-term economic outlook issued by the Macroeconomic Advisers consulting group says that we will not see a complete recovery in the job market until 2017 — five graduating classes from now."
I was saying 2017 in late 2009.  Now, these folks are saying 2017 for a "full recovery in the job market."  Fantasy.  Sheer fantasy.  Given the major restructuring that is going on in the US economy now, with so many corporations that ARE hiring doing that hiring overseas, I see two possible scenarios: a decade+ long bad recession that "fully recovers" (whatever that will mean by then) by 2021.  This comes from simply following and projecting out the lines on the graph of unemployment since this recession began.  To somehow think there will be some "great leap upward" in that trend line defies just about every pattern set so far by this recession.  The second possible outcome: 9 percent unemployment (or somewhere near that) as the new normal. Take your pick.  2017?  No way.  

Obama Reaches Out To Nervous Dems, Puts 2012 Into Perspective from Talking Points Memo
"“Now, I know that, over the last couple of months, there have been Democrats who voiced concerns and nervousness about, well, in this kind of economy, isn’t this just — aren’t these just huge headwinds in terms of your reelection?,” Obama said. “And I just have to remind people that — here’s one thing I know for certain,” he continued. “The odds of me being reelected are much higher than the odds of me being elected in the first place.”"

Sure, Obama Can Fire His Staff. So Should He? (Matt Bai) from the New York Times
"The problem with Mr. Carville’s prescription in this particular case, however, especially as it pertains to Mr. Daley, is that it would directly undermine the foundation of the case that Mr. Obama and his Democratic allies have been trying so hard to make."

Perry’s Problem: Move To The Right On Social Security, Move To The Bottom In The General Election from Talking Points Memo
"Earlier in the week a national survey from Public Policy Polling (D) showed two things about Perry’s statements on Social Security. First, although the GOP base is more likely to be sympathetic to an overhaul of the system, conservatives still support the program, a line Perry must walk as he both courts all primary voters and the tea party wing who is essential to getting the nomination. But second, as all election seasons go, Perry must find a way to pivot to the more moderate general electorate. And the latest numbers show that these voters are much less forgiving on the Social Security issue, which is already dragging him down in a matchup with President Obama."

SURFING NUGGET!!
Surfer Shoots Flames from Surfboard (VIDEO) from Discovery News
"From the size of the waves they catch to the height of the air they get, surfers continue to push the limits of their sport. But this one may be a first, and it's a total out-of-the-box stunt. With flares burning on the back of his board, Bruce Irons literally lit up some waves on a recent trip to Indonesia."

CLASSIC AUTHOR NUGGET!!
The Enduring Myth of George Orwell from Salon
"A new book examines the legendary status the "1984" author has achieved since his death."

ANCIENT ROME NUGGET!!
Huge Gladiator School Found Buried in Austria from National Geographic News
""Important" find boasts amphitheater, was nearly as big as two Walmarts."
WOW! TWO WALMARTS!  That IS big!

News Nuggets 747

Grassland in the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribal Park in South Dakota.  From National Geographic.

Due to technical breakdowns, a slightly attenuated list of nuggets today.

End of the Road: Al Qaeda’s Fall (Fawaz A. Gerges) from the Boston Review
"Though opinions in some quarters have begun to shift, commentators and analysts readily accept the narrative advanced by many officials and so-called terrorism experts, who argue that al Qaeda remains the West’s greatest threat. These officials and experts are wrong."
But ... but what will the GOP do if they can't make people deathly afraid of Al Qaeda?!  Ah -- they'll make them deathly afraid of Democrats.  Oh, wait -- they're already doing that!

Our Decimated Military (Lawrence Korb) from Democracy Journal
"The United States’ reaction to 9/11, however, created long-term problems both in our domestic policy and our international affairs. The “Global War on Terror” declared in the aftermath of the attacks led to regime-change missions in two Muslim countries, efforts that have carried a large cost in lives, financial stability, and America’s standing in the world. In an attempt to defeat the purportedly existential threat of Al Qaeda, the United States paid an overwhelming cost: tens of thousands of American troops killed or wounded, trillions of dollars spent on the wars at levels not seen in the United States since World War II (running up a massive federal deficit to boot), civil liberties imperiled at home, and our reputation and influence in the world depressed to new lows."
Read the entire piece -- an excerpt doesn't do it justice.  Moreover, check out many of the other offerings in the Fall edition of Democracy Journal.

A Book Review of "Rock the Casbah: Rage and Rebellion Across the Islamic World" by Robin Wright from the Washington Post
"With the Arab Spring still unfolding, former Washington Post reporter Robin Wright’s latest book puts the popular uprisings that have swept the Arabic-speaking Middle East from North Africa and the Levant to the Persian Gulf in the context of a larger movement: counter-jihad."

After the fall: How Much Would a Eurozone Break Up Cost? from the Economist [of London]
"THE costs of efforts to save the euro are justified by the claim that the alternative would be too dreadful to contemplate. ... So how do the costs of sustaining the euro compare with the costs of its falling apart?"

Rick Perry Social Security 'Ponzi Scheme' Criticism Fails To Faze Republicans: Poll from the Huffington Post
"Texas Governor Rick Perry's characterization of Social Security as a "Ponzi scheme" doesn't appear to be a problem for most Republicans, according to a new Gallup poll. The survey, released on Friday, finds that the harsh words repeatedly used by Perry to define his stance on the program are largely non-issue for members of his party."
WHO CALLED IT!?!

New Sarah Palin Tell-All Biography Tells Us More About Ourselves (Colbert King) from the Washington Post
An interesting comment from a liberal columnist.
"Sarah Palin doesn’t deserve this. Neither does any other similarly situated public figure, whether on the political right, left or in the middle. But worthiness has nothing to do with this, not when there’s a chance of driving up book sales and bringing down the celebrity you despise at the same time. Enter Joe McGinniss."

THREE EDUCATION NUGGETS:
1.  America's Least Rigorous Colleges from the Daily Beast
Yes -- inquiring slackers want to know!
"Workloads at even the best colleges vary widely. Newsweek ranks the schools that will get you a top-notch degree for the least amount of work."

2.  My Family’s Experiment in Extreme Schooling from the New York Times
"They hugged me goodbye, clinging a little too long, and as I rode the metro to my office, I said a kind of silent prayer to myself that they would get through the day without falling apart. But Arden had just spent the minutes between class periods hiding in the bathroom so no one would see her crying. Finally, she composed herself, found her teacher and pantomimed that she needed to talk to me. “I don’t understand . . . anything,” she told me. I tried to respond with soothing words, but I had no idea what to do."

3.  What if the Secret to Success Is Failure? from the New York Times
"Why our children’s success — and happiness — may depend less on perfect performance than on learning how to deal with failure."

News Nuggets 746

An African Spurred Tortoise.  From the National Geographic.

Gaddafi's Birthplace 'Captured by Rebels' in Battle for Last Libya Coast Stronghold from the Guardian [of the UK]

"Rebels claim control of centre of Sirte after three-pronged attack with Gaddafi's son Khamis said to be barricaded in at sea front."
An interesting story if true.  Rebel sources have consistently exaggerated their gains, usually in reality being several weeks behind where they say they are. 

Gaddafi's Overthrow Gives China's Leaders More to Feel Insecure About (John Garnaut) from the Sydney Morning Herald [of Australia]
"For China's leadership there is much more at stake than Libya's oil. The rolling ''jasmine revolution'', the NATO military intervention in Libya and the fall of Gaddafi each go to the core of the Communist Party's conceits and insecurities."

Bahrain Boils Under the Lid of Repression (Anthony Shadid) from the New York Times
"While the turmoil elsewhere has proved unpredictable — the ascent of Islamists in Egypt, the threat of civil war in Syria and the prospect of anarchy in Yemen — Bahrain suggests that the alternative, a failed uprising cauterized by searing repression, may prove no less dangerous."

Ahmadinejad's Impotence (Geneive Abdo) from Foreign Policy Magazine
"Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad meant to kick off his annual visit to the United Nations General Assembly meeting in New York with the grand gesture of releasing two U.S. hikers held captive for over a year. Instead, he was humiliated in public by Iran's powerful judiciary, which stated on Wednesday that the president could not fulfill that promise. Nothing could more clearly symbolize Ahmadinejad's fading fortunes."

New York Town Clerk Refuses To Let Same-Sex Couple Get Married from the Huffington Post
"Rose Marie Belforti, the town clerk for the small town of Ledyard, has publicly stated that she will not sign marriage licenses for same-sex couples and refused to do so for Katie Carmichael and Deirdre DiBiaggio on Aug. 30. ... Belforti has cited religious reasons that prevent her from issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples. ... The town's government is behind Belforti, saying it cannot force her to issue licenses."
This is a very interesting case.  I think these town officials may be setting themselves up for one hell of an expensive civil law suit.

Reality Check, Please (Michael Hirsh) from the National Journal
Our PUNDIT-OF-THE-DAY!!
"Today we face another presidential-succession process at a crucial moment in history. And I get the sense that we in the media are still just dancing around the real issues of character, readiness, and substance. Can’t we pretend, for a moment, that we’re Jackie and Arthur, parsing the here and now for real—not for the cameras—and talking the way real people talk? No speeches, no posturing for posterity, and no worrying about offending conventional wisdom. Here’s what that might sound like."

In the same vein (and almost as good) is this item:
The Problem of Media Stupidity (Eric Alterman) from the Nation
"There is a specter haunting America today. It is the specter of stupidity. A few months ago, I wrote a column I called “The Problem of Republican Idiots.” ... No less alarming is that this stupidity is apparently contagious. The men and women who inhabit the upper reaches of the US media (and pull down the multimillion-dollar salaries) appear to believe that to do their jobs properly, they must make themselves behave like idiots in order to be “fair” to the Republicans and their idiotic ideas."

Don't Sweat the Jewish Vote (Eric Alterman) from the Daily Beast
Alterman gets a two-fer today!
"Pundits are pointing to the Republicans' capture of Anthony Weiner's seat as a sign that Jews will abandon the Democrats in 2012. Eric Alterman on why it's nothing but wishful thinking."

Lessons Learned from the Palin Debacle (David Frum) from The Week
"How to avoid another disastrous Republican national nomination"

Here's why I think there will be few lessons learned:
MSNBC's Deutsch: Republicans Love Perry's "Arrogant Pugnaciousness" (VIDEO) from MSNBC
"If you watch Perry last night, whenever, for instance, anybody was going after him, he had this kind of like smirk like, 'What are you talking about? I'm right.' And if you look at a persona of a party. If we were going to describe the Republican Party as a person -- it's Wall Street, it's the Tea Party, it's we'd rather fight than switch, ... It's an overall persona, an I don't care what this guy says. ... He had what I call that arrogant pugnaciousness that the Republicans, they just eat it up.""

DINOSAUR NUGGET!!
Dinosaur Feathers Found in Amber (PHOTOS) from Discovery News
"A stunning array of prehistoric feathers, including dinosaur protofeathers, has been discovered in Late Cretaceous amber from Canada."

HIDDEN KITCHEN NUGGET!!
Victorian Kitchen that has Remained Untouched for 60 Years Discovered in Stately Home Renovation (PHOTOS) from the Daily Mail [of the UK]
"The kitchen's entrance had been blocked since the Second World War with a collection of unwanted belongings."
Some amazing photos of this place!  Check them out!

OUTER SPACE NUGGET!!
Week Brings Hail of Planets: Seventy-Four Discoveries Include One With Two Suns; Global Teams Vie for Finds (VIDEO) from the Wall Street Journal
"Astronomers announced Thursday the discovery of a rare planet that orbits two stars, like Tatooine in the "Star Wars" films, adding to a growing inventory of alien worlds in the curiosity shop of the cosmos."
The video that comes with this story is very COOL!

VERY VERY BIG TUNNEL NUGGET!!
This Ain’t Your Ancestors’ Ice Bridge – Russia To Build Tunnel Across Bering Strait from the Singularity Hub
Forbes Magazine has a story on this as well.
"A comment made by Maxim Bystov, deputy head of Russia’s agency for special economic zones, in 2007 may shed a little light: “This will be a business project, not a political one.” ... Russian Ministry of Economic Development official Viktor Razbegin told RT that the project is already moving forward. ... Proponents of the tunnel argue that it would enable ‘round-the-world shipping that’s faster, cheaper, and safer than shipping across water. They estimate the network would carry about 3 percent of the world’s cargo and eventually turn a profit after about 15 years of operation."

MOVIE REVIEW NUGGET!!
A Review of Drive: Ryan Gosling's Minimalist Car-Chase Movie is Painfully Suspenseful from Slate
I usually don't post film reviews here, but this one has been receiving exceptional reviews!
Drive (The Weinstein Company), the eighth film by the Danish director Nicolas Winding Refn, enters the viewer like a sharp unseen blade. The rate at which this compact, masterful thriller ramps up in intensity is quick but stealthy. You're just starting to groove on its understated postmodern style when it shivs you between the ribs."

News Nuggets 745

A hilarious new calendar shows rabbits strutting their stuff on the dance floor!  From the Daily Mail of the UK.

India Beefs Up for Great Game (Nitin Gokhale) from The Diplomat
"Worried by an increasingly assertive China, India has ramped up investment in its Navy and Air Force. Will it be enough to protect its own backyard?"

Who's Had the Worst Recession: Boomers, Millennials, or Gen-Xers? (Derek Thompson) from the Atlantic
"Gen-Y has the worst unemployment. Near-retirees have the least time to recover their savings. And Gen-Xers? They're caught between debt that won't disappear and an economy that won't move."

Five Myths about the Solyndra Collapse (Brad Plummer) from the Washington Post
A good, measured look at this issue:
"as Solyndra becomes the newest political chew toy, there’s been no shortage of hyperbole about the affair — especially over what it means for energy policy more broadly. On Tuesday, for example, Rep. Cliff Stearns (R-FL), who chairs the oversight subcommittee of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, said that Solyndra’s downfall proves “that green energy isn’t going to be the solution.” That’s quite a leap. So here’s a look at five overheated arguments about Solyndra’s bust:"

Republicanism As Religion (Andrew Sullivan) from the Daily Beast
A GREAT commentary on the right-wing religious mindset!
"That's how I explain the current GOP. It can only think in doctrines, because the alternative is living in a complicated, global, modern world they both do not understand and also despise. Taxes are therefore always bad. Government is never good. Foreign enemies must be pre-emptively attacked. Islam is not a religion. Climate change is an elite conspiracy to impoverish America. Terror suspects are terrorists. When Americans torture, it is not torture. When Christians murder, they are not Christians. And if you change your mind on any of these issues, you are a liberal, an apostate, and will be attacked."

Top Republicans Gird for a Long, Bitter Perry-Romney Duel from the Washington Post
"Republican Party leaders, who only a few weeks ago viewed the GOP presidential nomination race as wide open, now consider it a two-man contest between Rick Perry and Mitt Romney, and they are choosing sides in what many think could be a long and potentially divisive campaign."
While a bruising GOP nomination fight may sound really great from a progressive Democrat perspective, don't forget that it is *just as likely* to produce a  STRONGER, more adept GOP candidate by June of next year.  Obama was a far better candidate after the bitter fight with Hillary than he was at the beginning of the nomination struggle.

Coming from a deep red conservative, this lengthy column is quite a hoot:
GOP Should Not Fall into the Trap of Being Proudly Ignorant (Jennifer Rubin) from the Washington Post
AS IF there is some conspirators out there "setting a trap" for a small set of unwittingly dumb conservatives to fall into.  Also -- way too late for this concern.  On Perry, Rubin lets the fur fly!!
A sample: "... today, Texas Gov. Rick Perry went to Liberty University. It was, at least in part, a celebration of ignorance. ... Perry, apparently deciding to make ads for the Obama campaign, came out with a series of “See how dumb I am?” one-liners. ... it’s disturbing to see that he thinks being a rotten student and a know-nothing gives one street cred in the GOP."
Ah, Jennifer... You are simply another one of those GOP beltway establishment snobs deeply out of touch with your party's base.  Seriously -- I remain convinced that Perry is very effectively pouring forth what the Tea Party and conservative party activists WANT to hear from their nominee.  Polling in the coming weeks should give a hint if I am wrong on this.

The Five Thousand Dollar Man (Chris Ladd) from the Frum Forum
"The Republican Presidential candidates are just beginning to explore the rich trove of material Rick Perry has left for them across a long, amateurish career. The thoughtless series of overstatements that he collected into his “book” are a million bumper stickers waiting to be printed. The problem his book presents for the Republican field is that most of that material only disqualifies him from the White House, not the nomination."

The Poll Paradox For Perry: Obama A ‘Socialist’ But Ending Social Programs Would Be Terrible from Talking Points Memo
"A PPP poll out on Wednesday illustrates a clear contradiction within the GOP electorate: overwhelming majorities of voters who deride President Obama as a socialist, but who also love actual real social welfare programs — Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid — and don’t want to see them cut."
You'd just love to corner these people and ask how they square this circle!

Perry Supported By Republicans, Views Rejected (John McCormick) from the Bloomberg News Service
"Republicans give Rick Perry frontrunner status in their party’s presidential primary race even as warning signs flash over his ability to win support in the general election."

Warren Shakes Up the Senate Race (Eleanor Clift) from the Daily Beast
"Even in liberal Massachusetts, the consumer advocate's bid to capture Scott Brown’s Senate seat isn't a foregone conclusion. Eleanor Clift on why this race could be a squeaker."
Liberals need to get a reality check here.  Even if she gets the Dem nomination, it is highly unlikely that Warren will win.  Why?  Because, even in a deep recession in a deep blue state, the incumbent Scott Brown (R) is polling remarkably well and he has shown a savvy political sense about when and when not to break with his party in his brief time in office.  In addition, Warren has NEVER run for any political office before.  Her record and statements as an outspoken policy wonk have never been tested -- and neither has her capacity to receive in-coming political fire on the political stump and to effectively shoot back.  I would like her to win.  I wish her luck!  I think she's going to need it.

OMG! PALIN BOOK NUGGET!!
Sarah Palin Snorted Cocaine and Had Affairs with NBA Star and Husband's Business Partner: Sensational Claims in New Book from the Daily Mail [of the UK]
"Former vice presidential candidate alleged to have snorted cocaine off an oil drum Said to have had night of passion with basketball star. Husband Todd said to have dissolved snowmobile firm after discovering affair with business partner and more."
Normally, I don't post salacious dish-and-tell like this -- but Joe McGinniss's book has SO MUCH!!  However, it should also be noted that the New York Times PANNED this book this morning.


MICROCHIP-YOUR-PET NUGGET!!
Willow, Missing Colorado Cat, Found In New York City Streets from the Associated Press via the Huffinton Post
"A calico cat named Willow, who disappeared from a home near the Rocky Mountains five years ago, was found Wednesday on a Manhattan street and will soon be returned to a family in which two of the three kids and one of the two dogs may remember her."

News Nuggets 744

An image from a photographer swimming with wild elephants in the Ngamo Game Reserve in Zimbabwe.  From the Daily Mail of the UK.

Iranian Clerics About to Fall? (Abbas Milani) from the Daily Beast
"Abbas Milani reports that the coup is coming to Syria. Assad will go. Iran’s clerics are about to go with him."
I will believe it when I see it.  The Iranian regime has proven to be remarkably resilient.

Is Israel Over? (Benny Morris) from the Daily Beast
"No longer the liberal, democratic, egalitarian society it once was, Israel is fighting the Arabs—and itself."

Europe's Banks are Staring into the Abyss (Jeremy Warner) from the Daily Telegraph [of the UK]
"The eurozone sovereign debt crisis is meanwhile exacting a devastating toll on the European banking system as a whole, the UK included. With their high exposure to eurozone debt, the problem is particularly acute for the French banking goliaths, BNP Paribas and Societe Generale."

Britain Must be Braced for a Perfect Storm from the Editorial Board of the Daily Telegraph [of the UK]
"The eurozone debt crisis is careening towards a catastrophic denouement."

Poll: Obama is Still Popular Abroad from Politico
"A full 75 percent of those surveyed in 12 European countries approved of Obama’s handling of “international policies,” according to the poll from Transatlantic Trends, a group that studies public opinion in the United States and the European Union."

O Lucky Man! Why Obama's Still a Shoo-in for Reelection (Timothy Noah) from the New Republic
"President Barack Obama may have an unfavorable rating of 50 percent, but he still leads every major Republican candidate in the field, according to a new survey by Public Policy Polling. That's remarkable given the dismal state of the economy."
I HOPE so!  But there are WAY to many graveyards around to be whistling this tune.  It is going to take an enormous amount of effort to get Obama across the finish line next year and Democrats need to be preparing for that.

Why Team Obama Is Smiling Again: Obama’s 2012 Reelection Stimulus (Sam Youngman) from The Hill
"Sometimes it really doesn’t matter if you win or lose, it’s how you play the game. Team Obama is banking on it. ... the dirty secret inside the White House is that while the jobs plan is what Obama really wants, he can live happily with the alternative — a fall battle that ends with Republicans voting against tax cuts for the middle class."

Bigger Economic Role for Washington from the New York Times
"Just weeks ago, economists and financial analysts were dismissing Washington as irrelevant to the economy’s course in coming months, but no longer."

A Guide to Cutting Through Special-Election Spin (Nate Silver) from the New York Times
Special elections "should more or less be ignored in terms of their national implications," a more nuanced approach shows that they "can provide us with some insight if we look at their results very carefully."

Is It Weird Enough Yet? (Thomas Friedman) from the New York Times
Sometimes, Friedman gets to the heart of the matter very quickly.
"I’m always reminded of one of my favorite movie lines that Jack Nicholson delivers to his needy neighbor who knocks on his door in the film “As Good As It Gets.” “Where do they teach you to talk like this?” asks Nicholson. “Sell crazy someplace else. We’re all stocked up here.” Thanks Mr. Perry and Mrs. Bachmann, but we really are all stocked up on crazy right now."

The GOP Field Goes AWOL from Afghanistan from the Editorial Board of the Washington Post
"IS THE UNITED STATES at war? You would hardly know it from the Republican campaign for president. As best as we could find, the words “Afghanistan” and “Iraq” do not appear on the issue pages of the campaign Web sites of candidates Mitt Romney, Rick Perry and Michele Bachmann. The apparent lack of concern for this topic of vital national interest is matched only by the incoherence in positions displayed when the candidates have been questioned on the subject."

A similar sentiment here:
The Shining Salad Bowl on a Fenced-off Hill: Foreign-Policy Highlights of the Tea Party Debate (Joshua Keating) from Foreign Policy Magazine
"Last night's CNN-Tea Party Republican debate did little to disabuse anyone of the notion that the Tea Party movement is not overly concerned with anything happening outside U.S. borders -- other than building a great big fence on those borders."

Leading the Pack Brings New Perils, Perry Discovers from the Editorial Board of the New York Times
"Mike Murphy, a Republican strategist who was a top adviser to Senator John McCain and is not aligned with a candidate in this presidential campaign, expressed his skepticism as the debate unfolded. “Listening to Perry try to a put a complicated policy sentence together,” Mr. Murphy wrote on Twitter, “is like watching a chimp play with a locked suitcase.”"

Indecent: The Moment From Last Night that Keeps Haunting Me (Andrew Sullivan) from the Daily Beast
"Maybe a tragedy like the death of a feckless twentysomething is inevitable if we are to restrain healthcare costs. But it is still a tragedy. It is not something a decent person cheers. Similarly the execution of hundreds, while perhaps defensible politically and even morally (although I differ), is nonetheless a brutal, awful business. You don't delight in it. ... The fish rotted from the head down. Last night, we got a whiff of the smell."

COMPUTER SOFTWARE NUGGET!!
Windows 8: See What's Different In Microsoft New Operating System (PICTURES) from the Huffington Post
"Windows 8, which was fully unveiled at the Windows Build Conference in Anaheim, California, is here, and it looks much, much different from Windows 7. Sure, it has the start-bar-and-icon "Desktop" look that Windows users are familiar with, but it also has a new, touchscreen-optimized interface called 'Metro,' which looks more like the Windows Phone operating system and which looks like the future of Microsoft Windows from here on out."

JACKIE O NUGGET!!
Memoirs of a Geisha (Maureen Dowd) from the New York Times
"Not since Saki’s cat Tobermory suddenly began speaking, dismissively skewering a British house party of snobs, has a long silence been so blazingly shattered. The most mysterious, fascinating — and feline — woman in American political history has at long last spoken up. And Jackie Kennedy has plenty to say in that inimitably breathy little voice."

OUTER SPACE NUGGET!!
Space Discovery: 36 Light-Years Away, the Most Earthlike World Yet? from Time Magazine
"...the target planets would have to be earthlike too. That meant they'd have to be about the same size as our home world, orbiting their parent star at about the right distance for water to exist in liquid, life-nurturing form. The eureka moment hasn't come yet, but an announcement yesterday makes it clear that it's getting awfully close."

News Nuggets 743

Rain falls on the Tribute in Light at the site of the World Trade Center several days ago.  From the Daily Mail of the UK.

Libya’s Battle-Tested Women Hope Gains Last from the New York Times

"In the Libyan rebels’ unlikely victory over Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi, women did far more than send sons and husbands to the front."

Israel's Political Tsunami is Largely of its Own Making (Faisal Al Yafai) from the National [of the United Arab Emirates]

"Israel is right: there is a political tsunami coming. But its source was unpredictable just months ago. It has come from the wave of Arab revolutions that have swept the region, leading to a change in the political contract by which the Arab world has been kept stable. Yet Israel cannot grasp this fact and still believes business as usual can continue. Three recent events herald this new reality."

American Jobs Act Would Ban Discrimination Against Jobless (Arthur Delaney) from the Huffington Post

"Since last year companies and staffing firms have been slipping "must be currently employed" requirements into online job postings, a practice President Obama has said "makes absolutely no sense.""

Study: College Graduates Driving Increase in Bankruptcy Filings from the Washington Post

“We’re told that if you do go and get advanced education, you’re going to be almost guaranteed this economic success,” said Leslie Linfield, the group’s executive director. But the recession proved that “higher education was no guarantee that you weren’t going to be at risk.”

Paul Krugman 9/11 Blog Post Stokes Controversy from the Huffington Post

We posted his original comments yesterday.

"Paul Krugman drew conservative outrage on Sunday when he wrote that the anniversary of 9/11 had become a marker of "shame" for the U.S."

OMG! POLITICAL NUGGET!!

Rep. Issa (R) Hit with Ethics Allegations from The Hill

"The five-page complaint, which was obtained by The Hill, accuses Issa of using his position as chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee to add to his multimillion-dollar fortune."

To recap for those who may have missed Issa's shinanigans: from his perch as chair of the House Gov't Affairs Committee, he came out of the 2010 election cycle vowing to launch a huge number of investigations into alleged corruption within the Obama administration.  To date, he has found ZERO -- and now, lo and behold, this shows up!

Race and the Tea Party (Kevin Drum) from Mother Jones Magazine

"Maybe it's counterproductive to even mention racial resentment these days. Maybe it's unfair to lots of tea partiers who care only about taxes and big government. But unless there's a problem with Abramowitz's data, it's there. Pretending that it's not doesn't make it go away."

Alan Abramowitz's original paper is HERE.

"It's Not an Entitlement--It's Ours" (Ed Kilgore) from the Democratic Strategist

" It's important to understand that many seniors simply do not look at Social Security and Medicare as "government redistribution programs" no different than Medicaid or Obamacare, but as earned benefits--as an "entitlement" in a very literal sense. ... So ideologues like Perry who have identified Social Security and Medicare as just part of the vast march to socialism during the twentieth century are in danger of an attack that may conventionally look like it's coming from "the left" but may actually threaten them most among staunch conservatives..."

I am quite skeptical that the social security attack line on Perry will work.  It is my observation that Tea Party seniors are so grooving with so much of Perry's wing-nut symphony that they either don't hear or (more likely) don't take seriously the darker notes emanating from the social security section.  Moreover, Perry has left himself some room on the issue -- basically saying that the way the *program is structured* is a ponzi scheme, not that he thinks it should be completely done away with.  It's my guess that most Tea Partiers can easily buy that SS is badly structured and that it is unsustainable -- as it is structured.  Ah -- lo and behold, there's THIS at the Huffington Post.

And then there's this:

CNN Poll: Mitt Romney's Social Security Attacks Bounce Off Rick Perry from Daily Kos

"I guess Mitt Romney is discovering Rick Perry didn't lose the campaign after all when he said Social Security was a "monstrous lie" and a "Ponzi scheme." In fact, if anybody's losing, it's Mitt."

Reflections on a Former GOPer’s Reflections (Jason Johnson) from the New Pittsburgh Courier

"Lofgren’s piece gives a sincere glimpse into a world that political pundits occasionally talk about but seldom give the level of attention that is needed.  The author says that the current Republican Party is like an apocalyptic death cult. That they view any Democratic president as illegitimate..."

Some GOP debate nuggets:

Rick Perry: Let's "Free Up" Wall Street—Because That Worked in 2008 (Andy Kroll) from Mother Jones Magazine

"Talk about a case of amnesia. Let's not forget, it was all those "freed," under-regulated banks, mortgage companies, and investment firms that imploded the economy."

The Frontrunner Has No Clothes (Dana Milbank) from the Washington Post

"The applause identified Rick Perry as the crowd favorite when he took the stage in Tampa for Monday night’s Tea Party debate, greeting his lesser rivals as “fellas.” But two hours later, those fellas – and a gal from Minnesota – had made some serious progress toward exposing the broad-shouldered Texas governor as an empty suit."

Perry Loses Debate But Not the Nomination (Jonathan S. Tobin) from Commentary

"Perry is not the frontrunner because most Republicans think he is a better speaker than either of those candidates. He is ahead because Romney’s record on health care and tendency to flip-flop and tilt toward the center on some issues renders him unlikely to be nominated no matter what he says."

Round Two: Rick Perry and the Seven Dwarfs (Roger L Simon) from Pajamas Media

"They say it ain’t over ’til it’s over or the fat lady sings at least a dozen times, finally making all the high notes in Aida and La Traviata in succession. Nevertheless — after only his second debate — things do look pretty good for Rick Perry."

Five Takeaways from the GOP Presidential Debate (Ronald Brownstein) from the National Journal

"Missed Monday night's one-hour, 52-minute clash of the GOP presidential candidates? Here's a quick rundown:"

The Tea Party Debate: GOP Spins Further from Reality (Jonathan Bernstein) from the Washington Post

"At any rate, the GOP keeps spinning farther and farther from the general election median voter every week. And, in many cases, reality — do these folks really believe that the biggest economic problem today is runaway inflation?"

LOCAL PITTSBURGH HEALTH CARE NUGGET!!

Board of Health: UPMC's Directors are the Ones to Call on Highmark (EDITORIAL) from the Pittsburgh Post Gazette

I think this is from the Pittsburgh Board of Health.

"This ultimatum to the people of Western Pennsylvania laid down by UPMC threatens a historic disruption of health care delivery and has patients, businesses and civic leaders rightfully concerned. Elected officials on two fronts are trying to pressure the health industry giants to resume negotiations toward renewing their agreement. That's a good thing, but their efforts are wrongheaded."

ODD ANIMAL NUGGET!!

Cows Wowed by New Orleans Jazz Band (VIDEO) from the Daily Mail [of the UK]

It is well known that babies like Mozart and snakes dance to pipes. But a herd of cows in France has just proven that cows have a particular ear for jazz."

Check out the video.  They come running!