US Politics

Distrust runs deeper than Americans realize. Russians see America's push for a missile-defense shield in Europe--designed to counter Iran--as a way to neutralize Russia's power. When Ambassador Michael McFaul, a Russia scholar, arrived in Moscow, he met with opposition groups as part of a "dual-track engagement" policy. In response, state media released a YouTube video of dissident leaders arriving at the embassy titled "Receiving instructions from the U.S. Embassy." Partly that's because distrust resonates politically for Putin, a former head of the KGB. "It's a useful tool to kind of manage [and] promote the status quo," says Andrew Kuchins, director of the Russia and Eurasia program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. "With the United States, he's really playing identity politics. He is doing it to score political points." The anti-American sentiment today isn't just a legacy of the Cold War; state-owned media have nurtured it carefully. One of my Russian... more... - Eric from Bookmarklet

"On immigration, voters in 2014, 2016 and beyond will judge Republicans on action, not intentions, and the window for action is closing. As I said earlier this year, here in Fox News Opinion, it is not only politically imperative that Republicans get a comprehensive bill done this year and share credit for doing so, but that doing so is also consistent with their core ideals of promoting economic opportunity and preserving law and order." - LANjackal from Bookmarklet

"Until Thursday, I wasn't aware of this story. It has generated sparse coverage in the national media, and while it's been mentioned in RSS feeds to which I subscribe, I skip past most news items. I still consume a tremendous amount of journalism. Yet had I been asked at a trivia night about the identity of Kermit Gosnell, I would've been stumped and helplessly guessed a green Muppet. Then I saw Kirsten Power's USA Today column. She makes a powerful, persuasive case that the Gosnell trial ought to be getting a lot more attention in the national press than it is getting." - Steven Perez from Bookmarklet

It's the same reason why the James Holmes trial isn't really getting much press, either—certainly not O.J. Simpson level of coverage, and certainly far less press than when he first shot up the theater—because everyone recognizes that he's guilty. No pro-choice activist is going to defend Gosnell anymore than any pro-gun activist is going to defend Holmes. - Victor Ganata

"It might seem odd that Pennsylvania, where antichoice legislators have laden abortion with restrictions, should have been so uninterested in the Women’s Medical Society. But actually it makes perfect sense. As Carol Tracy put it, “The problem here was that Pennsylvania has always focused on eliminating abortion, not on abortion as healthcare.” In fact, as she points out, the Pennsylvania Abortion Control Act, the primary vehicle for regulating abortion, is part of the criminal code. “Since abortion isn’t seen as medical care, they didn’t have the appropriate locus for oversight.”" - Steven Perez from Bookmarklet

"The grand jury report suggests that Tom Ridge, Republican governor from 1995 to 2001, discontinued inspections because prochoicers claimed they were too burdensome. The ones I talked to were skeptical. “We never lobbied against inspection,” Carol Tracy of the Women’s Law Project, which represents clinics in Pennsylvania, told me by phone. She pointed out that under Ridge’s Democratic... more... - Steven Perez

It may go down as one of the most bizarre nuclear experiments ever tried. In 1969, the government detonated a subterranean nuclear bomb to break loose natural gas deposits from tight sandstone formations more than 8,000 feet below ground on a Colorado mountain. The bomb was twice as powerful as the one that destroyed Hiroshima, Japan, in 1945. The scheme worked — to an extent. The gas was unlocked by the blast but was deemed too radioactive for commercial use. - Eric from Bookmarklet

In December 1967, government scientists – exploring the peacetime use of controlled atomic explosions – detonate Gasbuggy, a 29-kiloton nuclear device they had lowered into a natural gas well in rural New Mexico. The Hiroshima bomb was about 15 kilotons. - Eric from Bookmarklet

"Tens of thousands of immigrants and activists rallied nationwide Wednesday in a coordinated set of protests aimed at pressing Congress to approve immigration measures that would grant 11 million immigrants living here illegally a path toward citizenship." - LANjackal from Bookmarklet

"I do my best to avoid mindreading, but there have been anecdotes here and there over the years that suggest that Obama really does put a lot of trust in the Men In Dark Suits, whether it's the rich guys who are determined to destroy the world or the military advisers who are determined to blow it up." - Andrew C (✓) from Bookmarklet

"In a candid moment, otherwise known as a "gaffe," former Tennessee Gov. Phil Bredesen said the efforts of corporate-backed Fix the Debt and other debt scolds is to create an "artificial crisis" that would extract federal spending reductions to reduce long-term debt." - Andrew C (✓) from Bookmarklet

"It is unconscionable that Fix the Debt would cook up a concocted crisis to undercut these important programs while many Americans are facing actual crises: 3.3 million Americans have been unemployed for more than one year and millions will fall into poverty if Social Security is cut. Fix the Debt's austerity prescriptions don't work. Look at what's going on in the United Kingdom, which... more... - Andrew C (✓)

"Who knows what people really believe, but this idea that all one has to do is pass a "Grand Bargain" and we put it all behind us forever is just madness. Congress gets to pass new budgets and laws whenever the hell it wants. No "compromise" is good for any time period longer than one second. It can all be revisited. If President Ryan and his Congress want to gut the welfare state, they'll do it, no matter how much Obama guts it first." - Andrew C (✓) from Bookmarklet

Because every Very Serious Person who is involved in fiscal policy in the present day thinks John Maynard Keynes and FDR are completely wrong. They don't *really* think they were socialists, but they're just as irrelevant to VSPs as actual socialists are. - Victor Ganata

"Incidentally, why, pray tell, was Cheney helping lead a closed-door with congressional Republicans? Because Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), the #3 person in the House GOP leadership, invited the former vice president to speak. I mention this because it's not as if Cheney cornered these guys and Republican lawmakers were forced into listening to the failed former V.P. They wanted to hear from him and thought they'd benefit from his guidance." - Andrew C (✓) from Bookmarklet

"Indeed, Bush and Cheney argued at the time that the U.S. had to hurry up and invade Iraq before it could acquire nuclear weapons, effectively telling North Korea that the way to avoid an invasion was to advance its nuclear program as quickly as possible -- which it did. As a result, North Korea became a nuclear state on Bush/Cheney's watch, and paid no price for its actions. The world... more... - Andrew C (✓)

"One day I asked my students what they thought about going to college. One of my top aspiring entrepreneurs told me he wasn’t sure that he’d be able to go to college because he’s undocumented. His family is from Mexico, and they moved here when he was a baby. Many students in my community are in the same situation; they moved to the United States so early in their lives that they have no memories of living anywhere else. These students are smart and hardworking, and they should be part of our future." - LANjackal from Bookmarklet

At least 35 gaming developers involved in the MMORPG field (Massive Multi-Player Online Role Playing Games) have been hacked in the last year-and-a-half by the so-called Winnti group, with one of the primary goals being to steal their digital certificates to use in other attacks, according to researchers at Kaspersky Lab. The attackers are also interested in mapping the network architectures — particularly the production servers — and stealing source code from the gaming developers, likely so that they can uncover vulnerabilities that would allow them to artificially propagate digital currency used in the games and convert it to real-world cash, the researchers say. - Eric from Bookmarklet

:( - Kelli H. from Android

"Supporters of immigration reform are set to rally at the Capitol on Wednesday to back legislation that would include a path to citizenship for an estimated 11 million undocumented immigrants." - LANjackal from Bookmarklet

"The Senate’s immigration Gang of Eight plans to announce a deal within a week but a committee markup is not expected until at least the week of May 6, providing a long period for debate and changes, Senate aides said Tuesday." - LANjackal from Bookmarklet

"Organizers of the Rally for Citizenship hope they can press Congress to help. The rally featured speeches from immigration rights advocates, labor leaders, faith organizations and members of Congress working on immigration legislation." - LANjackal from Bookmarklet

"And while I can’t definitively say what my plans are one way or another, I can say that, at this point in my life, I’m strongly weighing whether or not I want to endure the absolute hell of appealing to you mindless, dumb-as-dirt simpletons again." - Andrew C (✓) from Bookmarklet

"As Rand Paul told it, the biggest problem keeping African Americans from voting Republican is that they didn't know Republicans have long been leaders on abolition and civil rights. As students at Howard University heard it, the problem was that Paul was condescending, misleading, and removed from the issues facing their community." - Andrew C (✓) from Bookmarklet

Poor baby. - Derrick

""Both Kentucky and the federal wiretap act are one-party consent statutes," said Jeff Hermes, director of the Digital Media Law Project at Harvard University. "If the recording was made by a party to the conversation, even if it was made secretly, that person won't be liable under state or federal law. If it was a bug that was placed, or hidden by someone who wasn't a party to the conversation, then there's both potential civil and criminal liability."" - Andrew C (✓) from Bookmarklet

PETMAN is a bipedal robot that has been displayed during previous tests as having the ability to climb stairs and even do pushups. In the latest video, though, the experimental project is showcased as being more lifelike than ever before. Scientists at Boston Dynamics have released a video that shows PETMAN, clothed head-to-toe in full-on camouflage, jogging in place on a laboratory platform. But unlike earlier videos in which PETMAN appeared to be nothing more than a pile of wires enclosed in metal, the newest footage shows the science project at its all-time most humanness. - Eric from Bookmarklet

I'm no luddite. But I'm uncomfortable with "human like" robots. Though I should probably be more uncomfortable with the 'bots that are replacing people in jobs. - MoTO #TeamMonique

I am, in a weird way, looking forward to better humanoid robots, though I have to admit I prefer them to have some distinct different from people (the facial expression bots kinda creep me out.) - Jennifer Dittrich

"WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The White House on Wednesday proposed a budget that would sharply trim the U.S. deficit over three years by forcing millionaires to pay more in taxes and enacting spending cuts that replace the "sequester" reductions that went into place last month. President Barack Obama's fiscal 2014 budget blueprint ensures that those making $1 million a year or more would have to pay at least 30 percent of their income in taxes, after gifts to charity, officials said. That increase, along with spending cuts and a 28 percent cap on tax deductions for high earners, would bring the U.S. budget deficit down to 2.8 percent of GDP by 2016 and 1.7 percent by 2023, senior administration officials told reporters. The non-partisan Congressional Budget Office in February projected the U.S. deficit to be 5.3 percent of GDP this year. Obama is due to release his full budget at 11:15 a.m. EDT (1515 GMT) and to make remarks at that time." - Joe "Bad Guts" Silence from Bookmarklet

"The president's budget stands little chance of being enacted into law and is meant to serve largely as a negotiating tool with Republicans in Congress, who have outlined budget proposals of their own." - Joe "Bad Guts" Silence

"Ryan's bill aims to balance the budget in 10 years through deep cuts to healthcare and social programs while lowering tax rates." Thatcher lives? - Joe "Bad Guts" Silence

I love the Onion so much. - Andrew C (✓) from Bookmarklet

"The Senate’s so-called Gang of Eight is hopeful that this will finally be the week that they finish putting together the highly anticipated immigration reform bill, but only then will the most grueling part of the process—the public debate—begin. “There will be a great deal of unhappiness about this proposal because everybody didn’t get what they wanted,” Arizona Sen. John McCain said Sunday. His fellow gang member Chuck Schumer, of New York, agreed, predicting that, “there are people on both sides who are against this bill, and they will be able to shoot at it.”" - LANjackal from Bookmarklet

"A group of Republicans and Democrats in the House is finalizing a sweeping immigration bill that offers work permits and the eventual prospect of citizenship to millions of people living illegally in the United States, aides say. That path to citizenship, however, is likely to take at least 15 years for many, longer than envisioned by Senate immigration negotiators or by President Barack Obama." - LANjackal from Bookmarklet

apparently farmers aint getting enough field hands to harvest those Georgia peaches, so a work prmit with no prospect of citizenship works wonderfully well in getting pliant frm employees or as they're better described SLAVES! - WarLord

"As we've warned for some time, Obama is eager to put a notch on his belt by being the President that rolled back the New Deal programs that helped create broad-based middle-class prosperity and dignity. He's cast himself as an adult inflicting discipline on profligate Americans. But in reality, the profligacy was most concentrated among elite financiers who used leverage on leverage vehicles to stoke liquidity that led to worldwide underpricing of risk. [...] But are the real perps the object of Obama's disciplinary impulses? No. He seems spectacularly unwilling to take on anyone even remotely approaching his size (as if a President should be cowed by senior banker bullies like Jamie Dimon). The President's failure to reprimand the financial CEOs who dissed him by refusing to attend his address on the first year anniversary of Lehman was a tacit acknowledgement that they were really in the driver's seat." - Andrew C (✓) from Bookmarklet

Actually I'm appalled but theres no button for that - WarLord

It's difficult to find scientists who have not lined up on one side or another on hydraulic fracking for oil and natural gas. The anti-fracking groups have their scientific talking points, and the pro-fracking groups have their counterclaims. Some of the scientists who have put out pro-fracking reports have turned out to be tied to the industry. When even the federal panel formed to study the issue is stacked with industry supporters, it’s hard for environmentalists and health advocates to believe its conclusions. - Eric from Bookmarklet

"I mean, yeah, parts of the Dem base tend to not vote as much as they should in non-presidential election years. Perhaps the people who collect and earn millions of dollars to run campaigns should figure out how to reach these people? Perhaps all the consultants who are convinced House races should be local personality-driven affairs should make the obvious inference that the difference between these elections and presidential-year elections is that the latter are run on nationwide party-wide themes and policies? If these people matter, perhaps you should stop punching them?" - Andrew C (✓) from Bookmarklet

"What I do remember about 2010 was that nobody was even trying. Vote Dem because.... (???) And, look, I'm on team D. They're still less evil than the other guys. I can make the case for voting Dem. The people whose job it was to make that case? They didn't bother to try. " - Andrew C (✓)

[WaPo:] "But what [Democratic] party leaders really like is that Strouse doesn't have particularly strong views on the country's hottest issues." - Andrew C (✓) from Bookmarklet

[Atrios:] "They like it so much they brag about it to reporters." - Andrew C (✓)