Congressman Paul Ryan, the Republican vice presidential nominee-designate, is trying to play culture warrior, today criticizing President Barack Obama for a remark he made four years ago at a private San Francisco fundraiser about some voters supposedly clinging to guns and religion. “I’m a Catholic deer hunter, I am happy to be clinging to my guns and my religion,” Ryan declared.
** QUICK HITS. Republicans continued to struggle today with their Missouri Senate candidate’s bizarre opinion that pregnancy hardly ever occurs as a result of “legitimate rape.” Er, say what? The mind boggles in imagining what he means, but he ain’t quitting. Democrats are happy to keep him around, naturally. … The Mars rover Curiosity, with computer software successfully upgraded and rebooted, is getting ready for its first test drive on Wednesday. Governor Jerry Brown, a longtime advocate of Mars exploration, will be on hand at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in LA, which is mission control for this and all other deep space exploration missions. … With rampant talk of impending last minute legislative alterations in the California Environmental Quality Act, sometimes used simply to stall projects rather than protect the environment, a few dozen Democratic legislators have signed a letter opposed to any changes. I’d say they’re covered. … The issue is complicated by Steve Glazer, at times a consultant to Governor Jerry Brown, signing on as a consultant to the CEQA change coalition and appearing at its press conference.
** NEW COLUMN COMING UP … AN INSULAR ROMNEY, STRUCK OUT ON THE GLOBAL STAGE, STRUGGLES WITH HIS SURPRISINGLY HEARTFELT VEEP PICK.
** NEW SURVEY: HUNGER IS A BIG PROBLEM IN CONSERVATIVE-RUN AMERICAN STATES. A new Gallup Poll survey of the 50 US states reveals that nearly all of the states in which the highest numbers of residents say they struggle to buy food are run by conservative Republican administrations.
At the very top of the list?
Mississippi. Which was run until recently by Governor Haley Barbour, a former Republican national chairman and relative darling of the chattering classes. Longtime Clinton fundraiser and campaign chairman Terry McAuliffe spurred what turned out to be some misdirected wonderings about who the Clintons really back for president the month before last when he engaged in a Fox News cable chat lovefest with Barbour about how effective and enlightened his administration in Mississippi had been.
The Barbour-McAuliffe routine continued at the recent Bohemian Grove retreat.
But there’s not too much joviality in Mississippi, where one in four residents say they struggle to buy food, and recount that there was at least one time in the past year when they have had to go without.
The top 10 in America for biggest worries about having enough food to eat?
Mississippi, Alabama, Delaware, Georgia, Nevada, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Tennessee, West Virginia, and Louisiana.
Mitt Romney and his Ayn Rand-loving running mate, Paul Ryan, will, most ironically, carry at least eight of those states in November.
In another great irony, most of the hardest hit states will be hit even harder by the effects of the drought — caused by greenhouse era climate change — on the South.
One in four Mississippi residents report there was at least one time in the past 12 months when they did not have enough money to buy the food they or their families needed — more than in any other state in the first half of 2012. Residents in Alabama and Delaware are also among the most likely to struggle to afford food. Residents of North Dakota, South Dakota, and Vermont are among the least likely to have this problem. …
There are wide disparities across states and regions so far in 2012 in the percentage of residents who at times lacked the money to purchase the food they or their families needed. While nearly one in four Mississippi residents say they could not afford to buy the food they needed in the past 12 months, only one in 10 North Dakota residents say the same.
In 2012, the worst drought since the 1950s has affected nearly 80% of agricultural land in the United States, which may drive up the cost of food in the months ahead. While Americans are no more likely to struggle to afford food thus far in 2012 than in the past, more residents may face problems as the drought-related crop damage results in a shortage of inputs in the food supply and begins to affect retail prices.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture predicts that consumers will notice price increases within two months for beef, pork, poultry, and dairy, but the full effects of the increase in corn prices for packaged and processed foods will likely take 10 to 12 months to appear on supermarket shelves. States in the Mountain Plains and Midwest regions, which have the largest corn yield in the nation, will likely continue to have the lowest percentages of residents who lack enough money to buy food. Those in the South will likely be hardest hit, as they are already the most likely in the nation to report struggling to afford food.
Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman General Martin Dempsey is safe after Taliban rocket fire damaged his C-17 command post aircraft at Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan. Dempsey left Afghanistan on another aircraft.
** NEW COLUMN COMING UP … AN INSULAR ROMNEY, STRUCK OUT ON THE GLOBAL STAGE, STRUGGLES WITH HIS SURPRISINGLY HEARTFELT VEEP PICK.
** OBAMA TODAY. President Barack Obama is in Washington, DC, Ohio, and Nevada.
Obama received the daily intelligence and economic briefings in the Oval Office.
He then flew on Air Force One to Columbus, Ohio.
At 10 AM Pacific, Obama delivered remarks at a rally at Capital University in Columbus, Ohio.
Obama then departed Columbus, Ohio on Air Force One en route Reno, Nevada.
At 3:55 PM Pacific, Obama arrives in Reno, Nevada.
At 5 PM Pacific, Obama delivers remarks at Truckee Meadows Community College in Reno, Nevada.
At 6:40 PM Pacific, Obama departs Reno, Nevada on Air Force One en route Las Vegas, Nevada.
At 7:45 PM Pacific, Obama arrives in Las Vegas.
Obama will remain overnight in Henderson, Nevada.
President Barack Obama says that deep cuts in college aid that conservative Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney would make are the moral equivalent of telling youngsters, “Tough luck, too bad, you’re on your own.”
On Wednesday, Obama will hold campaign events in Las Vegas and New York City, returning to the White House in the evening.
Obama is monitoring several geopolitical crises involving the Arab Awakening, Iran and Israel, Syria, Iraq, AfPak, and the South China Sea.
Military Crisis Zone Times: The Arabian Gulf is ten hours ahead of Pacific time and Afghanistan is eleven and a half hours ahead of Pacific time. The time in Manila, on the South China Sea, is fifteen hours ahead of Pacific time.
** FROM THE JERRY FILES. Governor Jerry Brown is in Northern California.
He has no scheduled public events as of this morning.
On Wednesday, Brown will be at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena to be briefed in on the Mars rover mission, meet with the mission controllers, and to make remarks about JPL’s lead role in deep space exploration and, I assume, his own longstanding call for the exploration of Mars.
Brown campaigned in San Diego on Monday for his Proposition 30 revenue initiative.
He was joined at San Diego City College by high school and college leaders. They all warned that big cuts are coming at all levels of public education if Prop 30 is defeated.
Brown has called a special legislative session for the end of the year so that California can move to next steps in implementing the Obama national health care plan.
Clearly, he’s not anticipating an immediate Romney rollback.
** RECALLING TOTAL RECALL: INTRIGUE, ULTRA-VIOLENCE, HUMOR AND WHAT ELSE THAT IS MISSING FROM THE SCHWARZENEGGER REMAKES. … From my August 17th essay.
** LONDON’S GRAND OLYMPICS, ON AND OFF THE TRACK. … From my August 13th essay.
** GORE VIDAL: REMEMBERING A BRILLIANT, CONTROVERSIAL LEGEND OF THE SORT WE DON’T FOSTER ANY MORE. … From my August 3rd essay.
** ROMNEY’S DANGEROUS BUFFOONERY. … From my August 1st essay.
** SUNRISE IN CALIFORNIA? … From my July 26th feature.
** CHINA MOVES SWIFTLY ON NEW “CITY” ENCOMPASSING SOUTH CHINA SEA, GULF CRISIS SIMMERS. … From my July 24th feature.
** THE DARK KNIGHT SHOOTINGS: “ALL IT TAKES IS A LITTLE PUSH.” … From my July 21st column.
** FROM GOVERNATOR TO MOONBEAM. … From my January 3rd, 2011 feature.
** OBAMA: RIDING WITH HISTORY. (NOTE: As Barack Obama was inaugurated as the 44th president of the United States, this column was the featured column on the top of the front page of the Huffington Post.) … From my January 19th, 2009 Huffington Post column.
** 24/7 LIVE TV NEWS FEED FROM AL JAZEERA. With the US entangled in major military operations in the region, and the Arab awakening underway, it’s valuable to keep up with news and perspectives from the leading Middle Eastern-based TV news network. Click here for a live TV news feed on your computer. The NWN live link to AJ does not constitute an endorsement of the channel’s views. It’s presented as an otherwise unavailable new media window.
** 24/7 LIVE TV NEWS FEED FROM RUSSIA TODAY. Russia has re-emerged as one of the world’s great powers. Click here for a live TV news feed on your computer from the Russia Today channel. The NWN live link to RT does not constitute an endorsement of the state-run channel’s views. It’s presented as an otherwise unavailable new media window.
** TRACK GLOBAL AND NATIONAL ENERGY PRICES IN NEAR REAL TIME VIA BLOOMBERG ENERGY MARKET WATCH. Having crashed over $147 for yet another record on July 11th, 2008, crude oil is trading around $96 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
This is up about $62 from the low of $34 per barrel prior to enactment of the Obama economic recovery program, reflecting a low point in global economic activity, and down about $18 per barrel from the price at the time of the Osama bin Laden raid.
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| Comments (34) |
Good bad news news video on the General’s plane in Afghanistan.
Good speech by President Obama on the Romney college cuts.
O no…
Jonas says:
August 21, 2012 at 1:55 pm
Good bad news news video on the General’s plane in Afghanistan.
Barack is staying on message on Romney’s screwing with education to pay for tax cuts for the rich…
I sure hope there is video of JB at JPL!
BB:On Wednesday, Brown will be at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena to be briefed in on the Mars rover mission, meet with the mission controllers, and to make remarks about JPL’s lead role in deep space exploration and, I assume, his own longstanding call for the exploration of Mars.
Oh yes, I wonder what the choppers will look like taking off from the Embassy roof in Kabul.
Capitol Boy says:
August 21, 2012 at 2:24 pm
O no…
Jonas says:
August 21, 2012 at 1:55 pm
Good bad news news video on the General’s plane in Afghanistan.
Yeah, I hope it gears up the youth vote…
Capitol Boy says:
August 21, 2012 at 2:29 pm
Barack is staying on message on Romney’s screwing with education to pay for tax cuts for the rich…
Christmas can’t come soon enough.
Heh.
Capitol Boy says:
August 21, 2012 at 2:30 pm
I sure hope there is video of JB at JPL!
BB:On Wednesday, Brown will be at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena to be briefed in on the Mars rover mission, meet with the mission controllers, and to make remarks about JPL’s lead role in deep space exploration and, I assume, his own longstanding call for the exploration of Mars.
Romney ALWAYS messes up when he does what he believes.
** NEW COLUMN COMING UP … AN INSULAR ROMNEY, FAILED ON THE GLOBAL STAGE, STRUGGLES WITH HIS SURPRISINGLY HEARTFELT VEEP PICK.
More crisis video today?
The true politics of austerity, I fear.
** NEW SURVEY: HUNGER IS A BIG PROBLEM IN CONSERVATIVE-RUN AMERICAN STATES. A new Gallup Poll survey of the 50 US states reveals that nearly all of the states in which the highest numbers of residents say they struggle to buy food are run by conservative Republican administrations.
One of the very best things about the Election is that young Mr. Ryan cannot help himself.. He will have to say things like what he said today. It is what he is.
Paul Ryan is a dick, like that fake “reporter” for HuffPost who came up with the “clinging” bit on Barack in the first place!!
He is Barack now, I like that!
Let them eat want ads!!
Requiem says:
August 21, 2012 at 4:48 pm
The true politics of austerity, I fear.
** NEW SURVEY: HUNGER IS A BIG PROBLEM IN CONSERVATIVE-RUN AMERICAN STATES. A new Gallup Poll survey of the 50 US states reveals that nearly all of the states in which the highest numbers of residents say they struggle to buy food are run by conservative Republican administrations.
The Crazy keeps coming out in that Party…
** QUICK HITS. Republicans continued to struggle today with their Missouri Senate candidate’s bizarre opinion that pregnancy hardly ever occurs as a result of “legitimate rape.” Er, say what? The mind boggles in imagining what he means, but he ain’t quitting. Democrats are happy to keep him around, naturally. …
That is PERFECT! You must have video.
… The Mars rover Curiosity, with computer software successfully upgraded and rebooted, is getting ready for its first test drive on Wednesday. Governor Jerry Brown, a longtime advocate of Mars exploration, will be on hand at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in LA, which is mission control for this and all other deep space exploration missions. …
O no, what is that guy thinking????
… The issue is complicated by Steve Glazer, at times a consultant to Governor Jerry Brown, signing on as a consultant to the CEQA change coalition and appearing at its press conference.
It could not be any other way.
The racism and hatred of the unsuccessful in the Confederacy are eternal.
** NEW SURVEY: HUNGER IS A BIG PROBLEM IN CONSERVATIVE-RUN AMERICAN STATES. A new Gallup Poll survey of the 50 US states reveals that nearly all of the states in which the highest numbers of residents say they struggle to buy food are run by conservative Republican administrations.
At the very top of the list?
Mississippi. Which was run until recently by Governor Haley Barbour, a former Republican national chairman and relative darling of the chattering classes.
Iran – Israel crisis video today?
Sorry, nothing good available.
Indeed.
> Capitol Boy says:
August 21, 2012 at 6:14 pm (Edit)
That is PERFECT! You must have video.
… The Mars rover Curiosity, with computer software successfully upgraded and rebooted, is getting ready for its first test drive on Wednesday. Governor Jerry Brown, a longtime advocate of Mars exploration, will be on hand at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in LA, which is mission control for this and all other deep space exploration missions. …
It’s the anti-Enlightenment party.
> Capitol Boy says:
August 21, 2012 at 6:13 pm (Edit)
The Crazy keeps coming out in that Party…
** QUICK HITS. Republicans continued to struggle today with their Missouri Senate candidate’s bizarre opinion that pregnancy hardly ever occurs as a result of “legitimate rape.” Er, say what? The mind boggles in imagining what he means, but he ain’t quitting. Democrats are happy to keep him around, naturally. …
He can’t stop being an Ayn Rand fan.
> Requiem says:
August 21, 2012 at 5:06 pm (Edit)
One of the very best things about the Election is that young Mr. Ryan cannot help himself.. He will have to say things like what he said today. It is what he is.
Stay hungry.
> Requiem says:
August 21, 2012 at 4:48 pm (Edit)
The true politics of austerity, I fear.
** NEW SURVEY: HUNGER IS A BIG PROBLEM IN CONSERVATIVE-RUN AMERICAN STATES. A new Gallup Poll survey of the 50 US states reveals that nearly all of the states in which the highest numbers of residents say they struggle to buy food are run by conservative Republican administrations.
Or something.
> Capitol Boy says:
August 21, 2012 at 6:12 pm (Edit)
Let them eat want ads!!
Requiem says:
August 21, 2012 at 4:48 pm
The true politics of austerity, I fear.
** NEW SURVEY: HUNGER IS A BIG PROBLEM IN CONSERVATIVE-RUN AMERICAN STATES. A new Gallup Poll survey of the 50 US states reveals that nearly all of the states in which the highest numbers of residents say they struggle to buy food are run by conservative Republican administrations.
That seems to be the pattern.
> Jack Aubrey says:
August 21, 2012 at 3:24 pm (Edit)
Romney ALWAYS messes up when he does what he believes.
** NEW COLUMN COMING UP … AN INSULAR ROMNEY, FAILED ON THE GLOBAL STAGE, STRUGGLES WITH HIS SURPRISINGLY HEARTFELT VEEP PICK.
Indeed.
> Jack Aubrey says:
August 21, 2012 at 3:24 pm (Edit)
Christmas can’t come soon enough.
Heh.
Capitol Boy says:
August 21, 2012 at 2:30 pm
I sure hope there is video of JB at JPL!
BB:On Wednesday, Brown will be at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena to be briefed in on the Mars rover mission, meet with the mission controllers, and to make remarks about JPL’s lead role in deep space exploration and, I assume, his own longstanding call for the exploration of Mars.
Fears up?
> Jack Aubrey says:
August 21, 2012 at 3:18 pm (Edit)
Yeah, I hope it gears up the youth vote…
Capitol Boy says:
August 21, 2012 at 2:29 pm
Barack is staying on message on Romney’s screwing with education to pay for tax cuts for the rich…
We have bigger helos now.
> Jack Aubrey says:
August 21, 2012 at 3:14 pm (Edit)
Oh yes, I wonder what the choppers will look like taking off from the Embassy roof in Kabul.
Capitol Boy says:
August 21, 2012 at 2:24 pm
O no…
Jonas says:
August 21, 2012 at 1:55 pm
Good bad news news video on the General’s plane in Afghanistan.
I have still pix, too.
> Capitol Boy says:
August 21, 2012 at 2:30 pm (Edit)
I sure hope there is video of JB at JPL!
BB:On Wednesday, Brown will be at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena to be briefed in on the Mars rover mission, meet with the mission controllers, and to make remarks about JPL’s lead role in deep space exploration and, I assume, his own longstanding call for the exploration of Mars.
That’s a neat trade.
> Capitol Boy says:
August 21, 2012 at 2:29 pm (Edit)
Barack is staying on message on Romney’s screwing with education to pay for tax cuts for the rich…
Oh, yes, I’m afraid.
> Capitol Boy says:
August 21, 2012 at 2:24 pm (Edit)
O no…
Jonas says:
August 21, 2012 at 1:55 pm
Good bad news news video on the General’s plane in Afghanistan.
Unknown.
>
Capitol Boy says:
August 21, 2012 at 6:15 pm (Edit)
O no, what is that guy thinking????
… The issue is complicated by Steve Glazer, at times a consultant to Governor Jerry Brown, signing on as a consultant to the CEQA change coalition and appearing at its press conference.