Wednesday Morning Breakfast Menu 1/30

Good Wednesday morning! Another day, another bunch of headlines. Here are a few articles on today's top stories.







News/Politics

Senate confirms John Kerry - Seung Min Kim, Politico
Republicans Will Never Attract Minorities - Michael Tomasky, Daily Beast
Obama's 2nd Term: The Permanent Campaign - Molly Ball, The Atlantic
Fox News Ratings Hit 12-Year Low - Katherine Fung, Huff Post
A Judicial Atrocity - Jeffrey Toobin, The New Yorker
Bipartisan Hunting Buddies - James Baker and John Dingell, New York Times Op-Ed
Lynch to Announce Senate Run on Thursday - Sean Sullivan, Washington Post
The GOP Suicide Club - Steve Kornacki, Salon.com
Can Cory Booker Keep It Together? - Ruby Cramer, BuzzFeed Politics
Transportation Secretary to Leave Administration - Ken Thomas, AP via TIME
The Rising Progressive Tide - Katrina Vanden Heuvel, Washington Post

Sports

Lewis Staunchly Denies Using Banned Drug - Chris Burke, Audibles
A-Rod's Stay in New York All But Over - Tyler Kepner, New York Times
Ex-Jets GM: No Regrets for Tebow Trade - Rich Cimini, ESPN
Kelly Unsure Whether Hoax Affected Te'o - Brian Hamilton, Chicago Tribune

Tuesday Tea Time

A wide array of articles showcasing important international issues.

1. AU talks break down over DR Congo crisis, AlJazeera English 
2. A Glimpse into a Mysterious African Dictatorship: Is Eritrea on the Verge? -- William Lloyd George & Addis Ababa, Time
3. Blood in Egypt’s Streets: Anger in Tahrir then Soccer Violence in Port Said -- Ashraf Khalil, Time
4. Mali rebels melt away in face of French advance -- Luke Harding, The Guardian
5. US military sending air tankers to refuel French jets over Mali, AP via The Guardian
6. War in Mali: France and African Allies Take on Islamist Militants, Time
7. Mali: Timbuktu Locals Saved Some of Their City’s Ancient Manuscripts from Islamists --  Vivienne Walt, Time
8. French, Malians retake Timbuktu, rebels torch library -- Adama Diarra, Rueters
9. The Unspectacular, Unsophisticated Algerian Hostage Crisis -- Scott Stewart, Stratfor
10. Medvedev: Assad's chances of retaining power in Syria are shrinking, Reuters via The Guardian
11. Indonesia Readies for $1 Trillion Trade Talks -- John Heilprin, Time
12. The United Kingdom Moves Away from the European Project -- Adriano Bosoni, Stratfor
13. Berlusconi defends Mussolini for backing Hitler, USA Today
14. 50 Years After Landmark Treaty, Can France and Germany Save Europe? -- Bruce Crumley, Time
15. Carlos Slim closer to entering Mexico's television market -- Daniel Hernandez, LA Times Mexico's Drug War: Persisting Violence and a New President, Stratfor
16. Inmates moved after bloody Venezuela prison riot -- Ian James, USA Today
17. 'Complete panic' as 233 killed in Brazil nightclub fire -- Sheena Rossiter, USA Today

116 Years of the Same

By Jason Colella, Sr. Political Editor & Co-founder

Picture provided by Wikipedia

“There are two ideas of government. There are those who believe that, if you will only legislate to make the well-to-do prosperous, their prosperity will leak through on those below. The Democratic idea, however, has been that if you legislate to make the masses prosperous, their prosperity will find its way up through every class which rests up on them.” This may sound like something that any mainstream Democrat may have said during this election cycle, but that would be wrong. It was, indeed, said by a Democrat at a National Convention, but not recently. William Jennings Bryan said this during his 1896 Presidential Acceptance Speech, which would later come to be known as the Cross of Gold Speech.

Bryan was right about Supply Side Economics before it was even invented. Maybe the world would have been better off if Reagan, Hayek, and Freidman idolized Bryan instead of an Adam Smith that he himself would not have recognized and would have vehemently opposed. The Wealth of Nations does agree with Bryan’s statement, but Republicans seem to forget that anyone with the ability to read and curiosity could find that out. The fundamental flaw in the Republican economic mindset is simple – they think rich people have no self-control. It assumes that if you give a millionaire a million dollars, he will spend it all. Has the idea of saving ever occur to them? The other issue is, just as obvious, rich people buy and do rich people things like play polo and buy designer clothes - which has little to no economic impact on the average working class American. The very people this ludicrous idea was intended to help.
Now to the non-economic point his statement brings up. It showcases a trait of American political thought that is often incorrectly assumed to be nonexistent – consistency. The Republicans have consistently run on the same bad and ill-informed economic policy for the last 116 years. Congratulations. We think politics today is so partisan, so gridlocked, so ideological, and so ineffective. But, I hate to be the bearer of bad news; it has always been that way and, quite frankly, will always be that way.

Congress is partisan, and it always has been. Preston Brooks, a congressman, nearly beat to death Senator Charles Sumner on the floor of the US Senate over a political difference in 1857. Eric Cantor and Boehner have yet to beat up a Democrat. Today the violence is verbal attacks in the press, and even those as vitriolic, as they may be, that are not libelous or crude. We are more civilized in our discourse, which goes to show you how messed we have been and how messy democracy truly is. Congress is partisan because of the people it attracts. People run for office, not because Congress is such a high paying job with great perks like many disenfranchised Americans will tell you. They run because they have strong views that they want others to not only to hear and believe, but be forced to follow. Honestly, most of them could, and did, make much more money in their past life than as a congressman.

Gridlock and inefficacy does run rampant in the government, but it can be dealt with. Elected officials need to be open minded and willing to negotiate, which many of them are incapable of doing today because of their strong ideology footing. It is not, however, their fault that their views are as unyielding as a raging bull – stubborn and crazy – it is the electorate for electing them to office. Quit electing nut jobs. I mean, I have a poor view of the fine Americans who live in Minnesota’s 6th Congressional district because they have elected Michelle Bachman repeatedly. Gridlock and inefficacy can keep people from doing horrible idiotic things. Sometimes doing nothing can be better than doing things, especially when action results in stupid decisions.

Bryan has two key pieces of advice to offer. First, Republicans have always had a poor taste in economic policy, and secondly the concept of political consistency. Government seems bad, but it always has been bad. It is not so much the fault of the politicians because most are well meaning when they get there; it is rather the fault of voters who take the tremendous privilege of participating in the greatest experiment in social theory ever undertaken not seriously enough, and a flawed system that promotes gridlock. As Winston Churchill said, ’’No one pretends that democracy is perfect or all-wise. Indeed, it has been said that democracy is the worst form of government except all those other forms that have been tried from time to time.’’

Talking Points: The American Voter

By: Will Snyder, Managing Editor Fourth Party Politics

Do a majority of America’s voters know enough? Care enough? Think about the issues clearly enough? A sign of our political self-confidence is how we regularly scrutinize and call to attention the ridiculous things our politicians say. Any average Joe can easily make fun of the things politicians say, but who is there to rebuff the equally dumb, ill-informed, and offensive comments of the average senseless voter. What if the problem in today’s 24 hour news cycle and political system isn’t with the politicians themselves or most of the people who will read this, but is instead those individuals among us who represent the tendency to act and say thoroughly stupid things.

Most would agree that honesty and truthfulness in our politicians and government circles is desirable. So why, you ask has it been so difficult and maybe impossible to achieve these goals? Maybe the conclusion is that we do not desire the truth; however, we sincerely believe we do. Maybe the average American voter can’t handle the truth. You see the truth is government isn’t perfect, was never meant to be perfect, and will never be perfect. The sooner the extreme Tea Party and Occupy movements realize this along with the party lacks - the better.

Not only are we blind to the faults the voters make, but the voters often times commit equally egregious faults by basing their political beliefs on downright lies and myths. Our Democracy or more precisely our Republic was founded on the belief that the voters would base their beliefs and cast their votes on reason and truth. Yet, most of the voters are truly uneducated on the issues and base their beliefs not on reason, but the inclination to believe what they want to believe, regardless of the facts. You see maybe the confidence of our Republic rests on a myth.

As always is the case, the holiday season brings out the best in political debate among friends and family. And this past holiday season was no different, especially with the fiscal cliff and gun control debates. One message seemed quite clear to me this year - people on both sides of the aisle are fed up with government and more than usual.

Some people think that I have this problem with the extreme right Tea Party movement, and they couldn’t be further from the truth. I’m all for free speech and expression even if your sole existence is a waste of space and oxygen on god’s loving planet. In all actuality, I find both the Tea Party and Occupy movements to be entertaining to say the least. At least these people, as habitually stupid as the may be, have gotten off the couch and are letting their voices be heard.

What does drive me intensely insane are the fools who embrace the beliefs of these movements, yet they refuse to give their precious time and effort to what they claim they believe in - the lazy hypocrites of America.

I’m all in favor of people expressing their political opinions – but with reason. If you truthfully believe in something, you have the opportunity every few years to let your voice be heard. They’re called elections. If you don’t like something get off the couch and get your hand out of the Cheetos bag and change it; in the meantime shut the **** up. Much blood was shed for the right to elect freely in this country, before you blame the system look in the mirror.

Yours in Democracy, -Will Snyder

A Lite Breakfast

Articles on some of today's top stories.

After Successful Missile Launch, North Korea Threatens New Nuclear Test -- Austin Ramzy, Time
Davos: Mario Draghi, The Man Who Would Save Europe -- Catherine Mayer and Michael Schuman, Time
Deficit Hawks Down -- Paul Krugman, NY Times
Pentagon Is Set to Lift Combat Ban for Women -- Elisabeth Bumiller and Thom Shanker, NY Times
Yes, He Can: Twenty Ways Obama Can Use Executive Power to Push a Progressive Agenda -- The Editors, The Nation
Obama to announce McDonough as chief of staff, Pfeiffer as senior adviser -- Jenifer Epstein, Politico

Prejudice in 2013

By Nathan Wood, Staff writer FPP


The other day I was studying with a friend on campus when a lady came up to us. She expressed to us her discontent of not having a place to study at night on the weekends. She said something along the lines of “Don’t you hate it that they close all the buildings when us students have to study?”

Although I thought it was strange that she approached us, we gave slight nods. What she said next troubled me:

“Everywhere I go people are either talking or talking to me.” Then she goes into a whisper: “This black guy came up to me and started talking to me. I mean like what the f***? I mean, I’m from Florida and I don’t want to talk to any black people!”

At this point, I was in shock from what this lady said, but I was also trying to say the right things to get her to go somewhere else. Listening to racist comments makes me livid and sick. If it went any further, I would have had to say something, but luckily, she ended up leaving shortly after.

Now, I thought that maybe it was because of where I attend school (Tennessee), or maybe it was just by random chance that I came across someone who was racist, but those things still do not write-off the social ills still lurking today. Prejudice still exists today. The thought of people being inherently worse than others based on a factor they cannot control is absurd, yet people still seem to think it is an OK way to act. If we want to fix this in our society, a stride toward educating people must be made. It is the primary way to flush this attitude out of society. Although it may seem obvious, people need to know what prejudice is and why it is wrong.

After the recent Martin Luther King Jr. Day has passed, we look back and considered the fact that racism towards minorities, specifically blacks, has greatly diminished, and our legal system has greatly catalyzed this. However, prejudice still exists in many forms today: racism, sexism, age discrimination, and religion. The misunderstanding of ethnic groups can be eliminated through education. Although it is something every person needs to work on in varying degrees, over time, we can push towards a more egalitarian society.

Freshman Introductions: Elizabeth Warren and Heidi Heitkamp

Elizabeth Warren (D-MA)

Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) of Massachusetts became the first female to represent the Commonwealth in the Senate with her victory this past November over Scott Brown. Before being elected, Warren served as a Harvard Law School professor specializing in bankruptcy law and personal finance. Warren gained national prominence as a consumer protection advocate which led to her being appointed to help setup the new U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau in 2010. Warren, however, was not tapped as the bureaus new director due to strong opposition from both Wall St. and congressional Republicans. Liberal groups were extremely upset with President Obama who was unwilling to fight a nomination battle with Senate Republicans. In late 2008, Warren was appointed by Democratic Majority Leader Harry Reid to chair the Congressional Oversight Panel which oversaw the implementation of the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act (TARP oversight). Warren was assigned a seat on the Senate Banking Committee.

Heidi Heitkamp (D-ND)

When incumbent Democratic Senator Kent Conrad decided to retire, it was thought as if it were a lost cause for Democrats to retain control of the seat. However, in the closest Senate Election of the year Heidi Heitkamp defeated Rick Berg by a mere 2,994 votes; less than 1% of the total vote. Heidi is a native of North Dakota and earned her B.A. from the University of North Dakota before attending law school at Lewis and Clark College in Oregon. After college, she worked as an attorney for the EPA and for the North Dakota Tax Commissioner’s office. When her boss Kent Conrad decided to run for US Senate, Heitkamp ran for his job -- North Dakota Tax Commissioner. She easily won the election garnering 65% of the vote. In 1992, she decided to run for State Attorney General and was easily elected to the position where she would serve until 2000 when she lost her bid to become governor to now fellow senator John Hoeven. Between her run for senate and her failed Governor bid she served as director of the Dakota Gasification Company.

She is a fairly moderate Democrat whose views fit perfectly in a Red State such as North Dakota. She is in favor of the Keystone Pipeline, yet opposes Fracking. She supports Obamcare, but thinks there are many parts that need to be re-written. She supports a Balanced Budget Amendment and the Buffet Rule.

Your Desert Links: Mali's War

As many of FPP’s regular readers many know, there is currently a war going on in the West African Nation of Mali. This war has seen a flurry of active in the last few days, so to supplement my article from yesterday I have complied a Tea Time devoted entirely to Mali. The articles are in order of publish date with newest on top. Enjoy!

Jan. 15 - French Pledge More Troops for Mali asAirstrikes Continue -- Steven Erlanger, Alan Cowell and Adam Nossiter, New York Times
Jan 15 -- Is Mali another loss for counterinsurgency? -- Max Fisher, Washington Post
Jan 14 -- France Says Diabaly Falls to Malian Insurgents - Baba Ahmed & Rukmini Callimachi, Time
Jan. 14 -- French Lead All-Night Bombing Campaign in Diabaly - Baba Ahmed & Rukmini Callimachi, Time
Jan. 14th -- War in Mali: France Can Bomb Militants, but Not Arms Routes - Vivienne Walt, Time
Nov. 12th -- Mali’s Looming War: Will Military Intervention Drive Out the Islamists? - Alan Boswell, Time
Oct. 29th -- What Mali’s Crisis Means for the Future of Western Military Intervention - Vivienne Walt, Time
Oct. 17th -- Will the World Go to War to Save Mali? - Ishaan Tharoor, Time
July 02 -- Timbuktu’s Destruction: Why Islamists Are Wrecking Mali’s Cultural Heritage - Ishaan Tharoor, Time
April 1 -- Gaddafi's Posthumous Gift to Mali: The Tuareg Seize Timbuktu - Julius Cavendish, Time

The War in Malli

Courtesy of Wikipedia

By Jason Colella, Co-Owner and Sr. Political Editor

The West African nation of Mali was at one time the capital of one the most powerful empires on earth, but now Mali is just your average third world nation in the middle of the harsh and unforgiving Sahara Desert. Mali was a semi-stable country until last January when a group called the National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA) started a rebellion to succeed the northern state of Azawad from Mali. On March 22 2012, a mutiny took in Mali’s army resulting in a successful coup d'état which overthrew President Amadou Toumani Touré who was to retire in a month. The mutinist called themselves the National Committee for the Restoration of Democracy and State (CNRDR). On April 6th, the MNLA declared a ceasefire with Mali because according to them they had accomplished their objectives. The petition for statehood they sent to the EU and African Union was, however, rejected. But it was soon it was clear that the friends MNLA had made to help them in their quest to create a home land for the Taureg people did not have the end game. Ansar Dine proved to an Islamic extremist organization that began instituting hardcore Sharia law in the country, and Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa (MOJWA) is a part of Al-Qaeda in the Maghreb (AQIM). This created a Civil War between those two radical Islamic groups and the more mainstream MNLA. Over time MOJWA and Ansar Dine to a lesser extent have proved to be more powerful than MNLA and have taken over large portions of Northern Mali. This meant MNLA was now on the side of the government that they just overthrow, but they had a vastly different motive yet common enemy. In one the largest battles yet to take place, MNLA was defeated resulting a serious injury to their secretary-general Bilal Ag Acherif and Islamic extremist gained control of the strategic city of Gao. This past fall AQIM and MOJWA took over the northern cities of Douentza and Ménaka. The conflict began to ramp up again in 2013 with government of Mali and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) asking for foreign intervention. French President Francois Hollande agreed and sent a small force to Mali in accordance with a unanimously passed agreement of the UN Sec. Council. On the 10th of January, 1200 rebel fighters seized the town of Konna which held strategic importance because of the airport close by and proximity to a Mali military base. This forced France to act faster than anticipated. They began a military assault on Kona and within two days drove the rebels back out of the town through their use of Helicopters and Fighter Jets. As of now, the French are still actively engaged in battle and will before the foreseeable future. Yesterday the British announced they will send two cargo planes to help move supplies. Today Islamist forces took control of the city of Diabali the closest they have come Bamako.

This is a rapidly developing story and as such the facts will change soon. So, please stay tuned for updates about this underreported story.

Monday Morning Breakfast Menu 1/14

Good Monday morning! Another day, another bunch of headlines. There is simply no better way to start your workweek than with our Monday morning breakfast links.


US Politics
Senate is Losing its Lions - Chris Cillizza, Washington Post
Can Biden Stop the Shooting - Alex Koppelman, The New Yorker
House GOP Eyes Default, Shutdown - JIM VANDEHEI and MIKE ALLEN, POLITICO
Bob Schieffer Grills John McCain - Anjali Sareen, Mediaite - with video
Our Interrogation Legacy - George Will, Washington Post


World Politics
How India Fought Polio — and Won - Krista Mahr, Time
Will Britain Exit the European Union? The Rise of a Small Party Makes that Scenario More Likely -- Megan Gibson, Time
The Crisis in Mali: Will French Air Strikes Stop the Islamist Advance? -- Alex Perry, Time
French Jets Bomb Major Malian City in North, Baba Ahmend & Rukmini Cillinachi, Time
France Vows Help after Mali Islamists Take Town - Krista Larson & Baba Ahmend, TIme


Entertainment
Golden Globes 2013: The best moments - Ann Oldenburg, USA TODAY
Golden Globes: 'Les Miz' 'Argo' and 'Girls' win big; Jodie Foster honored - Nina Metz, Chicago Tribune
‘Lego Marvel Super Heroes’ game on the way - Patrick Kevin Day, LA Times
Ultimate Top 10: Madonna's No. 1 status is written in her MDNA - Randy Lewis, LA Times
Globes tweet winners before TV announces them - Olivia Barker, USA Today


Sports 
Falcons vs. Seahawks: Atlanta thwarts Seattle comeback as Matt Bryant hits late field goal for 30-28 win - Mark Maske, Washington Post
Patriots vs. Texans: Tom Brady passes New England into AFC title game -- Barry Svrluga, Washington Post
Lance Armstrong apologizes to people in cylcling community ahead of Oprah Winfrey interview -- Liz Clarke, Washington Post