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Quote of the day. "Small-scale farming is management-intensive. It's an incredibly intellectual exercise, but you're also getting your hands in the dirt — that's why it's so attractive. There's a hunger for that." Tom Philpott, food editor at Grist.org, which covers food and agriculture, on a new generation of young organic farmers. (USA Today)
Sotomayor hearing. Sotomayor Vows ‘Fidelity to the Law’ as Hearings Start “Judge Sonia Sotomayor opened her case for confirmation to the Supreme Court on Monday by assuring senators that she believes a judge’s job 'is not to make law' but 'to apply the law,' as the two parties used her nomination to debate the role of the judiciary.” In Senate Confirmation Hearings, Sotomayor Pledges 'Fidelity to the Law' “Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor said yesterday that a simple 'fidelity to the law' is at the heart of her judicial philosophy.” GOP aims to paint Sotomayor as biased “The question dominating the hearing today and Wednesday for Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor will not be whether she will win confirmation, but whether Senate Republicans can fix her in the public's mind as a biased judge unlikely to follow the law.”
Health care. Pressure on Obama mounts over healthcare “With divisions among congressional Democrats threatening to stall his healthcare overhaul, President Obama moved aggressively Monday to shore up support, meeting with senior Democratic lawmakers and labor leaders at the White House and stressing that it's time for action.” Obama Prods Lawmakers in Meeting on Health Bill “After a weeklong overseas trip that pushed him to the fringes of Washington’s health care debate, Mr. Obama moved aggressively to reclaim control.” On Health-Care Reform, Obama Looks to Johnson's Model “President Obama returned to domestic affairs yesterday after a weeklong overseas tour with a warning for skeptics of his stalled health-care overhaul: 'Don't bet against us.'" GOP aims to block federal funds for abortions “Congressional Republicans want any health care reform plan to include bans on using taxpayer funds to pay for abortions or requiring private insurers to cover the procedure - possibly putting a new hurdle in the way of the drive to pass a bill.”
Surgeon General nominated. Obama's surgeon general pick started rural Alabama clinic “President Obama announced Monday that he would nominate Dr. Regina M. Benjamin -- a family physician who founded a health clinic in a small, shrimp-farming town in Alabama -- to be the nation's surgeon general.” Alabama Physician Benjamin Nominated as Surgeon General “Regina M. Benjamin, an Alabama family physician who served for almost two decades as one of the few doctors in a shrimping village along the Gulf Coast, was nominated as U.S. surgeon general yesterday by President Obama.” Surgeon general pick 'would do anything to heal' “President Obama on Monday nominated for surgeon general an influential rural family physician who has spent the past two decades caring for a shrimping community along the Gulf Coast.”
CIA paramilitary teams. CIA's secret program: Paramilitary teams targeting Al Qaeda “The secret CIA program halted last month by Director Leon E. Panetta involved establishing elite paramilitary teams that could be inserted into Pakistan or other locations to capture or kill top leaders of the Al Qaeda terrorist network.” CIA Didn't Tell Congress About Program to Kill Al-Qaeda Leaders “The CIA ran a secret program for nearly eight years that aspired to kill top al-Qaeda leaders with specially trained assassins, but the agency declined to tell Congress because the initiative never came close to bringing Osama bin Laden and his deputies into U.S. cross hairs.”
Episcopal Church. Episcopal Church Moves to End Ban on Gay Bishops “The bishops of the Episcopal Church voted at the church’s convention on Monday to open 'any ordained ministry' to gay men and lesbians, a move that could effectively undermine a moratorium on ordaining gay bishops that the church passed at its last convention three years ago.” Schism threat as U.S. Anglicans vote on gay ban “The Archbishop of Canterbury expressed 'regret' over a decision by Anglicans in the U.S. that represents a blow to his hopes for Church unity.”
Economy. Advocates say budget will have a body count “The budget storm has passed, but Ohioans who use libraries, home care for the elderly, mental-health treatment or services for abused children will be counting casualties for weeks and months to come.” States aim to assist food pantries “As pantries across the nation face increasing demands for help, a growing number of states have enacted or are considering laws to make it easier for restaurants to donate leftover food to charities.”
Guantanamo. Obama Faces Hurdles in Closing Guantánamo “With six months left before a White House deadline, the Obama administration is struggling with legal, political and logistical problems that are casting a cloud over President Obama’s pledge to close the detention center at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, by January.”
Iraq. With one bat and no uniforms, Iraq's baseball team hits field “They've only got a five year-old softball bat, a threadbare cap, three scuffed balls and nine second-hand gloves from a flea market. They train on a college soccer field. And there's not a uniform among them. However, they love America's pastime as much as Crash Davis of 'Bull Durham' ever did. Meet Iraq's national baseball team.”
North Korea. Amid Missile Tests, North Korea Increases Restrictions at Home "State controls over the lives of North Koreans have become more onerous this year, and operations of international aid agencies have been shackled.” Doubts in White House on approach to N. Korea “American diplomatic efforts on North Korea are coming under fire within the Obama administration from officials who consider talks futile and instead want to focus on halting the regime's trade in nuclear weapons and missile equipment, U.S. officials said.”
Pakistan. Pakistan's displaced begin return “Pakistan has begun returning home some of the two million people displaced by a military offensive against the Taliban in North West Frontier Province (NFWP).” As Army Declares Success, Swat Refugees Start to Return Despite Niggling Doubts “But this did not feel like a particularly joyful day. None of the returning refugees could be sure exactly what they were coming home to.” More Swat Valley refugees return home “Monday marked the first day of a government program meant to return residents to the Swat Valley and surrounding districts after a two-month assault that Pakistani officials say succeeded in routing Taliban militants there.”
Afghanistan. Eight soldiers' bodies flown home “The bodies of eight British soldiers killed in Afghanistan in a single 24-hour period have been flown back home to Britain.” Mindful of Civilians, Pilots in Afghanistan Alter Tactics “The adjustment reflects orders last month by Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal, the new United States commander in Afghanistan, that sharply limit the use of airstrikes to try to reduce the civilian deaths that he and other top officers said were eroding support for the American-led mission.”
Opinion. For lack of a better term (Clarence Page, Chicago Tribune) “As insurance companies charge more for less coverage -- and millions more people are losing private coverage entirely -- calling a public insurance option 'socialism' only makes socialism sound good.” Whose Identity Politics? (Eugene Robinson, Washington Post) “The only real suspense in the confirmation hearings for Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor is whether the Republican Party will persist in tying its fortunes to an anachronistic claim of white male exceptionalism and privilege.” Tipping Point in Tehran (Robin Wright, Washington Post) “How much has changed for Iran in one occasionally breathtaking month. The erratic uprising is becoming as important as the Islamic revolution 30 years ago -- and not only for Iran. Both redefined political action throughout the Middle East.”
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