Featured Articles — July 2, 2009

July 2, 2009 by Jonathan Movroydis | Filed Under Featured Articles 

Interesting Takes From Home And Abroad:

Let the Usurpers Writhe By Roger Cohen, The New York Times
Think of normalized relations with the United States as the big prize. Who gets to deliver it? One thing is certain: Iran’s ruthless usurpers are determined to ensure reformists are never in a position to claim the breakthrough.

Why Russians Love Putin By David Ignatius, The Washington Post
As Barack Obama packs for his trip to Russia next week, he should bring along a copy of “The Brothers Karamazov.” For the modern Russia of Vladimir Putin is still struggling with the same political riddles that Fyodor Dostoyevsky described 130 years ago.

467K Jobs Cut in June; Jobless Rate at 26-Year High By Neil Irwin and Michael D. Shear, The Washington Post
Employers kept slashing jobs at a furious pace in June as the unemployment rate edged ever closer to double-digit levels, undermining signs of progress in the economy, and making clear that the job market remains in terrible shape.

Cap-and-Trade a Risk Worth Taking By E.J. Dionne, The New Republic
Hours before the House passed its cap-and-trade bill last week, freshman Democrats Tom Perriello and Frank Kratovil were pondering the political fallout of the votes they were about to cast in favor of a plan Republicans were denouncing as “cap-and-tax.”

Fuel Standards Are Killing GM By Alan Reynolds, The Wall Street Journal
General Motors can survive bankruptcy far more easily than it can survive President Barack Obama’s ambitious fuel economy standards, which mandate that all new vehicles average 35.5 miles per gallon by 2016.

Iraq & Iran offer President Obama the chance to tell a tale of two conflicts By Michael Goodwin, The New York Daily News
At one time or another, most Americans probably have confused Iraq and Iran. But for now there is an easy way to tell them apart: American policy finally is working in Iraq while it is flailing in Iran.

Who Can Possibly Govern California? By Mark Leibovich, New York Times Magazine
Gavin Newsom, the mayor of San Francisco, has an emergency button under his desk that was installed 30 years ago after former City Supervisor Dan White entered City Hall through a window and fatally shot Mayor George Moscone and Supervisor Harvey Milk. Not knowing what the button was for, Newsom kept pushing it on his first day in office, only to have three sheriffs rush in repeatedly.

To Catch a Tiger By Robert D. Kaplan, The Atlantic
Sri Lanka’s brutal suppression of the Tamil Tigers offers an object lesson in how to defeat an insurgency. Or does it?

A Family’s Valor, a Nation’s Freedom By Karl Rove, The Wall Street Journal
At a dinner last week in California, I was reminded of the debt we owe to those who have, for 233 years, sustained our freedom and independence. One remarkable family in particular exemplifies the best in the American spirit of courage and sacrifice.

Has Obama Turned on Israel? By Alan Dershowitz, The Wall Street Journal
Many American supporters of Israel who voted for Barack Obama now suspect they may have been victims of a bait and switch. Jewish Americans voted overwhelmingly for Mr. Obama over John McCain in part because the Obama campaign went to great lengths to assure these voters that a President Obama would be supportive of Israel. This despite his friendships with rabidly anti-Israel characters like Rev. Jeremiah Wright and historian Rashid Khalid.

Time for an Israeli Strike? By John R. Bolton, The Washington Post
With Iran’s hard-line mullahs and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps unmistakably back in control, Israel’s decision of whether to use military force against Tehran’s nuclear weapons program is more urgent than ever.

Russia Is Back on the Warpath By Cathy Young, The Wall Street Journal
With President Barack Obama’s trip to Moscow on Monday, you might expect Russia to avoid stirring up any trouble. Yet the Russian media are now abuzz with speculation about a new war in Georgia, and some Western analysts are voicing similar concerns. The idea seems insane. Nonetheless, the risk is real.

The facts of the election are disputed. Iranians can make the next one better By Timothy Garton Ash, The Guardian
For all those who wish to commemorate Neda, democracy can be delivered – with the help of legitimate monitors

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