Job & Edu

The Daily Beast - They tried to build a Bridge to Nowhere, fretted about "killing Grandma," and stiffed the IRS. John Avlon presents a rogue's gallery of House members who should be bounced come November, from Joe Wilson to Alan Grayson.

The Atlantic Wire - Paul Krugman on Obama's Tentative Centrism While the current President rode into office on a "wave of progressive enthusiasm," the New York Times columnist writes he has since been far "more centrist and conventional than his fervent supporters imagined." This isn't necessarily a good thing, argues The New York Times opinion columnist, and Obama's choices can't always be blamed on Republican obstructionism. He concludes: "The point is that Mr. Obama’s attempts to avoid confrontation have been counterproductive. His opponents remain filled with a passionate intensity, while his supporters, having received no respect, lack all conviction. And in a midterm election...[that] could spell catastrophe."Peggy Noonan on the Competent Chris Christie In what has recently become a trend among conservative pundits, the Wall Street Journal columnist gives a ringing endorsement for New Jersey Governor Chris Christie saying that, "He's going to break through in a big way." While the Democrats are campaigning against the GOP's "populist spirit" (the Tea Party) in the lead up to the November midterms, their biggest worry should be worried about Christie's courageous and, more importantly, competent style of governance. She enthuses, "But Mr. Christie's way is also closer than most national Republicans have come—or Democrats will come—to satisfying the public desire that someone step forward, define the problem, apply common sense, devise a way through, do what's needed."David Brooks on the Long Slow Decade The New York Times columnist fears the impact of the recession will be felt for years to come. "What we have is not just a cycle but a condition," writes Brooks. "We could look back on the period between 1980 and 2006 as the long boom and the period between 2007 and 2014 or so as the nasty crawl." So, how to the spur economic growth? Brooks sees good plans on both sides of the aisle. For Democrats, it's what Brooks calls the "Moon Shot Approach"--an economy buoyed by a strong infrastructure and tax breaks for key sectors. Republicans see hope in the "Unleash America" school of thinking--it's defined by "a free-market and entrepreneurial vision of their country." Both approaches, Brooks says, are better than the inevitable "nativist and antiglobalist visions that will be arising" in coming years.Patrick Kennedy on a Brain Disorders Battle Writing in the Boston Globe, the Rhode Island congressman says the recent 20th anniversary of the Americans With Disabilities Act should inspire politicians to demand the same protections for those with brain disorders. "Approximately 100 million Americans have some form of traumatic brain injury," writes Kennedy. "Millions more suffer from Alzheimer’s, autism, Parkinson’s, and epilepsy." Yet only 5 percent of the NIH budget is spent researching neuroscience. Kennedy argues America must respond to the rise in brain disorders with "the same kind of urgency...as we did with AIDS."Steven Pearlstein on the New Division of Labor "The only surprise is that anyone is surprised by the lack of private-sector hiring," concludes the Washington Post columnist. "It is only in the world of Chamber of Commerce propaganda that businesses exist to create jobs." Writing in response to the recent news that corporate profits have soared while little new job opportunities have been created, Pearlstein isn't optimistic that most employers will soon be adding full-time employees. "There are lots of theories why this is happening," he writes. "With consumers cutting back on debt-financed spending, cutting expenses has been the most obvious way for businesses to increase their profits." In effect, the profits are addition by subtraction.

Exclusive to Yahoo! News - Forty-five years ago today, the creation of Medicare transformed our health-care system and our nation. It helped to make us a stronger and more prosperous country by freeing older Americans from the fear that sickness or injury would cost them their lifetime savings and security.

The Atlantic Wire -

RealClearPolitics.com - Beginning with the Washington Post's "Top Secret America" series last week, the media are creating a narrative aimed at cutting down to size what the Post called the American intelligence community: a system so big and unwieldy that its effectiveness is impossible to determine. Our intelligence community, according to the Post series, has become ungovernable in the way the media used to characterize New York City.

McClatchy Newspapers - WASHINGTON — Reporters covering trials of accused terrorists at Guantanamo on Monday will have their first-ever face-to-face chance to air their complaints about the U.S government's restrictive rules, which journalists say make it nearly impossible for the public to follow the proceedings.

The Week - Time's latest cover may shock you — and that's exactly the point. The haunting image shows an 18-year-old Afghan woman — her name is Aisha — whose nose and ears were cut off by the Taliban after she tried to escape her abusive in-laws. The accompanying article, "What happens if we leave Afghanistan," details the gruesome dangers women will face if the fundamentalist Islamic movement regains control of the country. "I'm acutely aware that this image will be seen by children," writes Time's managing editor Richard Stengel, but I would rather people know the reality "as they make up their minds about what the U.S. and its allies should do in Afghanistan." Did Stengel make a responsible choice?

The Atlantic Wire - Splashed on the covers of magazines, all over the late night circuit and now starring in this weekend's summer blockbuster Dinner for Schmucks: Paul Rudd is everywhere. Though not everyone's optimistic about his new film, the New Jersey-born funnyman is a critics' favorite. Across the Web, writers are paying homage to his body of work:From the Beginning, a Classically Trained Comic, writes Sam Adams at Salon: "Allow us to make a modest proposal: Paul Rudd is one of the great comic leading men of his generation. With his boyish charm and unassuming good looks, he could easily have ended up as a romantic-comedy lightweight, following the template laid out by his breakthrough role in 'Clueless.' But instead, he's spent much of the last decade surrounding himself with stand-ups and sketch comics, matching wits with Steve Carell and Seth Rogen in 'The 40-Year-Old Virgin' and guesting as an oily Lamaze instructor on 'Reno 911.' Although he studied Jacobean drama at Oxford, Rudd's classical background hasn't prevented him from improvising alongside club-hardened comics, a talent that serves him mightily well in 'Dinner for Schmucks.'"You Can't Beat 'Wet Hot American Summer', writes an adoring Elbert Ventura at Slate: Rudd's comic talent first became apparent in 2001's Wet Hot American Summer. Made by the folks behind the MTV sketch comedy show The State, the movie affectionately spoofs '80s pop culture... [Rudd] stole every scene he was in as Andy, the sleazeball camp counselor. In Rudd's hands, Andy becomes the biggest asshole you knew in high school, fearlessly amped up to 11. Playing the guy who gets the hot girl—and who throws her away just because he can—Rudd pushes past believability into hysterical hyperbole, the obnoxious bad boy in quotes. In the middle of a make-out session, Andy suddenly pulls away and accuses the girl of 'suffocating' him—then goes on to scratch his behind extravagantly. ('My butt itches,' he remarks, peevishly.) Making out with another girl, he breaks off, sneering, 'You taste like a burger. I don't like you anymore.' But it's his aria of exasperation, a temper tantrum in the camp cafeteria, that has become one of the movie's best-remembered scenes:

RealClearPolitics.com - Beltway insiders have asked for months whether Republicans must do more than oppose Democrats to win back power.

The Christian Science Monitor - A new wave of legislation aimed at rectifying perceived injustices in divorce cases is rolling into state legislatures. For example, in Massachusetts, a controversial “father’s rights” bill would create a presumption of joint child custody, and proposed changes to alimony statutes would limit the duration of spousal support. All of these proposals will probably face stiff opposition.