Non-Smoker? Obama Celebrates One Year

Non-Smoking: President Obama and Trip Director Marvin Nicholson have both not smoked for one year.

Source: http://feeds.abcnews.com/click.phdo?i=ea6453b9d84e242d7219fdb143dc0756

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Stromberg: Won't climate change help America?

Ever heard this one: Even if the Earth's climate changes, warmer temperatures will be good for America -- longer growing seasons, perhaps? Or its cousin: Humans will simply do what they've done for millennia -- adapt to changing temperatures with different technology and behaviors? Isn't that bet...

Source: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/03/07/AR2011030704221.html?wprss=rss_politics

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Nevada polling and the Scott Walker�effect

You've got to hand it to beloved WI Governor Scott Walker-- he's galvanized and united Democrats, reignited interest in unions and the plight of working people, and highlighted what it means not to compromise in the name of extremism (to the point of nearly disobeying a court order before walking the wilfullness back today.) In his honor, let's call it the Scott Walker effect.

Well, Nevadans are getting it. From Jon Ralston in NV:

Poll: People like public employees, don?t like governor?s unwillingness to compromise, want to tax banks, mining

Those are the findings of a poll conducted within the last week for the public employee advocacy group, Nevadans for Nevada. The survey of 500 registered voters (4.4 percent margin of error) was released in Carson City this morning ? I have posted the polling memo and full instrument at right.

First things first: Yes, this was paid for by a union group and Grove is a Democratic pollster. But she is well respected, even by Republicans in the business, and has done extensive work in Nevada. Her findings on tax issues, especially, are not much different from other surveys, including one taken for the conservative Retailers Association of Nevada by GOP expert Glen Bolger.

Let?s look at some of the findings.

First, on Gov. Brian Sandoval.

The polling memo says: ?Voters give Governor Sandoval net negative job performance ratings, and disapprove of the Governor?s refusal to compromise on a budget solution that includes raising some taxes??...

----Public employees are not hated. Quite the contrary. This is quite the empirical proof of the failure of a certain ?newspaper? and conservative think tank to demonize them. Epic fail, as the youngsters say.

Whether it's DC (where Boehner is reported to be thinking compromise, and the dozens of tea partiers at today's fizzled rally pale in comparison to WI) or NV, one gets the feeling that in at least parts of the country, the ultraconservative wave has peaked and is receding. And yeah, certain media and think tanks have pushed it, but that doesn't mean it's what voters think.

But if you want any one reason why the GOP conservative extremists don't look so good these days, I think we can all thank the Scott Walker effect for demonstrating in a clear and understandable way what it means to carry through on the rhetoric and the bumper-stickers. It can't help MI's Snyder, OH's Kasich or FL's Scott to have the extremist program highlighted so clearly on the news. The assault on working people is nationwide, and while there will be ups and downs (see WI), these Governors are not exactly winning the hearts and minds of their subjects constituents.

Thank you, Gov. Walker. You've done your country a service. And thanks to your inspiring performance, you've brought new meaning to the term "epic fail".

Source: http://feeds.dailykos.com/~r/dailykos/index/~3/qidYnyRkCBQ/-Nevada-polling-and-the-ScottWalker effect

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