What I’m Reading, Friday, March 16, 2012

Politics

• Lawrence M. Krauss: Does Conservatism Have to Be Synonymous With Ignorance?

• The Maddow Blog – So much for he made it worse.
  

  For the better part of the last year, there was one claim Mitt Romney made more than any other: President Obama, he said, made the economy “worse.”

  Reality makes clear that the dubious claim just isn’t true, but the Republican presidential hopeful repeated it anyway, ad nauseum, in nearly every speech, interview, and public appearance. It became the central point of the former governor’s entire campaign: Obama made the economy worse, and Romney would make it better.

  As national conditions improved, the argument became untenable, and the shift in Romney’s rhetoric tells an important story.

  Mitt Romney on Thursday night admitted that the economy is improving. “I believe we’re in a recovery mode, finally,” Romney told Fox News’ Sean Hannity. “I think it’s likely things will get better.”

  This isn’t the first time Romney has grudgingly acknowledged that the economy is improving. He started moving in this direction two months ago, slowly acknowledging the economic upswing, but urging voters not to give Obama credit for the better conditions. [read the complete article...]

• Wonkbook: Congress, sometimes you guys are an embarrassment – The Washington Post
• Ann Coulter: The GOP And Conservative Movement Have ‘A Problem With Con Men and Charlatans’ | ThinkProgress
• Schultz And Bashir: Ann Coulter ‘Absolutely Right’ Conservatives Have A ‘Problem With Charlatans’ | Mediaite
• Ann Coulter: GOP has a ‘problem with charlatans’ like Sarah Palin | The Raw Story
• D.R. Tucker: Rush Limbaugh and the Era of Ignorance « Climate Denial Crock of the Week

Energy

Climate & Climate Politics

• Record Temperatures | Planet3.0
• March Heatwave Comes in like Lion « Climate Denial Crock of the Week
• The Hockey Stick and the Climate Wars: The Book Murdoch’s Wall Street Journal Doesn’t Want You to Read | ThinkProgress
• Inhofe On The 97% Of Scientists Who Agree Global Warming Is Real: ‘That Doesn’t Mean Anything’ | ThinkProgress

Economics & The Economny

• Natural Born Drillers: Krugman Explains Why Fossil Fuel Boom Doesn’t Lower Prices Or Create Many Jobs | ThinkProgress

The Culture Wars

• The Role of Faith in the Lives of Abortion Providers | Religion Dispatches

Written by: Jerrald Hayes on March 16, 2012.