Conversion in the Holy Land

Romney says socialized medicine is awesome. For Israel.

Just Can’t Help Himself

Romney praises Israel’s Obamacare-like health care system.

The Gray Lady Carries A Shiv In Her Purse

NYT: “On Monday afternoon, Romney campaign officials did not respond to a query about whether Mr. Romney believes that the blockade of Gaza or trade restrictions in the West Bank have had any dampening effect on economic activity in those areas.”

Sign of the Times?

Houston prepares PSA video on what to do when your office gets hit by the next mass-shooting massacre.

Romney Takes ‘You Didn’t Build That’ Global

After building a whole infrastructure to attack President Obama’s “you didn’t build that” comment, it’s delightfully ironic to see the Romney campaign nudging reporters to write gently about Mitt’s remarks in Israel.

These might sound like two wholly unrelated controversies – one damaging to Obama, one damaging to Romney. But in a real sense they’re outgrowths of the same widely held conservative assumption that financial success is typically a symptom of hard work and a more general virtuosity.

Obama Descended From First Slave?

Ancestry.com is out with a press release and a study this morning claiming that President Obama is descended from what they call the first ‘slave’ in America. “President Barack Obama,” says the press release, “is the 11th great-grandson of John Punch, the first documented African enslaved for life in American history.” And the kicker is, at least as far as this study goes, that it’s through his white mother.

Just Wow

I wrote on Friday that ahead of his visit to Israel, Mitt Romney seemed set to offend Palestinian and wider Arab sensibilities on the delicate issue of Jerusalem, by referring to the city as the country’s capital.

Today’s Very Cool Thing

Researchers at Stanford University announce an impressive scientific breakthrough.

Not Going To Do It

A Democratic inspector of elections in Pennsylvania says he won’t enforce the state’s voter ID law – no matter the consequences.

Watch This Space

As Mitt Romney wraps up his ill-fated trip to London and prepares to move on to Israel, there’s something subtle worth noting.

The Olympic Ideal

Flipping through the photos of the 1948 London Olympics, two things stand out. The first is how diverse the U.S. team was for that time. Sure, Jesse Owens was dominating the Berlin Olympics the previous decade. But I didn’t know about Asian-American divers like Vicki Draves and Sammy Lee. I’d forgotten Alice Coachman, the first African-American woman to win gold. Which raises the second point: The women athletes across the board were total badasses.

Okay, yes, that photo of Vicki Draves has a “Mad Men” vibe to it; and the woman who was perhaps the biggest star of the Olympics was nicknamed ”The Flying Housewife.” But check out Fanny Blankers-Koen, “The Flying Housewife,” in action. The nickname seems even more demeaning, no? The Dutch Blankers-Koen won a total of four gold medals in track in the ‘48 Games. And Hungary’s Olga Gyarmati looks vaguely like Lucille Ball, if you gave Lucy ripped quads and sent her soaring over the long jump pit. Check ‘em all out.

Even Rove Throws Up His Hands

Karl Rove on Mitt’s Olympic fail: “You have to shake your head.”