Wednesday's Daily Brief

Wednesday, April 20, 2011 Arianna Huffington: Barack Obama's Memento Presidency Arianna Huffington: The first poll results since the president's big speech on the economy last week are in -- and they're not very good. According to a new Washington Post/ABC News survey, the president's approval rating continues to fall, driven by fears about the economy. Back in the heady days of the 2008 campaign, a powerful, impassioned speech like the one Obama delivered would have had a definite positive impact on the numbers. But the soaring rhetoric now comes with a bitter aftertaste. We got used to the president making strong promises and then caving -- from closing Guantanamo to not extending the Bush tax cuts for millionaires. Now he's making strong promises he's already broken. He's like a political version of the Guy Pearce character in Memento -- he's figured out a way to break promises outside of the limitations of linear time. GREEN BP Greases Palms: Spill's One-Year Anniversary Marked With Campaign Contributions POLITICS White House Deficit Talks Coming Apart At The Seams POLITICS Extended Unemployment Benefits Expire In These States Next BUSINESS Financial System Riskier, Next Bailout Will Be Costlier WORLD Fidel Castro Resigns As Communist Party Leader BLOG POSTS Robert L. Cavnar: A Year After the BP Blowout: What We've Learned. And Haven't. Today marks the first anniversary of the worst environmental catastrophe in the history of the US. But, unfortunately, most Americans, including our politicians, are suffering from collective amnesia about that tragic event. Yoani Sanchez: Fidel Castro... Managing His Own Farewell In the preparations to leave the country, at the end of a relationship, there are people who try to control the smallest details; to draw up those limits that oblige the ones they leave behind to follow their path. Castro is one of those people. Robert Scheer: The New Corporate World Order It is argued that multinational corporations have the right to arrange their business as they see fit in order to maximize profit. But if that is the case, do beleaguered American taxpayers have to foot the bill? Paul Carr: The Strip Diary, Day Sixteen: An Open Letter to Parents Who Bring Their Children to Las Vegas I'm sick and tired of moments here on the Strip when I have to censor an otherwise wonderfully profane anecdote simply because some little darlings are within earshot. In a bar. In Las Vegas. Is nowhere unsacred? Marlene Schwartz, Ph.D.: Chocolate Milk In Schools: Should It Be Banned? Flavored milk is not the nutritional equivalent of unflavored milk. It is significantly higher in calories, sugar, and sodium, and usually contains artificial colors and flavors.

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