Morning Constitutional – Monday, 12 April 2010

Good morning, everybody. Phil Mickelson won a funny jacket this weekend. Now, your morning constitutional:

Much to the consternation of locals, President Obama is hosting a two-day nuclear security summit in downtown D.C. The times notices that Pakistan is conveniently not on the agenda.

Tragedy for Poland this weekend, as Polish president Lech Kaczyński and many of the country\’s leaders were killed in a plane crash over Russia. Photos. Josh Marshall at TPM has a story of one of the victims, who had served as a president-in-exile of Poland until 1990.

Thailand\’s red-shirt protesters marched in the streets again Monday carrying several empty coffins, two days after 21 people died and 800 injured in the worst political violence Thailand has experienced since 1992.

Lessons from 1995 for both Democrats and Republicans as both parties head into mid-term elections.

Kurmanbek Bakiyev, Kyrgyzstan\’s recently deposed president, rallies supporters in his hometown, declaring his refusal to step down.

Unsurprisingly, Republicans not ruling out filibuster on next Supreme Court nominee, declaring that any nominee would need to be \”mainstream.\”

Sen. Lieberman believes that, as of yet, there are not enough votes in the Senate to ratify the recently-signed START treaty, unless certain issues are resolved.

Lazy hipsters are not filling out Census forms.

Some charts about wealth and inequality in the U.S.

BusinessWeek: The Obama economic plan is working. While most people believe the economy is getting worse, by all indications, it\’s getting a lot better.

Finally, BrewDog, a Scottish microbrewery, is set to release its Tactical Nuclear Penguin beer, which weighs in at 32% alcohol by volume in the U.S. As exciting is its warning label: \”This is an extremely strong beer; it should be enjoyed in small servings and with an air of aristocratic nonchalance. It is exactly the same manner you would enjoy a fine whisky*, a Frank Zappa album or a visit from a friendly yet anxious ghost.\”

* The correct Scottish/Canadian spelling of \”whisky\” is not recognized by FireFox\’s dictionary.  There should be a law.