THURSDAY’S MINI-REPORT…. Today’s edition of quick hits:
* The roller-coaster ride on Wall Street continues, with another downturn today.
* The Senate Finance Committee approved Tim Geithner’s nomination today.
* Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) opposed Geithner, but ended up attacking the nominee for a failure Grassley himself is guilty of.
* As expected, George Mitchell was introduced today as Obama’s special envoy to the Middle East, while former ambassador to the United Nations Richard Holbrooke will serve as a special envoy for Afghanistan and Pakistan.
* Senate Armed Services Chairman Carl Levin isn’t allowing William Lynn’s nomination to move forward. Lynn, a former lobbyist for a military contractor, is looking to become the #2 man at the Pentagon.
* Antarctica is warming, but we’ve got some work to do before Americans fully appreciate the problem.
* Dick Cheney’s disappointed that Bush didn’t pardon Scooter Libby. Seriously.
* Why did Caroline Kennedy really withdraw from Senate consideration? It may have had something to do with taxes and household employee issues.
* This year’s anniversary of Roe v. Wade, we have a president who supports existing law.
* Olbermann’s a hit at 8 pm, Maddow’s gold at 9 pm, so MSNBC wants to keep the line-up going with a similar show at 10 pm. I’m thinking, “Political Animal, with Steve Benen….”
* It’s great to see Greg Sargent back, blogging away.
* Do you ever get the sense that Limbaugh is trying to be repulsive?
* The new White House staff is very tech savvy, but their offices aren’t. “It is kind of like going from an Xbox to an Atari,” spokesman Bill Burton said.
* The Child Online Protection Act has died a quiet death.
* If you watched Obama’s inaugural address in China, you missed a few sentences the Chinese government didn’t want people to hear.
* The new “Funny or Die” video has an amazing supporting cast. How’d they get all of those folks?
* And finally, to the new president’s relief, he will be able to keep his Blackberry after all.
Anything to add? Consider this an open thread.
