WEDNESDAY’S MINI-REPORT…. Today’s edition of quick hits:
* House Dems unveil their budget.
* Lawmakers in Alaska are preparing to override Gov. Sarah Palin’s opposition to economic stimulus.
* Secretary of State Hillary Clinton noted today that “America’s ‘insatiable’ demand for illegal drugs and its inability to stop weapons from being smuggled into Mexico are fueling an alarming spike in violence along the U.S.-Mexican border.”
* On a related note, Clinton enjoys very strong support from Americans on her job performance.
* Howard Dean is poised to enter the fight over health care reform in a big way.
* The U.S. military is taking suicide prevention seriously.
* In case you needed another reason to be skeptical of electronic voting machines.
* In a surprise move, Vermont Gov. Jim Douglas (R) said he will veto a gay marriage bill that enjoys strong support in the state House and Senate. He said the effort is a distraction from the economy (though his veto will only make this a bigger distraction). Whether there are enough votes to override the veto remains to be seen.
* Former Washington Gov. Gary Locke was confirmed yesterday as the new Commerce Secretary.
* ThinkProgress’ Amanda Terkel did a great job on “Countdown” last night, talking about the harassment she received from Bill O’Reilly staffers.
* On a related note, ThinkProgress is ratcheting up the pressure on O’Reilly’s sponsors, asking them to stop subsidizing harassment.
* James Fallows tackles the right-wing nonsense about the president and teleprompters.
* The White House gets slightly better in the gift-giving department.
* Jamison Foser has some very compelling advice for the LA Times‘ Andrew Malcolm.
* CNBC adding Howard Dean to the team is a good move. CNBC adding Fred Malek to the team isn’t.
* Apparently, the right is worked up about an Obama teleprompter gaffe that didn’t happen.
* Listening to Rep. Jeb Hensarling (R-Texas) talk about the economy, I keep thinking about this quote from Matt Yglesias: “Something I think most liberals don’t understand is exactly how stupid many conservative leaders are.”
* What Washington Post readers should have been told about Martin Feldstein.
* Why it doesn’t really matter if the major dailies felt left out of the White House press conference last night.
* As stop-motion animation goes, I found this pretty damn impressive:
* And finally, the White House is “open for questions.” I tend to think initiatives like these are a pretty good idea.
Anything to add? Consider this an open thread.
