THURSDAY’S MINI-REPORT…. Today’s edition of quick hits:
* Latest from Tehran: “Hundreds of thousands of black-clad protesters massed quietly in central Tehran on Thursday for another day of protest over last week’s disputed presidential election, even as the Iranian government made its first move toward some form of dialogue to defuse the outrage.”
* Mousavi’s external spokesman, Mohsen Makhmalbaf: “Ahmadinejad is the Bush of Iran. And Mousavi is the Obama of Iran.”
* Henry Kissinger, the smartest person John McCain knows (his words, not mine), thinks Obama’s line on Iran is just right.
* The U.S. Supreme Court, in another 5-4 ruling (natch), rules that “convicts do not have a right under the Constitution to obtain DNA testing to try to prove their innocence after being found guilty.”
* Devastation in Somalia: “Somali Security Minister Omar Hashi Aden was among at least 50 people killed in a suicide-bombing that the al-Shabaab Islamist group, accused by the U.S. of backing al-Qaeda, said it carried out…. The blast killed 50 people and injured 100, al-Jazeera reported, without citing anyone.”
* The Senate passed the $106 billion war spending bill this afternoon, but just barely.
* The Senate also unanimously approved a non-binding apology for slavery, though a disclaimer was added to the measure to make clear Congress doesn’t support reparations. The resolution passed the day before Juneteenth, which commemorates the emancipation of slaves in 1865.
* It’s safe to say health care reform is having a very bad week.
* Republicans on the House Armed Services Committee, with help from a few Dems, ignored the administration and approved spending on the F-22.
* Joe Nocera reviews the White House proposed regulatory reforms for the financial industry: “[T]he Obama plan is little more than an attempt to stick some new regulatory fingers into a very leaky financial dam rather than rebuild the dam itself.”
* Americans seem to have the right idea when it comes to Gitmo.
* The original rationale for Sen. John Ensign (R-Nev.) disclosing his adultery gets walked back.
* Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) announced this morning that the Obama administration’s infamous brief on DOMA may not have been as troubling as originally thought. Indeed, Frank issued a statement that read, “After rereading this brief, I do not think that the Obama administration should be subject to harsh criticism in this instance.”
* On a related note, here’s another interesting item with an alternate look on the DOMA brief.
* On second thought, maybe Tom Daschle’s departure from the cabinet was a good thing.
* Michael Savage: “The white Christian heterosexual married male is the epitome of everything right with America.” Words fail.
* And finally, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) defended John Ensign today, offering reporters an interesting quote: “I’ve got plenty of sins that I’m not going to share with anyone else.”
Anything to add? Consider this an open thread.
