MONDAY’S MINI-REPORT…. Today’s edition of quick hits:
* Unrest continues in Iran: “Riot police used clubs and tear gas to disperse protesters in a Tehran square Monday after the elite Revolutionary Guard Corps warned Iranians not to continue disputing the results of the June 12 presidential election, and an influential supervisory body said voting irregularities were not sufficient to alter the outcome.”
* The Supreme Court today chipped away a little at the Voting Rights Act of 1965, but left Section 5 of the act in place. It was an 8-1 ruling, with only Clarence Thomas dissenting.
* A rocket attack on Bagram Air Base yesterday killed U.S. soldiers and wounded six other Americans.
* Gen. Stanley McChrystal, the new U.S. commander in Afghanistan, intends to sharply restrict airstrikes in the country, in the hopes of reducing civilian fatalities that undermine the American-led mission.
* In Iraq, a truck bomb near Kirkuk over the weekend killed at 63 people.
* President Obama held a brief event at the White House today to praise an announcement from the pharmaceutical industry on cutting drug costs in Medicare. The president also used a phrase we haven’t heard much since the election.
* Iran’s efforts to censor and control its citizens’ access to the Internet is remarkable, and makes China look almost liberal by comparison.
* The Supreme Court decided today not to hear an appeal regarding Valerie Plame Wilson’s civil suit against Lewis “Scooter” Libby, effectively ending the matter.
* The Obama administration is drawing plaudits for its diversity.
* Sonia Sotomayor is no longer a member of the Belizean Grove women’s organization.
* Sen. Chris Dodd (D-Conn.) endorsed marriage equality. Good for him.
* Congressional Republicans banned Internet gambling a few years ago. Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) is optimistic this Congress can repeal the ban.
* Bolstering an argument from the weekend, MSNBC’s Joe Scarborough took issue with John McCain’s and Lindsey Graham’s criticism of the White House policy on Iran, calling their attacks “outrageous.”
* Not only is there less to the Gerald Walpin “controversy” than meets the eye, but if you want to talk about firing IGs, consider Reagan’s record from January ’81.
* Quote of the Day: “The economists who have pledged allegiance to the Republican Party this year … have stopped thinking like economists.”
* As part of a scary, right-wing conference over the weekend, Pat Buchanan talked up English-only initiatives — under a banner that spelled the word “conference” incorrectly.
Anything to add? Consider this an open thread.
