FRIDAY’S MINI-REPORT…. Today’s edition of quick hits:
* Iraq: “A suicide bombing outside a mosque in northern Iraq and a string of bombings in Baghdad targeting Shiite pilgrims killed at least 36 people Friday, police officials said, a grim reminder of the insurgency’s continued ability to sow bloodshed despite recent security gains.”
* It appears Iran, if it pursues a nuclear weapons program, won’t be able to produce weapons-grade uranium until 2013, at the earliest.
* White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs is troubled by the prominent right-wing voices who make frequent use of rhetoric regarding Nazis, Hitler, and the Holocaust.
* Someone probably ought to tell Fox News’ Glenn Beck that joking about assassinating American political leaders isn’t amusing.
* It’s still unclear why Sen. Mel Martinez (R-Fla.) has decided to resign, rather than complete the rest of his term.
* Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has the right idea: laugh out loud at the very mention of John Bolton’s name.
* Congressional Democrats aren’t impressed with the deal between the administration and the pharmaceutical industry.
* Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) is still very open to passing health care reform through reconciliation, and Max Baucus (D-Mont.) thinks it “could get to the point” in which Dems pass reform without the GOP.
* If you’re going to appear on camera to attack health care reform, and you’re going to insist that you are “just a mom from a few blocks away” and “not affiliated with any political party,” it’s best to clean up your online profile — which identifies your extensive work with the Republican Party.
* I’m glad Tim Phillips from the far-right Americans for Prosperity agreed to appear on Rachel Maddow’s show last night. I’m even more glad Maddow took him apart.
* National Review‘s Rich Lowry should probably read National Review‘s Andy McCarthy.
* What is Peggy Noonan talking about?
* For a good part of the week, many high-profile conservatives flatly denied that the right-wing mobs protesting reform carried signs with swastikas and Nazi references. They should probably drop the denials, given the photographic evidence.
* Sen. Jeff Sessions’ (R-Ala.) poison-pill amendment in the hate crimes bill deserves a closer look.
* The CBPP scrutinizes an employer responsibility requirement crafted by the Senate Finance Committee’s Gang of Six and finds that it would have “serious consequences, particularly for low-income and minority workers, women, and workers with disabilities.”
* Joe Conason takes a look at Clinton Derangement Syndrome, “North Korean strain.”
* And the DCCC launches “HealthCareFactCheck.com,” while OFA launches “Setting the Record Straight.”
Anything to add? Consider this an open thread.
