TUESDAY’S MINI-REPORT…. Today’s edition of quick hits:
* Pakistan: “A suicide car bomber attacked a crowded market in northwestern Pakistan on Tuesday, killing 24 people and illustrating militants’ growing willingness to target civilians in their war against the government.”
* Afghanistan: “In a pair of raids on Sunday, Afghan police and American soldiers discovered a half-million pounds of ammonium nitrate, a fertilizer that is used in the overwhelming majority of homemade bombs here. Some 2,000 bomb-making devices like timers and triggers were also found, and 15 Afghans were detained.”
* Fort Hood investigation: “Intelligence agencies intercepted communications last year and this year between the military psychiatrist accused of shooting to death 13 people at Fort Hood, Tex., and a radical cleric in Yemen known for his incendiary anti-American teachings.”
* Sen. Chris Dodd (D-Conn.) unveiled his financial/regulatory reform legislation today.
* CBS News reported that the White House is moving forward with a plan to send 40,000 additional U.S. troops to Afghanistan. The White House strongly denies that a decision has been made.
* John Allen Muhammad, best known as the D.C. sniper from 2002, has been denied clemency and will be executed in Virginia tonight.
* After a ridiculous delay, Judge Andre M. Davis was confirmed by the Senate yesterday, with a 72 to 16 vote. Davis will sit on the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals.
* Rajiv J. Shah was nominated today to be the administrator of the United States Agency for International Development.
* Sen. Bob Menendez (D) of New Jersey is trying to bring attention to the fact that the Department of Veterans Affairs estimates that 131,000 veterans are homeless on any given night.
* Remember reconciliation? Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) does.
* Strange days at the far-right Washington Times.
* Speaking of conservative newspapers, the scandal surrounding the New York Post is pretty striking.
* The NYT argues that Democratic officials haven’t done enough to emphasis cost-savings in health care. Peter Orszag responds.
* Who is more valuable, a football coach or a professor?
* Glenn Beck loses a fight against a certain crudely-named website.
* Obama administration endorses paid sick leave. Good.
* It looks like South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford (R) will escape impeachment after all.
* Happy blogoversary to Mustang Bobby.
* Dan Pfeiffer replaces Anita Dunn as White House communications director. Dunn was serving in an interim capacity, and began the transition out in April.
* Note to Sen. David Vitter (R-La.): Given your sex scandals, it’s best not to talk too much about your efforts to protect raw oysters.
* And finally, this John Cole post struck a chord with me: “The funny thing about all of this is that no matter how bad all their ideas are, no matter how disastrous their governance has been, no matter how many horrible things they have done to the economy and this country, what really is killing the Republican party is that deep down, they are just complete assholes.”
Anything to add? Consider this an open thread.
