WEDNESDAY’S MINI-REPORT…. Today’s edition of quick hits:
* Advising President Obama on Afghanistan, Gates, Clinton, and Mullen favor 30,000 or more additional U.S. troops, but there are still some disagreements between them: “Officials said that while Admiral Mullen and Mrs. Clinton were generally in sync with Mr. Gates in supporting an option of about 30,000 troops, there were variations in their positions and they were not working in lock step.”
* Felix Salmon takes a closer look at Sen. Chris Dodd’s (D-Conn.) proposed financial regulatory reform proposal. In general, it’s a positive review.
* Tell me again why ACORN is a bigger deal that this? “Top executives at Blackwater Worldwide authorized secret payments of about $1 million to Iraqi officials that were intended to silence their criticism and buy their support after a September 2007 episode in which Blackwater security guards fatally shot 17 Iraqi civilians in Baghdad, according to former company officials.”
* Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Pat Leahy (D-Vt.) certainly sounds open to giving Lieberman the boot: “Let’s see what happens. I don’t think anybody should be filibustering — nobody should be filibustering health care. Either vote it up or vote it down.”
* A tragic story of a Greek Orthodox priest, visiting the U.S., who got lost in Tampa. He asked Marine reservist Jasen D. Bruce for directions, and Bruce allegedly beat him with a tire iron, suspecting the priest of being an Islamic terrorist.
* The Anti-Defamation league isn’t happy with Republican officials’ tolerance of right-wing activists and their misuse of Holocaust imagery.
* The new GI Bill and how it helps.
* The American Medical Association now opposes the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy, has officially criticized gay marriage bans for contributing to health disparities, and endorsed additional medical research involving marijuana.
* Melody Barnes, who oversees President Obama’s Domestic Policy Council, publicly endorsed gay marriage at an event Boston College’s School of Law.
* How ridiculous was Sarah Palin’s “In God We Trust” allegation? Even Fox News concedes she’s wrong.
* Pat Garafalo did a nice job putting together a side-by-side comparison of the two congressional bills on financial re-regulation.
* Sean Hannity tries to fool his audience. Jon Stewart notices.
* Bill O’Reilly conceded last night that the United States “can’t kill all the Muslims” — so the country should simply try to win hearts and minds. Oh my.
* Fox cancelled “Dollhouse” today.
* Even a decade later, Limbaugh revels in attacking Bill Clinton.
* It seems that Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa) is getting dumber as times goes on.
* I’m hard pressed to imagine why anyone would pay Condoleezza Rice and Stephen Hadley for advice on any subject.
* And to those who wear, have worn, or will wear the uniform, Happy Veterans Day.
Anything to add? Consider this an open thread.
