TUESDAY’S MINI-REPORT…. Today’s edition of quick hits:
* Haiti: “The dusty soccer field lined with spacious tents is an oasis for earthquake survivors among Haiti’s homeless sheltering by the hundreds of thousands in squalid camps. Competition for the canvas homes has boiled into arguments and machete fights, a sign of the desperation felt by the hundreds of thousands of people without homes struggling for shelter in this wrecked city. Haiti’s president has asked the world for 200,000 tents and says he will sleep in one himself.”
* Baghdad: “A suicide bomber driving a truck packed with explosives attacked the Iraqi Interior Ministry’s forensics division Tuesday morning, killing at least 38 people. The attack, a day after coordinated bombings on three landmark hotels in the capital, drove up the death toll in Baghdad over the past 24 hours to nearly 75 people. In all, nearly 150 people were wounded in the explosions.”
* The Senate today voted to reject a plan to create a deficit commission. The final vote was 53-46, but a majority of the Senate is no longer enough to pass legislation.
* Please tell me the Senate isn’t going to screw up the possibility of progress on health care reform.
* A little boost in consumer confidence.
* Schadenfreude alert: “Alleging a plot to tamper with phones in Democratic Sen. Mary Landrieu’s office in the Hale Boggs Federal Building in downtown New Orleans, the FBI arrested four people Monday, including James O’Keefe, 25, a conservative filmmaker whose undercover videos at ACORN field offices severely damaged the advocacy group’s credibility.”
* Fox News was despondent after learning of O’Keefe’s arrest.
* Retired Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor wasn’t impressed with the high court’s ruling on Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission.
* On a related note, here’s an interesting question: does Fox News’ coverage constitute campaign contributions to Republicans?
* Rep. Alan Mollohan (D-W.Va.) was under a Justice Department investigation, but as of today, he’s been cleared of any wrongdoing.
* Bill O’Reilly thinks the south side of Chicago is “like Haiti.”
* New rules on colleges and federal aid.
* Michael Cohen ponders whether governing in the United States is still possible.
* South Carolina Lt. Gov. Andre Bauer (R), who recently compared low-income families to “stray animals,” regrets his choice of words. What a prince.
* Quote of the day, from Sen. Judd Gregg (R-N.H.):”There’s a lot of populism going on in this country right now, and I’m tired of it.”
Anything to add? Consider this an open thread.
