MONDAY’S MINI-REPORT…. Today’s edition of quick hits:
* Progress over the skies of Europe: “Poland reopened four airports and the Netherlands reopened one shortly after European officials carved up the sky Monday, creating three zones to more quickly break the flight deadlock caused by volcanic ash flowing from Iceland over Europe.”
* I do love green shoots: “The index of U.S. leading indicators rose in March by the most in 10 months, a sign the economy will keep growing into the second half of the year.”
* Into the lion’s den: “President Obama will take his case for tougher financial regulation to Wall Street’s backyard this week, the White House announced Monday.”
* Gates on Iran: “Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates acknowledged Sunday that in January he sent a memo to the White House outlining the ‘next steps in our defense planning process’ for Iran.”
* Gun activists converge on the D.C. area.
* Rumors were true: “President Barack Obama has nominated Harvard medical professor Donald Berwick to oversee Medicare and Medicaid.”
* Sigh: “Sen. Joe Lieberman (D-Conn.) and Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine.) on Monday issued subpoenas to the Obama administration regarding the shootings at Ft. Hood last year.”
* Andrew Sabl ponders “the fundamental difference between the kind of responsible libertarians whom I happily have dinner with and the ‘buy more guns, more bullets’ contingent.”
* Adam Serwer ponders the “flame war between Tom Goldstein and Glenn Greenwald over Solicitor General Elena Kagan’s suitability for the Supreme Court.”
* On a related note, Greenwald makes a very compelling case for Diane Wood to fill John Paul Stevens’ vacancy on the high court.
* Greenwald also reports that the White House has sought out defenders for Elana Kagan. For the record, I haven’t heard a word from my White House sources on this, but I have no idea if my experience is the norm. [Update: It was actually Sam Stein at the Huffington Post who reported this, not Glenn. My mistake.]
* White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs meets with angry reporters to tend to “frayed relations.”
* A great political cartoon appropriately mocks the Senate Minority Leader, who has no qualms repeating a lie, even after it’s exposed as a lie.
* Fact checking the Sunday shows.
* Financial aid season is not always a pleasant one.
* And in Georgia, former Gov. Roy Barnes (D), who seeking his old job back, mocked far-right Republicans who throw around rhetoric about secession from the U.S. “Do they not know that the Yankees have got the atomic bomb now?” Barnes joked.
Anything to add? Consider this an open thread.
