WEDNESDAY’S MINI-REPORT…. Today’s edition of quick hits:
* The “static kill” has left me feeling optimistic: “It wasn’t quite the stake through the heart, because that stake has to be made of cement, not merely mud. And the stake might have to be driven in from below, not from the top. But on the 107th day of the Deepwater Horizon disaster, the runaway Macondo well has been rendered ‘static’ and now looks very much like a harmless hole clogged with 13-pound-per-gallon gunk.”
* The long-term effects may yet be awful, but administration scientists reported today that “most” of the oil that gushed into the Gulf of Mexico since April “has dissipated or been removed from the water.”
* A homemade explosive reportedly went off near Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s motorcade today. He was unharmed.
* Republicans will not filibuster Elena Kagan’s Supreme Court nomination.
* Senate Democrats released a video documenting the instances in which Republicans fought against economic recovery efforts. It’s quite a list.
* Sen. Dick Lugar (R-Ind.) uses an op-ed to endorse a Democratic childhood nutrition bill. Good for him.
* Sen. Mark Begich (D-Alaska) intended to attend a funeral for four U.S. servicemembers killed last week, but stayed in D.C. for some key votes. Instead, he delivered some touching remarks from the Senate floor.
* Speaking of worthwhile remarks from senators, I was impressed with Sen. Bob Menendez’s (D-N.J.) remarks after he was asked by a reporter about the GOP drive to repeal part of the 14th Amendment.
* Sen. Evan Bayh (D-Ind.) makes a funny at Sharron Angle’s expense.
* Did you catch the deeply satisfying Stephen Colbert interview with GOP hack Laura Ingraham?
* Another college will no longer require applicants to submit SAT scores for admission.
* Jon Chait on Cordoba House opponents: “This episode is a major statement about American pluralism, minority rights and America’s ability to make the necessary divide between moderate and extremist Muslims. A lot of people are going to eventually feel ashamed about where they stood.”
Anything to add? Consider this an open thread.
