TUESDAY’S MINI-REPORT…. Today’s edition of quick hits:
* This really is scandalous, and it’s created real emergencies throughout the judiciary: “A determined Republican stall campaign in the Senate has sidetracked so many of the men and women nominated by President Barack Obama for judgeships that he has put fewer people on the bench than any president since Richard Nixon at a similar point in his first term 40 years ago.”
* On a related note, the judiciary is becoming so politicized that Justice Clarence Thomas will only accept clerks who’ve worked in the offices of judges appointed by Republican presidents. It’s unheard of on the modern court.
* NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen is the latest leader to denounce the fringe right-wing church in Florida planning an event this week to burn copies of the Quran. “I strongly condemn that. I think it’s a disrespectful action and in general I really urge people to respect other people’s faith and behave respectfully. I think such actions are in strong contradiction with all the values we stand for and fight for,” Rasmussen said.
* In his first-ever column, former OMB Director Peter Orzag calls for keeping all of the Bush-era tax rates in place for two more years, and then scrapping all of them at the end of 2012. Jon Chait isn’t fond of the idea.
* Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer (R) very quietly backed off her ridiculous “beheadings” claim, but she has plenty more to apologize for.
* Marty Peretz’s contempt for Muslims isn’t new, but it’s getting uglier. Now he isn’t sure if Muslim Americans are “worthy of the privileges of the First Amendment”? Seriously?
* Are American colleges like American car companies?
* I read and thoroughly enjoyed “Heads in the Sand,” and can say with certainty that Jonah Goldberg’s criticism of the book makes no sense at all.
* I’ll look forward to Hannity, Beck, and other Fox News personalities condemning News Corp’s indirect investments in North Korea.
* Tom Toles has a unique talent for capturing an important phenomenon in just one powerful frame. He does this frequently, but some days stand out. Today is one of those days.
Anything to add? Consider this an open thread.
