MONDAY’S MINI-REPORT…. Today’s edition of quick hits:
* Libya: “Colonel Muammar el-Qaddafi’s forces struck back on three fronts on Monday, using fighter jets, special forces units and regular army troops in an escalation of hostilities that brought Libya closer to civil war.”
* The Pentagon has “begun repositioning Navy warships to support possible action against Libya,” at least as part of a “range of options.” Also, President Obama used an executive order to freeze of $30 billion in Libyan assets, and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said the U.S. stands ready to offer “any type of assistance” to Libyans seeking to oust Moammar Gadhafi.
* For his part, Gadhafi talked to ABC’s Christiane Amanpour today and, with a straight face, denied there were demonstrations against him anywhere in Libya. “My people love me. They would die for me,” he said.
* Speaking to the nation’s governors, President Obama today urged them not to vilify public workers. “I believe that everybody should be prepared to give up something to solve our budget challenges,” Obama said. “In fact, many public employees in your respective states have already agreed to cuts. But let me also say this: I don’t think it does anybody any good when public employees are denigrated or vilified or when their rights are infringed upon.”
* In Wisconsin, a moderate Republican state senator considered a compromise with unions and Senate Democrats. In response, his GOP caucus considered expelling him from the Republican Party.
* If you want to make the job market even worse, pass the Republicans’ Medicaid block-grant proposal.
* Hmm: “A group of six senators hashing out a bipartisan plan on deficit and debt reduction will meet for ‘very important’ discussions on Tuesday, Sen. Kent Conrad (D-N.D.) said Monday.”
* Is the high-speed rail project in Florida officially dead? Not quite yet.
* We can add the “Arab youth movements” in the Middle East to the list of things neocons don’t fully understand.
* The next time you hear some hacks talking about a presidential “apology tour,” remember, they’re lying.
* Over the weekend, there was a brief flurry of talk about Roger Ailes getting indicted. It’s still possible, I suppose, but the story behind the story is extremely thin.
* Best wishes to Andrew Sullivan as he makes the transition from The Atlantic to The Daily Beast.
* Speaking of online media, Salon.com is on the market, but merger talks with Newser.com have reportedly collapsed.
* I’ve given up on Rasmussen polls.
* And despite what you may have seen on some far-right sites today, Greg Sargent does not actually advocate violence at the hands of union thugs. Only someone with no familiarity with sarcasm could think otherwise.
Anything to add? Consider this an open thread.
