Today’s edition of quick hits:
* A court fight worth having: “The federal government asked an appeals court on Friday to halt an Alabama immigration law considered by many as the toughest in the United States, saying it invites discrimination against foreign-born citizens and legal immigrants.”
* Well-deserved honors: “The Nobel Peace Prize for 2011 was awarded on Friday to three women from Africa and the Arab world in acknowledgment of their nonviolent role in promoting peace, democracy and gender equality. The winners were President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf of Liberia — the first woman to be elected president in modern Africa — her compatriot, the peace activist Leymah Gbowee, and Tawakkol Karman of Yemen, a pro-democracy campaigner.”
* Financial prognosticators on CNBC have characterized Occupy Wall Street protestors as “bizarre,” “freaks,” and “law-breaking” “anti-American” “anarchists” who are “more aligned with Lenin.”
* Paul Krugman knows better: “The protesters’ indictment of Wall Street as a destructive force, economically and politically, is completely right.”
* The media seems excited about this: “The head of the Energy Department’s embattled loan program announced Thursday that he was stepping down amid an expanding probe of the agency’s $535 million loan to a now-shuttered solar company.” Relevant detail: the official announced his departure in July, and this isn’t at all interesting
* An unsung hero of the civil-rights movement, the Rev. Fred L. Shuttlesworth, dies at age 89: “As the public face of the movement, King was its ambassador to the white world, while Mr. Shuttlesworth was the man in the trenches.”
* Koch Industries’ unseemly international business interests draw attention from ABC News’ investigative team.
* A top official in John McCain’s presidential campaign said there were “discussions” among the senator’s aides about whether Sarah Palin would be replaced between Election Day and Inauguration Day, in the event the GOP ticket won. That would have made for an interesting development.
* The Atlantic’s “Washington Ideas Forum” seemed to be going really well, right up until organizers thought it’d be a good idea for Liz Cheney to interview Dick Cheney.
* And to celebrate Fox News’ 15th anniversary, right-wing radio host Neal Boortz participated in a celebratory broadcast from Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta. He declared on the air, “Barack Obama is a bigger disaster to this country than 9/11.” The crowd behind him cheered. It’s quite a network.
Anything to add? Consider this an open thread.
