Today’s edition of quick hits.
* Roll Call reports this afternoon that FBI agents raided the home of Rep. John Doolittle (R-Calif.), probably as part of the ongoing Abramoff investigation. More tomorrow.
* The bloodshed in Baghdad continues to get worse: Suspected Sunni insurgents penetrated the Baghdad security net Wednesday, hitting Shiite targets with four bomb attacks that killed 183 people — the bloodiest day since the U.S. troop surge began nine weeks ago…. It was the second massive blast at the market since Feb. 3. Nationwide, the number of people killed or found dead on Wednesday was 233, which was the second deadliest day in Iraq since The Associated Press began keeping records in May 2005.”
* Late yesterday, the Politico reported that Sen. Pete Domenici (R-N.M.) is officially the subject of “‘preliminary inquiry‘ over his involvement in the firing of former U.S. Attorney David Iglesias.” We’ll see what happens as the Ethics Committee conducts its probe, but the evidence against Domenici looks pretty overwhelming.
* Dems on the Hill are picking up on a story that was big on the blogs last night and this morning: “Democratic Caucus Chairman Rahm Emanuel, D-Illinois, and Defense Secretary Robert Gates aren’t likely to agree on too much when it comes to the Iraq war. Yet Emanuel seized on a recent comment by Gates that ‘the debate in Congress has been helpful in demonstrating to the Iraqis that American patience is limited.’ Emanuel couldn’t agree more. ‘Secretary Gates, thank you for your honest assessment of what it takes to bring a new direction to Iraq,’ Emanuel said in a statement.” Obama is on this one, too.
* The Justice Department can’t seem to explain and/or understand why it fired former Nevada U.S. Attorney Daniel Bogden.
* The new PIPA study not only shows much of the world rejecting the notion of the United States as a world leader, it also shows that people in 10 out of 15 countries believe that the United States cannot be trusted to “act responsibly in the world.” Wow.
* The Senate was considering a bill that would require Senate candidate to file campaign finance reports electronically, like House candidates, which would be easier to search and add transparency to the system. It was going to pass — right up until someone put a secret hold on the bill.
* Rick Perlstein, one of my very favorite writers, now has a blog. It’s called The Big Con and Rick is off to a great start. (Check out this post: “E Coli Conservatives.”)
* Michael Shermer does a fine job explaining the difference between an error and a mistake.
* The ACLU launched a great new campaign today to work towards repealing the Military Commissions Act. The initiative is called “Find Habeas.” Take a look.
* CNN anchor John Roberts doesn’t know what he’s talking about.
* The Washington Post-ABC poll I mentioned yesterday wasn’t a fluke, CNN found similar results: only 37% support Bush’s contention of a blank-check spending bill for Iraq, while 61% want to see a U.S. troop withdrawal within the next year.
* The New York Times mentioned The Carpetbagger Report today, which I thought was pretty cool.
* House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) expects the House to vote tomorrow on a bill that would give the District of Columbia its first full seat in Congress. It’s about time.
* And finally, via TP, Florida Gov. Charlie Crist (R) continues to surprise me (in a good way) with his political instincts. Now, Crist is “seriously thinking” about granting Doors singer Jim Morrison a posthumous pardon for his “1970 indecent exposure and profanity convictions stemming from a Miami concert the year before.” “He died when he was 27. That’s really a kid, when you think about it, and obviously he was having some challenges. There’s some dispute about how solid the case was,” Crist said.
Anything to add? Consider this an end-of-the-day open thread.