Today’s edition of quick hits.
* AP: “The House passed a bill on Wednesday that would make all private contractors working in Iraq and other combat zones subject to prosecution by U.S. courts. It was the first major legislation of its kind to pass since a deadly shootout last month involving Blackwater employees. Democrats called the 389-30 vote an indictment in connection with a shooting incident there that left 11 Iraqis dead. Senate Democratic leaders said they planned to follow suit with similar legislation and send a bill to President Bush as soon as possible.” All 30 no votes came from Republicans.
* It’s difficult to have any hope about developments in Burma, but here’s the latest news: “The head of Myanmar’s military junta told a U.N. envoy this week that he is willing to meet with opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, but with certain preconditions, the state media reported Thursday. It also said nearly 2,100 people were arrested in last week’s bloody crackdown on pro-democracy activists, and almost 700 have been released.”
* The story about U.S. forces in Iraq confiscating an AP cameraman’s videotape and taking the journalist into custody continues to be a fairly big deal. Spencer Ackerman has all the details today.
* I just don’t understand House Republicans: “Republican Rep. Eric Cantor of Virginia launched an online petition Thursday asking loyal conservatives to stand in solidarity with embattled talk show host Rush Limbaugh.” It’s as if there’s really something wrong with these people.
* And speaking of the Limbaugh flap, VoteVets.org tried to buy an on-air ad on WJNO in Palm Beach, featuring Brian McGough, the Iraq war veteran who was compared by Limbaugh to a suicide bomber. The station refused the ad because it presented information that “would conflict with the listeners who have chosen to listen to Rush Limbaugh.” Don’t want to confuse the simple, I suppose.
* A media shield law is progressing in the Senate: “The Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday advanced a bill to shield reporters from being forced to reveal their sources in federal court, setting up a floor fight between supporters and Bush administration allies who believe the measure would harm national security. The 15-2 vote sent the legislation to the Senate floor, where it was expected to face more challenges if not efforts to stall or kill it.”
* The NYT’s Roger Cohen had an odd piece today arguing that the neocons have been unfairly condemned. Digby takes Cohen’s piece apart quite nicely. Michael Tomasky does a nice job in response, too.
* Glenn Kessler explains that Bush’s policy on North Korea only started showing progress when the president abandoned his previous policy and started to follow Clinton’s model. Now, if we could only get Bush to do similar 180s on the rest of his foreign policy….
* Iraqi’s Shiite majority apparently isn’t thrilled with administration’s plan about arming Sunni insurgents. Go figure.
* I’ve seen conflicting reports, but it looks like Michael Mukasey’s nomination as Attorney General may not face too many hurdles, particularly in relation to documents the administration owes the Senate Judiciary Committee.
* Strangest analogy of the day: Pat Robertson’s political correspondent, David Brody, compared gay marriage to slavery. No, I don’t understand it, either.
* Andrew Sullivan explains why he believes Bush could be considered a war criminal.
* My Vermont readers will be pleased to know a new-and-improved Candleblog is back online.
* As if the Department of Homeland Security needed another embarrassment….
* Contrary to several initial reports, FBI officials in Iraq investigating Blackwater will not be guarded by Blackwater.
* Radiohead has a new album coming out. You can pay whatever you want for it.
* Slate’s Dahlia Lithwick imagines what Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia would do with Jack Bauer-like power.
* How did Specialist Ciara Durkin die? (thanks to VS for the tip)
* And finally, readers will want to check out the Republican National Convention’s 2008 logo, which is unintentionally amusing. Note that the elephant is blue (the Dems’ color), and the elephant appears to be mounting the “2008” for some reason. C’mon, GOP, you can afford quality graphic designers, right?
Anything to add? Consider this an end-of-the-day open thread.