Today’s edition of quick hits.
* More discouraging economic news: “From soaring gas prices to weaker job prospects, Americans are gloomier about the economy than just before the U.S. invasion of Iraq. They’re so anxious that fewer people say they are planning to take a vacation than in 30 years. And those are worrying signs for the already deteriorating economy, since eroding consumer confidence foreshadows weaker spending.”
* On a related note: “Housing prices dropped in February at the fastest rate ever, a widely watched index showed on Tuesday, reflecting that the housing slump is gaining momentum and showing no signs of letting up. The Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller home price index of 20 cities fell by 12.7 percent in February versus last year, the largest decline since its inception in 2001. ‘There is no sign of a bottom in the numbers,’ David Blitzer, chairman of the index committee at S&P, noting that all 20 metro areas have declined for six straight months.” (thanks to R.K. for the tip)
* Not a huge surprise: “Earlier this month, [House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers] scheduled a hearing for next week on the administration’s authorization of torture, and along with John Yoo, has invited former Attorney General John Ashcroft, former CIA Director George Tenet, former Undersecretary of Defense Douglas Feith, Chief of Staff to the Vice President David Addington, and former Assistant Attorney General Daniel Levin. Yesterday Conyers released some of the correspondence he’s been having with lawyers for Addington, Yoo, and Ashcroft. As expected, none of them want to testify, and they’re not short on reasons.”
* Bloggers aren’t the only one to notice that the AP screwed up royally on its story about the DNC’s “100 years” ad.
* Fascinating McClatchy report on one of the most powerful men in Iraq — an Iranian general who’s more influential than “an Iraqi government official, a militia leader, a senior cleric or a top U.S. military commander or diplomat.”
* Hillary Clinton is going to appear, of all places, on O’Reilly’s Fox News show tomorrow.
* The Clinton campaign justified accepting O’Reilly’s invitation because he “has a large audience of politically engaged people.”
* If you wanted to watch Obama’s big press conference in DC this afternoon, it’s online.
* John Ashcroft has decided he’s better off keeping his mouth shut on waterboarding from now on. Probably a smart move.
* On a related note, congressional Dems aren’t done trying to impose the Army Field Manual’s interrogation techniques on the CIA.
* I’m a little surprised that a Fox News personality doesn’t realize that the Golden Rule is “rooted in Scripture.” I mean, really. Not everyone’s a theologian, but if you’re going to talk about this on the air….
* “Clueless” isn’t the first adjective that comes to mind, but it’ll do: “In February 2003, just before the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, Army Gen. Eric Shinseki told the Senate Armed Services Committee that the U.S. would need ‘several hundred thousand soldiers’ to secure Iraq. Two days later, then-deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz dismissed Shinseki’s prediction saying it was ‘wildly off the mark.’ Yesterday, during a discussion of fellow war architect Douglas Feith’s new book ‘War and Decision,’ Wolfowitz acknowledged he was ‘clueless on counterinsurgency’ regarding troops levels after the fall of Baghdad.”
* I can’t begin to describe how offensive I find this: “Here’s another for the annals of vote suppression. Calls have gone out to an untold number of North Carolina voters telling them that they need to fill out a registration form before they vote. Democracy North Carolina, a government watchdog that has posted audio of the call, says that the calls went out to ‘black neighborhoods.'”
* I’m starting to get the impression that Hugh Hewitt is kind of a partisan hack. Shocking, I know.
* Why won’t Sen. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) support the troops?
* If you haven’t seen it, be sure to check out Fox News’ prime-time schedule last night. The network is truly beyond parody.
* And finally, be sure to check out David Corn’s item on the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner: “[I]t’s decades from now, and historians and others are trying to understand what happened in the first years of the 21st century. That was when the United States government initiated a foolhardy war on the basis of fear and hyped-up threats. It was also a period when the people in charge did not take one of their last chances to deal with the real danger of global warming. And, of course, it was during those years that American leaders hocked the nation to China and the nation’s global financial standing diminished. And these historians are asking, ‘What the hell went on.’ Well, look at this old tape, one says, it just might explain.”
Anything to add? Consider this an end-of-the-day open thread.
