Today’s edition of quick hits.
* The devastation in Burma is just staggering: “The death toll from the Myanmar cyclone is more than 10,000 people, Myanmar’s Foreign Ministry said Monday. Survivors were facing their third night without electricity in the aftermath of the historic cyclone that also clogged roads with thousands of downed trees. Diplomats were summoned to a government briefing Monday as the reclusive southeast Asian country’s ruling military junta issued a rare appeal for international assistance in the face of an escalating humanitarian crisis. A state of emergency was declared across much of the country following the 10-hour storm that left swathes of destruction in its wake.”
* On a related note, these fears seem fully justified: “House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) both expressed concern Monday over the response of the Burmese government to a massive cyclone that hit the country over the weekend, which has left up to 10,000 dead and tens of thousands missing. ‘I am concerned with the reported slow response by the military regime to help the Burmese people during this critical time,’ Pelosi said in a statement. Burma is ruled by a military junta which has spurred international aid for decades. According to the Associated Press, as of Monday afternoon the Burmese government had not granted permission for a Disaster Assistance Response Team into the country.”
* Unbelievable: “The number of suicides among veterans of wars in Iraq and Afghanistan may exceed the combat death toll because of inadequate mental health care, the U.S. government’s top psychiatric researcher said.”
* It’s hard not to like numbers like these: “Voter excitement, always up before a presidential election, is pushing registration through the roof so far this year — with more than 3.5 million people rushing to join in the historic balloting, according to an Associated Press survey that offers the first national snapshot. Figures are up for blacks, women and young people. Rural and city. South and North.”
* State welfare rolls, after a lengthy decline, are on the rise again.
* Remember when Bernie Kerik was supposed to be training Iraqi police? He was raiding whorehouses. Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez said Kerik’s “whole contribution was a waste of time and effort.” (Remember, Bush wanted him to head DHS.)
* Gas Tax Scam.com.
* Sen. Bob Corker, a conservative Republican from Tennessee, said McCain’s “gas-tax holiday” scheme qualifies him as a “pandering extraordinaire.”
* After watching Hillary Clinton pretty closely for 16 years, I’ve never been as disappointed with her as I am after seeing her new gas-tax ad.
* House Republicans talk tough, but by a two-to-one margin, they don’t want a moratorium on earmarks.
* Kudos to Howard Dean for telling Chris Wallace the truth about Fox News’ coverage often being “shockingly biased.”
* Can fun movies be considered for Academy Awards?
* In 2005, Clinton thought McCain was right about a long-term presence of U.S. troops in Iraq. Clinton now knows better. McCain? Not so much.
* Why going after oil companies’ tax breaks is better than going after oil companies’ profits.
* Dear WaPo editors, we’re still waiting for that editorial on Cindy McCain.
* And finally, we warned Nevada voters about this guy: “To call Nevada Gov. Jim Gibbons’ tenure troubled doesn’t quite capture it. It started off with a bang with accusations that he’d drunkenly assaulted a cocktail waitress in a parking garage in the middle of the night. That probe was eventually closed due to insufficient evidence. And then there’s the federal investigation as to whether he took bribes from a defense contractor while he was a congressman. And now he’s seeking a very public divorce from his wife.”
Anything to add? Consider this an end-of-the-day open thread.