Today’s edition of quick hits.
* British Prime Minister Tony Blair announced his retirement today after 10 years in office. He will stand down as PM on June 27 and is expected to endorse Gordon Brown as his successor.
* There were a variety of fascinating moments during today’s House Judiciary Committee hearing with Attorney General Alberto Gonzales. Among the noteworthy moments were Gonzales saying, “I think I may be aware of that“; James Sensenbrenner pressuring Gonzales to indict a Democratic House lawmaker; Gonzales struggling to explain Graves’ departure; Gonzales struggling to explain McKay’s departure; and Gonzales struggling to explain a review process that was both secretive and collaborative. More tomorrow.
* Also, Gonzales apparently doesn’t give a lot of thought to Habeas rights. I guess we knew that.
* NYT: “By a vote of 93 to 1, the Senate passed a bill on Wednesday that would give the Food and Drug Administration new power to police drug safety, order changes in drug labels, regulate advertising and restrict the use and distribution of medicines found to pose serious risks to consumers. The bill calls for a fundamental change in the philosophy and operations of the drug agency, requiring it to focus on the entire life cycle of a drug — not just the years before its approval — as well as the experience of patients who later take it.”
* Filmmaker Michael Moore recently took ailing rescue workers from Ground Zero to Cuba as part of a new documentary on health care, called “Sicko.” The trip seems to have caught the eye of the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control, which notified Moore that he’s under investigation for possibly having violated the U.S. trade embargo restricting travel to Cuba.
* Boston Globe: “The Pentagon has placed unprecedented restrictions on who can testify before Congress, reserving the right to bar lower-ranking officers, enlisted soldiers, and career bureaucrats from appearing before oversight committees or having their remarks transcribed, according to Defense Department documents.” One might get the idea they have something to hide.
* Following up on an item from yesterday, House Armed Services Committee unfortunately rejected an effort to restore Habeas rights as part of the the 2008 defense authorization bill. Rep. Ike Skelton (D-Mo.) has vowed to bring the measure up later as a free-standing bill.
* Pat Buchanan really doesn’t care for people who aren’t just like him.
* O’Reilly and Wesley Clark got into a bit of a tussle last night, but it seemed clear to me that Clark had the edge.
* When it comes to the would-be terrorists who were plotting against Fort Dix, it appears that the “main instigator of Jihad was a government informer.” We’re very fortunate that so many enemies of the state have been such bumbling incompetents.
* Schwarzenegger’s cynical budget games in California are nearly as bad as those Bush plays in DC.
* I’ve heard of libraries trying creative fundraising efforts, but creating a “sex hotline”? That’s a new one.
* Last year in Virginia, State Senator Benny Lambert (D) angered much of the state’s Dem establishment by endorsing then Sen. George Allen (R), despite his record of racial problems. This year, Sen. Jim Webb (D) is backing a primary challenge against Lambert, throwing his support behind a local state delegate.
* Tom Edsall, a former political writer for the WaPo who is now with The New Republic, described David Broder recently as “the voice of the people.” He didn’t appear to be kidding.
* Be sure to check out E&P’s Greg Mitchell’s column this week: “Until recently, the press has rarely covered the U.S. military program that occasionally offers ‘condolence’ payments to Iraqis and Afghans whose loved ones have been killed or injured by our troops. But a number of high-profile incidents involving the killing of noncombatants has drawn some long-overdue, if fleeting, attention to the subject.” (thanks for the tip, Sarabeth)
* Tonight, as an alternative spending measure for the war in Iraq, the leadership will allow a vote on Rep. Jim McGovern’s (D-Mass.) proposal for a full withdrawal. It almost certainly won’t pass, but the vote breakdown should be interesting to watch.
Anything to add? Consider this an end-of-the-day open thread.