Today’s edition of quick hits.
* All things considered, I’d consider today’s hearing a success: “House Democrats on Thursday accused Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice of grossly mismanaging diplomatic efforts in Iraq and concealing information from Congress. The charges put a visibly frustrated Rice on the defensive. At a hearing by a congressional watchdog committee, Democratic lawmakers said the State Department under Rice had been too lax with armed security contractors, ignored corruption at the highest levels of the Iraqi government and was sloppy in overseeing construction of the costly new U.S. Embassy in Baghdad. ‘I think there was a huge gap between what she said and reality,’ said Rep. Henry Waxman, chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee.”
* There’s progress in Southern California, but the fires burn on: “The Santa Ana winds that helped fires explode across Southern California were dying down Thursday, but the fight was far from over: Despite a massive aerial assault, several blazes remained far from containment as flames drew perilously close to thousands of homes.”
* The White House acted today to make the Kyl-Lieberman amendment U.S. policy: “The United States announced harsh new penalties on the Iranian military and state-owned banking systems Thursday, raising pressure on the world financial system to cut ties with a regime the West accuses of bankrolling terrorism and seeking a nuclear bomb. The U.S. sanctions on elements of Iran’s vast armed forces and its largest bank are the most sweeping since 1979, when the takeover of the U.S. Embassy in Tehran ruptured diplomatic, business and military ties. The sanctions are the first of their type imposed by the United States specifically against the armed forces of another government.”
* I don’t usually think of House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) as a progressive champion, but he said some very encouraging things today about retroactive telecom immunity: “Simply stated, it would be grossly irresponsible for Congress to grant blanket immunity for companies without even knowing whether their conduct was legal or not.”
* On a related note, the “hostage” standoff may be improving: “The White House will allow leaders of the Senate Judiciary Committee to access documents on the Bush administration’s secret spying program, in an effort to win their support for retroactive legal protections covering the telecommunications firms that participated in the program, Democrats said Thursday.”
* The Republicans’ filibuster of the DREAM Act really didn’t make any sense at all, and only punishes kids for their parent’s decisions: “A bill to grant legal status to illegal immigrants who are high school graduates was defeated Wednesday in a test vote in the Senate, significantly dimming the prospects for any major immigration legislation this year.” The majority got 52 votes, eight short of bringing the measure up for a vote. If this bill can’t pass, no immigration bill can.
* Once in a while, O’Reilly makes me laugh: “During the October 24 edition of his Fox News show, Bill O’Reilly asserted: ‘[I]t seems to me, and the studies indicate, that most teachers — high school and college in the United States — are left-wingers. That they bring in a [sic] anti-American viewpoint to the sense that they don’t preach about the nobility of America, they teach about the deficits. Now, I think you have to teach both.'” I’m curious, what “studies” might O’Reilly be referring to?
* A new LAT/Bloomberg poll shows public attitudes about healthcare policy, which seem to lean in a progressive direction, but as Kevin Drum explained, the results are really a garbled mess.
* Reuters: “Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice admitted Wednesday that the United States had mishandled the case of a Canadian [Maher Arar] who was deported to Syria and who has said he was tortured there, but she stopped short of an apology…. ‘We do not think that this case was handled as it should have been,’ Ms. Rice told the House Foreign Affairs Committee. ‘We do absolutely not wish to transfer anyone to any place in which they might be tortured.'”
* There have been several developments in the Scott Beauchamp story. John Cole runs down the details, while Greg Sargent notes that Army officials have acknowledged they’re investigating the leak of private materials to Drudge.
* Senate Dems, most notably Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), want to see the testimony CDC Director Julie L. Gerberding was going to give before the White House “eviscerated” it.
* The Bush administration spent $8 million to train 500 Iraqi government employees in various ministries to use a computerized accounting system. The Finance Ministry refused to drop its paper spreadsheets.
* Say what you will about the House of Representatives, but the chamber sure does hold a lot of votes.
* Rick Santorum is now a columnist for the Philadelphia Inquirer. What liberal media?
* Rosa Brooks: “Forget impeachment. Liberals, put it behind you. George W. Bush and Dick Cheney shouldn’t be treated like criminals who deserve punishment. They should be treated like psychotics who need treatment. Because they’ve clearly gone mad. Exhibit A: We’re in the middle of a disastrous war in Iraq, the military and political situation in Afghanistan is steadily worsening, and the administration’s interrogation and detention tactics have inflamed anti-Americanism and fueled extremist movements around the globe. Sane people, confronting such a situation, do their best to tamp down tensions, rebuild shattered alliances, find common ground with hostile parties and give our military a little breathing space. But crazy people? They look around and decide it’s a great time to start another war.”
* And finally, yesterday, Dick Cheney literally fell asleep during a cabinet meeting. The day after tomorrow, he’ll be wielding a shotgun. I hope his hunting partners keep a nice, healthy distance.
Anything to add? Consider this an end-of-the-day open thread.