Today’s edition of quick hits.
* Crisis continues to grip Pakistan: “Baton-wielding police fought with lawyers outside courthouses in Islamabad and Lahore again Tuesday, arresting dozens more as they enforced Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf’s crackdown on judicial activism. Three days after Musharraf suspended the constitution and declared a state of emergency, Pakistan’s judicial system is in lockdown, with thousands of lawyers jailed and many judges detained in their homes. Former prime minister Benazir Bhutto arrived in Islamabad from Karachi on Tuesday for meetings with other opposition leaders about how to respond to Musharraf’s declaration.”
* There’s been a lot of talk of late about the price of gas topping $90 per barrel. Now it’s nearly $100 per barrel.
* Michael Mukasey nomination as Attorney General, as expected, passed the Senate Judiciary Committee today, following an 11 to 8 vote. All the Republicans voted together (as they always do), while Democratic Sens. Dianne Feinstein (Calif.) and Charles Schumer (N.Y.) broke party ranks to support Mukasey.
* Violence is on the rise in Afghanistan, where a bomb attack targeted a group of lawmakers killed at least 28 people this morning, including five parliamentarians. “The bomb exploded outside a Baghlan sugar factory as the lawmakers were about to enter. The blast struck children, elders and government officials gathered to greet the visiting delegation of 18 lawmakers from the lower house, officials said.” Reports indicated that 81 people were wounded, including 42 children.
* Speaking of Afghanistan, the Center for American Progress released an interesting report today called, “The Forgotten Front” by Larry Korb and Caroline Wadhams, which sets forth a new counterinsurgency strategy for Afghanistan. It outlines a set of recommendations for strengthening the Afghan government, increasing security, accelerating reconstruction, combating the narcotics trade, and removing the terrorist safe haven in Pakistan. (That last part seems particularly relevant in light of recent events.)
* Rep. Dennis Kucinich forced his Cheney impeachment measure onto the House floor today where it was about to be killed — before House Republicans decided to embrace it: “At one point there were 290 votes to table. After the [GOP] turnaround, the final vote was 251-162 against tabling, with 165 Republicans voting against it.” Republicans apparently wanted the measure to advance, but the House Dem leadership didn’t — they sent the bill to the Judiciary Committee, where it probably won’t be heard from again.
* You’ve all voted for The Carpetbagger Report today, right? (It only takes a second and I ask for so little…)
* Glenn Reynolds doesn’t understand why everyone is more concerned about the crisis in Pakistan than “Hugo Chavez’s emerging dicatatorship [sic].” Noah Shachtman explains why Reynolds doesn’t know what he’s talking about.
* The good news is, the latest CNN poll shows that 69% of Americans believe waterboarding is torture, and 58% believe the U.S. government should be barred from using the tactic against “suspected terrorists.” The bad news is, those numbers should be higher.
* Another painful milestone: “The U.S. military on Tuesday announced the deaths of five more soldiers, making 2007 the deadliest year of the war for U.S. troops, according to an Associated Press count… At least 852 American military personnel have died in Iraq so far this year — the highest annual toll since the war began in March 2003, according to AP figures. Some 850 troops died in 2004.”
* Congratulations to John Hinderaker for easily winning the Golden Wingnut Award for the worst blog post ever. It’s a well-deserved distinction.
* I sometimes wonder what the Bush administration would be like if it weren’t staffed with crazy people: “Julie Myers, head of Homeland Security’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement division, has apologized for ‘awarding ‘most original costume’ to a Homeland Security Department employee who dressed in prison stripes, dreadlocks and dark makeup for a Halloween gathering at the agency.'”
* I thought media coverage of the presidential campaign couldn’t get much worse. I stand corrected.
* For those covering the Writers Guild strike, the writers continued to get additional support from Hollywood celebrities today, many of whom joined picket lines. Also, here’s a list of how some TV schedules will be affected, while the LAT has a good piece on how we got to where we are today.
* And the president reached a milestone today. A new Gallup poll showed Americans disapprove of Bush’s job performance, 64% to 31%, but here’s the kicker: 50% say they “strongly disapprove” of the president. The previous high was Richard Nixon at the height of the Watergate scandal, when 48% of Americans strongly disapproved of his performance. Congratulations, George, it couldn’t have happened to a more appropriate person.
Anything to add? Consider this an end-of-the-day open thread.