Today’s edition of quick hits.
* In a vote that surprised no one, the House came far short of overriding the president’s veto of war funding this afternoon. The final vote was 222 to 203, not even close to the necessary two-thirds majority.
* Speaker Pelosi did have a memorable line shortly before the vote. Responding to Bush’s line that lawmakers shouldn’t replace their judgment for the generals’, Pelosi said, “Wrong again, Mr. President. We are substituting our judgment for your judgment, 16 blocks down Pennsylvania Avenue in the White House. We are substituting the judgment of this Congress for your failed judgment.”
* There were some interesting purge scandal updates this afternoon, and I’ll have a fuller picture in the morning, but in the meantime this is awfully interesting: “Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) has issued a subpoena to the Justice Department demanding it turn over all e-mails in its possession to or from Karl Rove, White House deputy chief of staff, related to the firing of eight U.S. attorneys last year, as well as any Rove e-mails uncovered during the Valerie Plame probe.”
* There was some pretty outrageous police conduct at an immigration rally in LA yesterday. Today, the LAPD announced it was initiating an investigation.
* LAT: “An Interior Department official who was recently rebuked for altering scientific conclusions to reduce protections for endangered species and providing internal documents to lobbyists resigned Monday, officials said.” It’s more interesting than it sounds; here’s some background on Julie MacDonald’s escapades.
* YouTube has an ideology? Apparently. “Republican White House veterans Charlie Gerow and Jeff Lord have created a new conservative video Web site called QubeTV, which they describe as an alternative to YouTube, a popular clearinghouse for sharing video files. ‘We saw a need for a social-networking site for the center-right,’ Mr. Gerow said of the site, at www.Qubetv.tv.”
* When it comes to tolerance for terrorism, Bush is somewhere between Goldilocks and John Kerry.
* Reagan seemed to worry quite a bit about Armageddon.
* Scientists at the National Snow and Ice Data Center and the National Center for Atmospheric Research found that Arctic sea ice is melting at a significantly faster rate than projected by the most advanced computer models. That’s not good. (thanks S.W.)
* The AP asked the presidential candidates what item each would “most like to have if stranded on a desert island.” Answer I could best relate to: Mike Huckabee, who said, “Laptop with satellite reception.” Best answer: Rep. Tom Tancredo, who said, “Boat.” (Candidates were also asked about their favorite reality show.)
* Olbermann’s ratings keep going up. One might think there’s some kind of audience for his style of commentary and reporting.
* Are NBA refs biased against black players? Maybe.
* Speaking of basketball, here’s an interesting item matching presidential candidates and playoff teams. (Thanks M.J.W.S.)
* Apparently, Circuit City hurt itself by firing its best employees. As Digby put it, “Who would ever have imagined that customers would want someone knowledgeable and experienced to explain big ticket electronic items to them before they lay out thousands of dollars? Any pimply faced teen-ager can do it, right? Boy, these businessmen shure r smart.”
* And finally, TP reported, “A new study by Indiana University media researchers finds that Fox News host Bill O’Reilly calls ‘a person or a group a derogatory name once every 6.8 seconds, on average, or nearly nine times every minute during the editorials that open his program each night.'” Let’s not forget that O’Reilly has said, on the air, “I don’t do personal attacks here.”
Anything to add? Consider this an end-of-the-day open thread.
