Today’s edition of quick hits.<\/p>\n
* TPMM<\/a>: “Scooter Libby has a new name: inmate number 28301-016. That’s according to the Bureau of Prisons, which is ready and waiting for Libby’s arrival. After losing a motion earlier this month to delay his first day in prison, Libby’s currently trying a last ditch appeal before reporting to prison later this summer.”<\/p>\n * The Wall Street Journal’s editorial page may be embarrassingly hackish, but the paper’s news reporters include some top-notch professionals — who don’t want to work for Rupert Murdoch<\/a>.<\/p>\n * Apparently, desertion is a problem for the military right now, but the Armed Forces lack the resources to do much about it<\/a>. The AP reported, “There is no crack team of bounty hunters, no elite military unit whose job is to track them down and bring them in. Despite a rise in desertions from the Army as the Iraq war drags on into a fifth year, the U.S. military does almost nothing to find those who flee and rarely prosecutes those it gets its hands on.” Over 3,300 soldiers deserted, of which 174 were court-martialed.<\/p>\n * The House debated whether to cut off funding for Dick Cheney’s office this afternoon. It led to some entertaining moments<\/a>. (The final vote on Emanuel’s amendment is scheduled for later this afternoon.)<\/p>\n * Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Pat Leahy<\/a> (D-Vt.): “Certainly not since I’ve been old enough to vote have we had an administration so willing to ignore the law. I’ve never known an administration so willing to operate outside the law, even to operate against the law, in violation of the law, as this administration.”<\/p>\n * The debate over the immigration bill may be over, but let’s not lose sight of some of the ugliness<\/a> it brought out in the GOP base. Several Republicans who supported the bill received violent threats at their offices.<\/p>\n * Thanks in large part to the WaPo’s four-part profile on Dick Cheney, three-dozen House Dems are calling for an investigation<\/a> into the VP’s role in the 2002 die-off of about 70,000 salmon near the California-Oregon border. There’s evidence that Cheney altered scientific reports for a desired policy goal. * Exodus International is an “ex-gay” ministry, which claims it can “cure” gays through spiritual counseling. Yesterday, three former Exodus leaders publicly apologized<\/a> “for the harm they said their efforts had caused many gays and lesbians who believed the group’s message that sexual orientation could be changed through prayer.”<\/p>\n * On the Culture of Corruption beat, federal investigators are still very much<\/a> on Rep. Tom Feeney’s (R-Fla.) trail.<\/p>\n * Yglesias is finally starting to “get<\/a>” my favorite show of all time, Firefly.<\/p>\n
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\n* Good news<\/a> out of Kansas: “Ending a three-year investigation launched by his socially conservative predecessor, Kansas Attorney General Paul Morrison (D) notified a Planned Parenthood clinic this week that no criminal charges will be filed. He said ‘an objective, unbiased and thorough examination’ showed no wrongdoing.”<\/p>\n