Today’s edition of quick hits.<\/p>\n
* I can appreciate the fact that the story appeared in the Fashion section, but there continues to be far too much interest<\/a> among reporters in Nancy Pelosi’s clothing. She’s been Speaker for two weeks; Dennis Hastert was Speaker for seven years. Guess whose fashion choices generated more “news” items?<\/p>\n * Speaker Pelosi announced<\/a> the creation of the Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming this afternoon. Good idea.<\/p>\n * Three weeks ago, relying on a press release from PEER, I did a post<\/a> about religious burdens placed on the staff at the Grand Canyon National Park. It now appears that the press release I relied on was incorrect<\/a> and PEER misled people. I apologize for publishing the piece and will know better the next time PEER sends me a press release.<\/p>\n * Even for Bill O’Reilly, this<\/a> is low. An 11-year-old kid is abducted by a 6′ 4″ man, he didn’t run away, so O’Reilly is blaming the kid, saying that “there was an element here that this kid liked about this circumstances” and that he “do[esn’t] buy” “the Stockholm syndrome thing.” Didn’t O’Reilly “write” a book about “looking out” for kids?<\/p>\n * Talk about threading a very small needle, California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) announced<\/a> yesterday that he believes Bush should withdraw U.S. forces in Iraq by the end of 2007 and<\/i> he believes Bush’s escalation plan is a good idea. No, I don’t understand it either.<\/p>\n * It’s one thing for Dick Morris to falsely attack Barack Obama. It’s another for a right-wing newspaper to re-publish the attack<\/a> after<\/i> Morris retracted his piece and apologized for his mistake.<\/p>\n * I haven’t looked into this in any real detail yet, but the AP reports<\/a>: “Three elections workers in the state’s most populous county conspired to avoid a more thorough recount of ballots in the 2004 presidential election, a prosecutor told jurors during opening statements Thursday. ‘The evidence will show that this recount was rigged, maybe not for political reasons, but rigged nonetheless,’ Prosecutor Kevin Baxter said. ‘They did this so they could spend a day rather than weeks or months’ on the recount, he said.” Sounds like a trial to keep an eye on. * It’s encouraging to see a group of Methodist ministers from across the country urge Southern Methodist University to stop trying<\/a> to land George W. Bush’s presidential library. The ministers have created a petition that explains that “as United Methodists, we believe that the linking of his presidency with a university bearing the Methodist name is utterly inappropriate.” The Rev. Andrew J. Weaver of New York, who graduated from SMU’s Perkins School of Theology, said, “Methodists have a long history of social conscience, so questions about the conduct of this president are very concerning.”<\/p>\n * Reader M.W. emailed me an interesting item<\/a> out of Rhode Island, where the state Supreme Court ruled this week that it “cannot rule on the authority of a lower court judge to hear a case involving a lesbian couple seeking a divorce until it is determined if the marriage is legal in the state.” Here’s a thought: how about the Rhode Island Supreme Court rule on the question itself?<\/p>\n * Ari Berman has a good report today about a bi-partisan group of lawmakers, led by Republican Walter Jones (N.C.), who have unveiled legislation that would require the president to seek congressional approval before initiating a conflict with Iran<\/a>. “Our constitution states that–while the Commander in Chief has the power to conduct wars–only Congress has the power to authorize war,” Jones said at a press conference today. “It’s time for Congress to meet its Constitutional responsibility…This legislation makes it crystal clear that no previous resolution passed by Congress authorizes such a use of force [against Iran].” <\/p>\n
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\n* ThinkProgress is keeping track<\/a> of where every member of Congress stands on escalation in Iraq. The TP gang is up to 414. If there’s any doubt about your representative, or if you know your rep’s position and it’s not on the list, check out the current tally<\/a>.<\/p>\n