Open Thread

10 Comments

1. 

   boran2 on March 10, 2006 at 12:22 pm

   Interesting fridge magnets.

2. 

   Tehanu on March 10, 2006 at 12:32 pm

   An awful meeting with my daughter’s counselor in which she tried to “blame the mom” for a special needs kid situation.  The virgin/whore dichotomy merely morphs into controller/ neglecter once you have a child.  Sometimes situations are difficult because there isn’t a perfect option for everyone inside a standard school.  That doesn’t mean mom is to blame for them.  

3. 

   idredit on March 10, 2006 at 12:47 pm

   another mishap of the scandal?

   Gale Norton to resign from Cabinet

   (via thinkprogress)

   • 

     Cali Scribe on March 10, 2006 at 1:01 pm

     From MSNBC:

     She also had a mixed record with American Indian tribes. As secretary, she inherited a huge lawsuit over the department’s alleged mismanagement of Indian trust funds, which are supposed to compensate individual Indians for the use of their land. The class-action lawsuit seeks potentially billions of dollars in compensation over botched record-keeping and missing records.

     And last year, Norton’s name came up during an investigation into lobbyist Jack Abramoff, who was accused of bilking Indian tribes out of millions of dollars while they sought favorable Interior Department decisions on casinos.

     The Senate Indian Affairs Committee uncovered e-mails suggesting a one-time Norton associate, Italia Federici, tried to act as a conduit for Abramoff, helping arrange meetings with Norton or her former top deputy and passing information back and forth.

     Indian Affairs Committee Chairman Sen. John McCain, however, said he found no evidence that Norton had done anything wrong.

4. 

   Man Eegee on March 10, 2006 at 12:47 pm

   MSNBC.com says the Interior Secretary, Gale Norton, will be resigning today.  As Drudge often drudges, “Developing…”

5. 

   CabinGirl on March 10, 2006 at 1:25 pm

   Mojitos.

   • 

     BooMan on March 10, 2006 at 1:32 pm

     

6. 

   Arcturus on March 10, 2006 at 1:44 pm

   Indictment Sought for Italy’s Berlusconi

   The premier is accused of ordering the payment in 1997 of at least $600,000 to British lawyer David Mills – whose indictment also was being sought – in exchange for his false testimony in two trials against Berlusconi. Both men deny the allegations.   {snip}

   Prosecutors have said they had rushed to complete the investigation and to try to bring the case to trial after Parliament passed a reform, backed by Berlusconi’s government, that reduced the statute of limitations on the charges.

7. 

   Arcturus on March 10, 2006 at 3:18 pm

   Stem Cell Proposal Divides Mo. Republicans

   A ballot proposal promoting embryonic stem cell research is turning conservatives against each other and threatening to tear apart Missouri’s Republican Party at the very height of its modern-day influence.

   The measure – sponsored by a coalition of medical groups, researchers, businesses and patient advocates – would make Missouri the only state besides California to enshrine the right to stem cell research in its state constitution.   {snip}

   . . . The Missouri Chamber of Commerce and Industry supports the ballot measure, for example, while Missouri Right to Life vehemently opposes it.  {snip}

   Republicans such as Gov. Matt Blunt and John Danforth, a former senator, U.N. ambassador and Episcopal priest, are backing the measure. In response, Missouri Right to Life has declared that Blunt, who is not on the ballot until 2008, is no longer “pro-life.”

   “This referendum has the potential to rip our party apart,” Rep. Kenny Hulshof warned fellow Republicans at a recent statewide convention.

8. 

   James Benjamin on March 10, 2006 at 4:14 pm

   Susan Hu has a pretty good run-down on some speculation that Haliburton stands to benefit from the now scuttled DPW deal.