Quick Hits

Here we go with a little trip down news 'n' blog lane:

• CNN just reported (can't find a link yet) that Rudy Giuliani was briefed about Bernard Kerik's ties to the mob BEFORE hiring him as the NYC Police Commissioner in 2000. Look for that to be a major story tomorrow. UPDATE: link.

• As if Alberto Gonzales didn't have enough problems, he also looked the other way while the Texas Youth Commission was apparently running wild, with administrators sexually abusing the children in their care. And here I thought Alberto was doing it for the kids.

• Expect to hear this nonsense in the coming days about the Democrats' budget, that it's "the biggest tax increase in American history." Of course, this counts not extending the ridiculous Bush tax cuts for the wealthy as an increase, but you won't hear that part. And the Republicans are apparently going to set it up as a choice between popular entitlements and government programs or a tax increase for the wealthy, which is not a winning argument for most people, just their base.

• Apparently not learning the lesson of the Nevada Democratic Party, the Congressional Black Caucus has agreed to put a Democratic debate on Fox News. I imagine that the progressive blogosphere will ramp up on this one. What a shame.

• I thought this was an interesting post about Hillary and her appeal to women. I've experienced this exact situation described in this post. Clinton's highest level of support is among younger women, and this will be tough for any opponent to counteract. I believe in the words of Douglas Wilder, the first black governor in American history, who said "Don't run to make history as an African-American candidate, run to be the best-qualified candidate for that job." And I think Hillary (and Obama) is doing that, but the various groups that identify with them will find the historical implications hard to resist.

• There was a broad and systematic effort to undermine research on climate change coming out of the federal government, which we knew, but a report this comprehensive just brings it home so fully.

The group says it has identified hundreds of instances where White House-appointed officials interfered with government scientists' efforts to convey their research findings to the public, at the behest of top administration officials.

"The evidence suggests that incidents of interference are often top-down reactions to science that has negative policy or public relations implications for the administration," the group says in its report.

• One-way streets on my doorstep? It's an idea, but the congestion is just too, too much for that to make any real impact. It'd just put twice as many cars in each direction on those streets, which would have twice as much capacity. Net result: negligible.

• Great article on Jim Webb, who is fast becoming my favorite Senator. Someone near the top of the federal government talking about high incarceration rates? Hurt me!

• And finally, a guy got into a high-speed chase in Connecticut, and when he was pulled over, he claimed he was Dick Cheney. And then:

John Spernak, 42, later admitted he wasn’t Cheney but said he was actually “Charlie’s Angels” star Jaclyn Smith, police said. He also claimed to be the husband of Paris Hilton’s sister.

Cheney could not be reached for comment because he was busy designing a new line of handbags and stopping a ring of bikini smugglers.