If you’re jonesing for a Levi/Palin spat fix, Eric Kleefeld has gotten hold of the new copy of Vanity Fair and gives us his comprehensive analysis of the juiciest morsels.
Robert Reich on what he thinks Obama must demand from Congress on Health Care.
The latest we hear is that finger bite victim, William J. Rice, will likely not be charged, despite throwing the first punch in the altercation. But the pro-reform biter, who remains at large, will likely face felony mayhem charges.
Sounds about right. As Capt. Ross Bonfiglio told TPM’s Ben Frumin …
“He’s more a victim at this point,” the captain said, even though “he was admittedly the primary aggressor.”
“Nothing’s black and white in a case like this,” he said, noting that proportion can matter just as much as the order of events.
“If Rice was the initial aggressor and the guy cut his head off, it doesn’t mean it was justified.”
Late Update: It seems this story has taken a somewhat more serious turn. The initial AP report had it that Rice’s finger had been reattached at a local area hospital not long after the incident. But a short time ago, Rice appeared on FOX and said that the finger was not reattached. So TPM’s Ben Frumin talked to the hospital spokesperson who explained that there was a miscommunication between a nurse and the hospital spokesperson this morning. And she confirmed that the finger was in fact not reattached.
This and other special moments from our TPM Levi Johnston Slideshow.
Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) tells TPMDC: “We’re not going through this to write some namby pamby bill so we can check a box and say we did health care reform.”
Nancy Pelosi: “A bill without a strong public option will not pass the House.”
In all the rush of news on health care reform and bitten fingers today, I’d missed the news that an original Opera has been composed based on the transcripts of the Alberto Gonzales hearings from the US Attorney Scandal.
The “Gonzales Cantata” will be performed for the first time this weekend in Philadelphia. More details here — with preview video.
“I see Gonzales as a tragic figure who’s also simultaneously irredeemable,” says the composer.
TPM Reader JF’s lament …
How long did it take the right to go from: “if you criticize the President you are a traitor” to “School children should not trust the President.”
Sec. of Defense Robert Gates understands the public’s fatigue with Afghanistan. “I don’t believe that the war is slipping through the administration’s fingers,” said Gates. “The nation has been at war for eight years. The fact that Americans would be tired of having their sons and daughters at risk and in battle is not surprising.” That and other political news in today’s TPMDC Morning Roundup.
Looks like more evidence that New Jersey governor candidate Chris Christie put his job as US Attorney to good use as a get-out-of-ticket or even get-out-of-jail free card back in the glory days of the Bush era.
The latest example: In 2002 he struck a motorcyclist while driving in the wrong direction on a one way street. Christie got off without even a ticket after mentioning his job title. Did Christie’s status figure in to the cushy resolution? The local police director says: “I don’t think I want to make that kind of deduction, but I think the facts speak for themselves.”
I would say so.
I must say, not having paperwork is something that probably happens to a lot of people. And lotsa people speed. But this is pretty far out there. And when you put it all together it does seem to reach beyond the normal level of political chop busting. Hit a motorcyclist going the wrong way on a one way street? No ticket?