"We have a lot of people … [who have] lost their jobs, who don't have health care, even children that are in homes don't get three square meals a day. But this man sits with guards protecting him, he's receiving free medical, free meals." •  A recently freed Spanish skipper claims that Somali pirates are holding a 12-year-old Ukrainian girl hostage aboard another hijacked ship. Ricardo Black says he met both the girl and her parents. "Her mother begged me to take [her daughter] with me," he told a Spanish paper. • A New York teacher is suing the Department of Education because she claims she suffered injuries after she slipped on garbage, including condoms, that had been left on the floor. She's particularly mad about the condom bit (although there is no news about whether or not they were used): "They caused, allowed and permitted condoms to be distributed by school personnel to the students, many of which were opened during the school lunch period and thrown on the floor," she said in the suit. • Five high school freshmen were arrested in California for the sexual assault of two ninth-grade girls. Police say that the boys accosted the girls at school and groped them during a lunch break. • Forbes has compiled a list of the top earning states for women. Washington D.C. is at the top of the list, with women making an average of $866 a week, only 7.8% less than men. Also high on the list are Maryland, Connecticut, and Massachusetts. • Rusty Kanokogi, advocate for women's judo, has died at the age of 74. Kanokogi devoted the past twenty years to making women's judo an Olympic sport, an effort that was recognized by the Japanese government, who awarded her the Order of the Rising Sun last year. • The Virginia Military Institute is facing charges of sex discrimination. The Education Department first brought the complaint against the Military school in 2008, claiming that the "climate and culture" of the school was derogatory and discriminatory towards women.  • According to FBI data released today, reports of hate crimes against gays and religious groups increased sharply in 2008. The number of racially motivated hate crimes fell less than 1 percent, but there was an 11 percent increase in hate crimes against homosexuals and a 9 percent increase in crimes against religious groups. • Dr. Bernadine Healy, the former director of the National Institutes of Health, says women should ignore the new breast cancer screening guidelines that delay the start of routine mammograms until 50, because it would save money but not lives. • Senator Harry Reid says that right after the Senate's vote to begin debating health care legislation on Saturday, he got a call from Ted Kennedy's widow, Victoria Reggie Kennedy. "She believes that Ted was watching," said Reid. "I'll remember the call always. She of course was crying pretty hard. We both felt that he's watching us tonight." • Today President Obama announced "Educate to Innovate," a 10-year campaign to increase American students' achievement in math and science. It involves $260 million in corporate donations, a National Lab Day, and an annual national science fair at the White House "to show young people how cool science people can be." • A reporter for The Guardian visited an Iraqi jail to talk to women who have attempted to commit a suicide bombing. She found many have lost close male relatives, lived in isolated communities dominated by extremists, and felt choosing to be a suicide bomber made them special, even though they couldn't control much else in their lives. But, one detective investigating the women cautioned not to generalize because, "All the cases are different. Some are old; some are young; some are just criminals; some are believers. They have different reasons." • The late Sister Maria Alfonsina Danil Ghattas is one step closer to becoming a saint after thousands of worshipers gathered in Nazareth for her beatification yesterday. She helped found the Sisters of the Most Holy Rosary of Jerusalem in the 1880s, which continues to run schools for Palestinian girls in Israel, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. • Libby Longino is one of only 32 students to win a Rhodes Scholarship this year, but she won't be lonely at Oxford University: her boyfriend Henry Spelman was also selected. They are both seniors at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Longino said, "I could barely hope it would turn out this way." •

[Arlington, August 30. Image via Getty]

ARLINGTON, VA - AUGUST 30: People standing near the grave of Senator Robert F. Kennedy (D-NY) look at the grave of Senator Edward Kennedy (D-MA) at Arlington National Cemetery August 30, 2009 in Arlington, Virginia. Senator Edward Kennedy (D-MA) was buried yesterday next to his brothers President John F. Kennedy and Senator Robert F. Kennedy (D-NY) after he died of brain cancer on August 25. (Photo by Brendan Smialowski/Getty Images)

Family, Leaders Pay Final Tribute To Kennedy [MSNBC]

[Boston, August 28. Image via Getty]

BOSTON - AUGUST 28: Emma Harrison, 73, of Boston waits in line to see Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-MA) lie in repose at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum August 28, 2009 in Boston, Massachusetts. 21,000 people walked through the library yesterday and officials began letting people in 20 minutes early this morning. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

[Boston, August 27. Image via Getty]

BOSTON - AUGUST 27: Women cry amongst the hundreds gathered outside of Boston's Fanueil Hall as the motorcade carrying the body of Sen. Ted Kennedy passes by August 27, 2009 in Boston, Massachusetts. Senator Kennedy, the last brother of a pre-eminent American political family, died this week of cancer after a storied career in politics. (Photo by Chris Hondros/Getty Images)

For many liberals, it is difficult to reconcile the two sides of Ted Kennedy. In his public life, he was a devout public servant, someone who put the needs of the poor and disadvantaged at the heart of his work. But in his personal life as a younger man, he was what some described as a drunk and a womanizer.

Biographer Edward Klein described, in Ted Kennedy: The Dream That Never Died, a drunken incident in Alaska in April 1969 when Kennedy began yelling "Es-ki-mo Power!" and saying "They're going to shoot my ass off the way they shot Bobby ..." After the trip, family friend Lester Hyman got a call from John Lindsey at Newsweek, who related the account in Alaska. "Your friend Ted Kennedy is in a lot of trouble psychologically.... There's something wrong, and if [Ted] doesn't do something about him, I believe something terrible is going to happen to him," Hyman recalled Lindsey saying to him.

It turns out Lindsey was right. On July 18, 1969, Kennedy was involved in what became known as the Chappaquiddick incident. Kennedy was driving home with Mary Jo Kopechne, one of Bobby Kennedy's former aides. As biographer Klein says, "Under the best of circumstances, when he was stone-cold sober, Ted was a terrible driver." But that night, as he drove down Chappaquiddick Road, witnesses note that he had been drinking for eight hours straight before getting in the car. When the car tipped off a rail-less bridge and landed upside down, underwater, Kennedy was able to escape, but Kopechne was not. Kennedy reportedly fled the scene, contacting the police 10 hours later after consulting with a lawyer, long after Kopechne had died from suffocation.

In today's Guardian, Joyce Carol Oates writes about the aftermath of the incident:

The senator's explanation for this unconscionable, despicable, unmanly and inexplicable behaviour was never convincing: he claimed that he'd struck his head and was "confused" and "exhausted" from diving and trying to rescue the young woman and had gone home to bed.

There is certainly no way to justify Kennedy's actions, even though he later plead guilty. His punishment was two months of probation. The incident ruined his chances at a presidential run in 1972. Instead the candidacy went to George McGovern, who lost miserably to Richard Nixon.

In an interview on 60 Minutes while reflecting back on the incident, Kennedy said,

I never looked at it, really, in terms of the questions of legacy... I think I've always wanted to try and be a better person.

Kennedy's past treatment of women, and the way he handled the Chappaquiddick incident show that Kennedy certainly was a complicated figure. He had moral failings and vices. But he also worked for real and tangible differences in the lives of almost every American through his work in the Senate. Sometimes it's difficult to examine the whole life of a public figure. After all, public figures are human, and humans can't be perfect. Sometimes, they don't even come close.

Ted Kennedy: The Dream That Never Died [Amazon]
Ted Kennedy: The Lasting Taint Of Chappaquiddick [LA Times]
Kennedy's Redemption From The Depths [Guardian]
Kennedy's Bad Boy Days [CBS]

Earlier: The Lion Sleeps Tonight: Ted Kennedy Leaves Long, Impressive Legacy

[Washington, D.C., August 26. Image via Getty]

WASHINGTON - AUGUST 26: Local resident Julia Eisman participates during a candlelight vigil in memory of U.S. Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-MA) at Dupont Circle August 26, 2009 in Washington, DC. Kennedy has passed away at the age of 77 at his home in Hyannis Port, Massachusetts after battling a brain cancer. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)

Some very real questions remain about what will happen to the health care debate now that one of its chief champions has passed away. The family is beginning to make funeral arrangements, deciding to bury him in Arlington Cemetery alongside his brothers. Obama has agreed to deliver a eulogy at the funeral. Last night, mourners gathered in candlelight vigils around the country.

Democrats, who recently reached a filibuster-proof majority after Sen. Al Franken (D-MN) was finally certified and Sen. Arlen Specter switched parties earlier this year, are now left with 59 senators, many of them moderate on health care reform. Many states simply allow the governor to appoint an interim senator between elections—it's a law that Massachusetts itself once had. But the state legislature, fearing a Republican replacement in 2004 when John Kerry ran for president and former Gov. Mitt Romney would make the appointment, changed the law. Now an open Senate seat can only be filled by special election 145 to 160 days after the seat had been vacated. Last week, Kennedy sent a letter to the state legislature urging them to reverse the law and allow current Massachusetts Gov. Duval Patrick to appoint a replacement.

Appearing on the Good Morning America show today, Patrick expressed "a lot of interest" in running for Kennedy's seat. Some family members, including former Rep. Joseph Kennedy, have been rumored as potential successors. Other Democrats in Massachusetts are rumored to be interested in the seat.

But Kennedy's death raises other questions about committee leadership in the Senate. Kennedy chaired the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee. The next Democrat in line is Sen. Chris Dodd, who underwent surgery recently) and who is currently chairing the Senate Banking Committee. Dodd's currently facing a tough reelection battle in part due to his performance on that committee. Dodd has already been serving as chair of HELP in Kennedy's absence. If Dodd leaves Banking for HELP, that opens the Banking chairmanship to moderate South Dakota Sen. Tim Johnson. If Dodd doesn't take the HELP chairmanship, the next most senior Democrat on the HELP committee is Iowa's Sen. Tom Harkin. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid may have some difficult decisions to make about committee chairmanships.

The broader question becomes, however, about what will happen to health care reform more generally. West Virginia Sen. Robert Byrd yesterday proposed renaming the legislation after Kennedy in honor of his life, and death. But others fear that renaming the legislation after Kennedy in the wake of his death will create a "Wellstone spectacle." (After the sudden death of former Minnesota Sen. Paul Wellstone less than two weeks before Election Day, friends attempted to rally mourners at his funeral for the election and ultimately lost the seat to Sen. Norm Coleman.)

Much of the speculation about what will happen to Kennedy's seat, chairmanship, and health care reform more generally is early. Many supporters and family members are still mourning. Democratic leadership has a lot of questions to answer, though, and many grassroots organizers fear that the longer health reform is delayed, the less likely it is to come about. Already, Kennedy's leadership on the issue of health care is sorely missed.

TED KENNEDY: Historic Speech @ Denver Convention [YouTube]
A Kennedy vigil: 'I'm here because I'm grieving' [Boston Globe]
Obama to deliver a eulogy for Kennedy [UPI]
Push Grows for Fast Choice on Successor to Kennedy [NYT]
Patrick mum on people interested in Kennedy seat [AP]
Dodd's Surgery Called Success [Hartford Courant]
Connecticut's Chris Dodd Faces a Backyard Rebellion [Time]
Byrd proposes renaming health care bill after Ted Kennedy [Think Progress]
Will Kennedy's Death Bring About a Wellstone Spectacle for Health Care? [Wizbang]

[Washington, D.C., August 26. Image via Getty]

WASHINGTON - AUGUST 26: A small hand-picked flower sits in front of Sen. Edward Kennedy's (D-MA) Washington residence August 26, 2009 in Washington, DC. Known as 'The Lion of the Senate,' Kennedy, 77, died last night at his home in Massachusetts. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

In his honor and as a tribute to his commitment to his ideals, let us stop the shouting and name calling and have a civilized debate on health care reform which I hope, when legislation has been signed into law, will bear his name for his commitment to insuring the health of every American.

Just earlier this week, former presidential candidate Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) said that the absence of Kennedy in the debate over health care has made a "huge, huge difference."

Byrd proposes renaming health care bill after Ted Kennedy [Think Progress]
McCain: Health debate hurt by Kennedy's absence [AP]

[Image: United States Capitol Building, August 26, 2009. Image via Getty]

Kennedy championed many kinds of legislation over the years, much of it working to narrow inequalities and increase access to basic rights.

His family made the following statement:

Edward M. Kennedy — the husband, father, grandfather, brother and uncle we loved so deeply — died late Tuesday night at home in Hyannisport. We've lost the irreplaceable center of our family and joyous light in our lives, but the inspiration of his faith, optimism, and perseverance will live on in our hearts forever. We thank everyone who gave him care and support over this last year, and everyone who stood with him for so many years in his tireless march for progress toward justice, fairness and opportunity for all. He loved this country and devoted his life to serving it. He always believed that our best days were still ahead, but it's hard to imagine any of them without him.

Perhaps the saddest part about Kennedy's passing is that he has been both one of the most senior members of the Senate and one that worked to pass some of the most important legislation that has made America great. Without him, I fear that the legislative work on behalf of those most in need will suffer without him.

We've gathered a sampling of the work he has done for women and minorities. He accomplished much in his lifetime, but some of the work he started remains unfinished. The list is by no means comprehensive, but is meant to serve as a tribute to his work in public service.

Gender Equity: Kennedy saw the Senate of the Equal Rights Amendment in 1972, which aimed to make men and women equal in the constitution. He reintroduced the legislation again this congressional session, but it has yet to make it into the constitution.

Kennnedy championed Title IX of the Civil Rights Act in 1972, which prevented educational institutions from discriminating against women (afterward, colleges and universities integrated, paving the way for women like Sonia Sotomayor and Hillary Clinton to attend Ivy League institutions), as well as requiring equitable athletic opportunities.

Civil Rights: Kennedy saw the passage of the Civil Rights Restoration Act of 1988 as committee chairman, which strengthened the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Afterward, then-executive director of the Leadership Council on Civil Rights Ralph Neas said, "Now you see what happens when you have a civil rights champion in charge of the committee."

He was also chief sponsor on the Civil Rights Act of 1991, which addressed intentional discrimination and harassment in the workplace. He was also a key sponsor of legislation by the same name in 2008, which sought to restore civil rights protections stripped by Supreme Court rulings in recent years (like the Lilly Ledbetter case).

Pay Equity: Kennedy worked on the Fair Pay Restoration Act, which sought to restore the rights of women to sue with each discriminatory paycheck, overturning the Supreme Court ruling in Ledbetter v. Goodyear.

Voting Rights: Kennedy worked on the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which allowed equal access to voting as part of the Civil Rights movement. He also worked to add amendments in 1982 that expanded voting access to Native Americans, Latinos, and others who required language assistance.

Affirmative Action: Kennedy helped defeat legislation that would have ended federal affirmative action in 1998 and joined his colleagues in the Senate in filing a brief urging the Supreme Court to uphold affirmative action in 2003.

LGBT Rights: Kennedy has been the chief sponsor of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act since 1994, which would make it illegal to discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation in the workplace. The bill has yet to pass.

Hate Crimes: Kennedy worked on the Matthew Shepard Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act in 2007, which would implement more severe penalties for crimes against women, gays, lesbians, and transgender persons. The bill was vetoed by President Bush in 2007, but the legislation has been reintroduced in the 110th Congress.

HIV/AIDS: Kennedy introduced what became the Ryan White CARE Act, which addressed thirteen cities hit hardest by the HIV/AIDS crisis in 1990. When it was up for reauthorization in 2000, it provided nearly $9 billion in HIV/AIDS services over the following five years.

Domestic Violence: Kennedy worked with Vice President Joe Biden on the 1994 Violence Against Women Act. He also worked on its reauthorization in 2000, which allowed immigrant women to apply for permanent status in the United States without their abusive partners.

Disability Equity: Kennedy worked to pass the Americans with Disabilities Act in 1990, which provided much-needed accommodations for those with disabilities.

Minimum Wage: Kennedy worked with Congress in 2007 to pass the first hike in the minimum wage in more than a decade. Women disproportionately make up the population low-wage hourly workers.

Women in Combat: Kennedy championed the repeal a ban of women in combat in 1991. Women are still technically barred from fighting on the "front lines," such stipulations are meaningless in modern combat. By working for legislation that repealed archaic legislation, Kennedy helped women achieve more equality in the military.

Military Child Care: In 1989, Kennedy saw the passage of the National Military Child Care Act, which established the Department of Defense's child care program. This allowed working spouses of military members and women who were enlisted themselves to have access to high-quality, federally funded child care.

Health Insurance for Children and Pregnant Women: In 1997, Kennedy co-sponsored the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP), allowing families to have access to health care that previously didn't. Kennedy also introduced legislation that has yet to pass, Affordable Health Care Act, which would expand Medicaid and SCHIP coverage for children, pregnant women, and the disabled.

He saw the passage of the Pregnancy Discrimination Act in 1978, which made it illegal for employers to fire women for leave taken due to pregnancy. We still don't require employers to provide paid maternity leave.

Minority Health Care: Kennedy championed the The Minority Health and Health Disparities Research and Education Act in 2000, which provided funding for research for how to reduce disparities in cancer, heart disease, HIV/AIDS, diabetes, and other severe health problems that are found to be significantly higher in minority populations. In 2006, he introduced the Minority Health Improvement and Health Disparity Elimination Act, which would address inequalities in health care access and treatment if passed.

The Inclusion of Women in Scientific and Medical Research: Kennedy co-sponsored the NIH Revitalization Act of 1993, legislation that called for the inclusion of women and minorities in federally funded clinical research.

Kennedy Dead At 77 [Boston Globe]
Accomplishments Of Senator Kennedy [The Boston Channel]

One promise that was kept, though, was the promise made at a New York Times Talks panel on Obama's first 100 days: that Thursday morning, the paper would not feature the typical swearing-in photo, and it doesn't! Aren't they cute? Not maybe as cute as the thought of the inauguration party that Sasha and Malia had last night at the White House, but very little probably could be.

In the mean time, there were plenty of disappointed inaugural ticket holders, what with the clusterfuckery of non-coordination that was security yesterday even for people (unlike me) lucky enough to have tickets or press seating. And, of course, no one was more disappointed that Hillary, whose promised confirmation by unanimous consent yesterday was derailed by Texas Senator John Cornyn because apparently it hasn't yet gotten uncool in some Republican circles to hate Bill Clinton. She is supposed to be up for a vote today, though, at which point she'll join her 7 Cabinetry colleagues in confirmation splendor.

As for other promises kept (other than that whole first-black-President thing), Obama ordered a suspension to prosecutions at Gitmo yesterday, Rahm put a stop to all pending regulation until the Administration can conduct a review and Obama reportedly plans to end the Mexico City policy (i.e., the global gag rule) by executive order this week. Oh, and the new White House website makes a couple snide remarks about Bush, which is just fun.

In illness watch, Ted Kennedy is reportedly recovering from his seizure yesterday which his staff says doctors think was brought on by fatigue. Health and Human Service Secretary nominee Tom Daschle was not in DC yesterday because he's taking care of a brother with brain cancer.

The best news, however, is that Barack is a fellow wine drinker. Reuters says

The White House has no official wine cellar but wines are chosen by a small team for specific events, based on their affinity with the menu as well as politically correct pairing depending on the guests in attendance.

I'd be more than happy to be part of this "small team," so, um, hey, Desirée Rogers? Give me a call. Unlike my language my palate is pretty refined.

(Click on any image to begin gallery)

• The word is, again, that Hillary Clinton has been offered and will accept the Secretary of State job. It might not happen until after Thanksgiving, officially, though, because Obama announced he's rolling out the economic team first on Monday. [NY Times]
• Some people are a little concerned about who else she might bring to Foggy Bottom, though. [Washington Independent]
• On that economic team roll-out Monday, the top dog appears to be Timothy Geithner, the current president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, who it's said will be our next Treasury Secretary. [The Hill]
• He might well be sharing the stage with Bill Richardson, who everyone is saying will be the next Commerce Secretary. Interesting note: if he is, he'll be the second Latino in a row to hold the position, like Clinton would be the second woman in a row at State. [CNN]

• What will presumably get announced when the Clinton nomination is official is the identity of Obama's national security adviser — who, speculation holds, will be Marine Gen. James L. Jones (Ret.). [Huffington Post]
• By the way, get your Hillary campaign memorabilia now — she's still selling office equipment from her campaign to pay her debts. Taking the Secretary of State gig might mean she'll never pay off those vendors, as she would be prohibited from raising money for the debt by law. [Politico]
• Some Obama volunteer is making his own personal stimulus package by trying to sell, on eBay, a binder and speech he or she pilfered from a pre-election rally. Classy. [LA Times]
• A bunch of elementary school kids at the Ludlow Elementary School on Long Island petitioned for — and received — a more permanent campaign keepsake: they've renamed their school Barack Obama Elementary School. [ABC News]
• If you're not a fan of Big Brother, stay the fuck away from the inauguration. [Associated Press]
• And, onto policy issues, there's now yet a third competing Democratic health care reform package — in addition to the pre-emptive health care legislative strike by Finance Committee Chair Max Baucus and the package that Ted Kennedy, chair of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, has promised, Oregon Senator Ron Wyden has one, too. No wonder even Hillary Clinton couldn't get anything done 15 years ago. [The Hill]
• Upstart Congressman Henry Waxman, when he wrests the gavel of the Energy and Commerce Committee from Auto Industry Michigan Congressman John Dingell, is expected to push for Obama's energy and environmental reform plans. [LA Times]
• But a repeal of the military's Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy will likely wait until later in the 2009 — or even 2010 — while Obama and his staff soothe the Pentagon's fears that other dudes will be checking out their junk in the barracks, as though that hasn't gone on the entire time anyway. [Washington Times]
• The crazy, goat-herding, rooster-owning prosecutor who, from his trailer parked outside the courthouse, engineered an indictment of Dick Cheney and Alberto Gonzales showed up for court today and acted, predictably, completely crazy. Because he's crazy. [Brattleboro Reformer]
• Speaking of, Fred Thompson is engineering his return to acting, but no one is really sure how well he's going to fit into the Gossip Girl cast. [Huffington Post]

MEGAN: In continuing my streak this week of mornings completely sucking, the power company has informed me that I will be paying for power oday but not receiving any, so I am writing you from a very loud coffee shop where children are welcome. And, apparently, caffeinated! And you thought I wanted to die when I didn't know where my car was.

SPENCER: This week has really shaped up into your own personal stations of the cross, hasn't it? What happened with your car?

MEGAN: It was towed. Since New York City can't make me pay taxes and revenues are down, they're towing fucking everything now. They didn't take my knee high boots, though, and, apparently, they enjoyed the sound of my alarm for quite a while. I plan on wearing the boots in celebration.

SPENCER: Did you get it back from the impound lot or take the bus home?

MEGAN: (At this moment, in violation of this coffee house's ban on cell phone conversations, the man behind me is conducting one. Fucking kill me). Oh, no, I got it out of hock, after 10 days they would sell it!

SPENCER: Aee, this is why YOU SHOULD NEVER TALK ON THE PHONE. Only text-based communications are welcome. Never use your phone for voice communication

MEGAN: Anyway, if we're going to relate this to politics, can we call the rumors of Hillary as Secretary of State a big game of D.C. telephone?

SPENCER: And here's the tragedy. HRC will never be Obama's SecState — just ludicrous to consider, what with the backbiting and undermining, completely alien to Obama's management style thus far. HOWEVER. HRC has all the skills necessary to be a good secretary, even a great one: she has a massive international stature, she's fluent in the details of strategy and the larger picture, she knows how to be persuasive and she learned about management — what works & what doesn't — in the WH. But if you were HRC, would you rather:

• a) spend a couple years in an Obama administration, where you probably will clash with your boss, and that will lead him to fire you, or
• b) have the chance to pass the Clinton-Baucus Health Care Act of 2009, fulfilling a lifelong dream of improving people's lives in this country, and going on to spend your remaining years as a Senate baron?

MEGAN: I'm thinking Clinton should hitch her star to the Kennedy bill, because Baucus didn't make any friends pulling that shit this week. What is the Senate Finance Committee chair doing issuing a health care reform package without any input from the Health Committee chair? Nonetheless, yes, that is the real question: does she want to take full advantage of the Senatorial Retirement Home, or do something exciting and really change some shit. Because State is way overdo for some structural reforms, and this might well be one of the more exciting times to be Secretary of State, given where Obama wants to take our foreign policy.

SPENCER: Well, I don't understand the politics of health care, I have Ezra Klein for that. I'm just making a general point about what she can accomplish in the Senate.

MEGAN: Also, she's reportedly in Chicago. No, I understand that, it was just mostly a way for me to point out what Baucus is doing, besides issuing a health care plan that's in opposition to many of the principles of Obama's, which is legitmately at this point mostly Clinton's from the primaries.

SPENCER: Whoa whoa whoa. Structural changes at State? Never happen. That was one of Condoleezza Rice's many attempts at doing something that failed. It would be nice if the Department bred, say, a more expeditionary Foreign Service culture, allowing diplomats to better partner with soldiers & marines in counterinsurgency, but when Rice proposed sending more diplos to Iraq last year there was practically a riot. HRC doesn't want that headache.

MEGAN: Well, but that's not a structural reform from the bottom up — and I'm not saying HRC would want to take it on — but the system right now is a jury-rigged system of outdated written test-taking and competitive (argumentative) non-interviews that aren't really reflective of the modern world or modern career paths. But, speaking of Condi... You had some stuff to say about her.

SPENCER: Yeah, I want to push back against any premature Rice-rehabilitation. She has not a single achievement to her name. It's crazy that she's so esteemed in Washington. She didn't do shit, except enable the worst foreign-policy presidency of all time and serve as the worst national-security adviser in history. She even comes across as a fool and a knave in the new Woodward book about the surge.

MEGAN: Well, in her defense, she was honored at Glamour's Woman of the Year awards for her contributions to microfinance grants for women in developing countries and her efforts to get rape made a war crime at the UN. I'm not saying it balances out — like, at all — but she did do some small important things.

SPENCER: I can't wait until a document called NSPD-9 gets declassified, so we can see for all time that she lied to the 9/11 Commission and tried to destroy Richard Clarke's character for his crime of pointing out how she dithered while al-Qaeda got ready to attack.

MEGAN: Ugh, yeah, that would be the stuff that doesn't balance out. She does appear to have been the biggest Bush cheerleader as opposed to pushing back when it was likely her job to do so. But there are women to admire, like Tammy Duckworth, who one can arguably say has suffered for Rice's missteps and might join the Obama administration as the head of the VA.

SPENCER: That would be great. I love Tammy Duckworth and wish she had won her House seat in '06. Much like it sent a signal to Vietnam vets for Reagan to put Chuck Hagel at the VA (I think he was deputy first), so too should Obama put Duckworth in charge of his VA. She's allegedly the only competent, non-corrupt member of Blago... Blagojev... whatever the name of the Illinois governor is, she's his VA secretary and is killing it. Also she skipped the line ahead of me flying out of Denver after the Democratic convention and I didn't mind. Speaking of flying, I have to go to New Orleans but should we say something about Bill Ayers on GMA.

MEGAN: I mean, I kind of wish he'd opened his yap a little earlier because he seems so un-terroristy that it would've stopped people in their tracks, maybe.

SPENCER: Did you notice how on-message and clear he was? I don't know who the douche interviewer was, but he kept trying to get Ayers to concede that there was something shadowy to concede, and Ayers wouldn't. Also, journalists: never start a question with "surely..." because it invites your interview subject to dismiss your premise.

MEGAN: That is some good advice. My advice: avoid hurricanes at all cost and if someone wants to see your tits, tell them you paid too much for them to let someone see 'em for 10 cent beads.

SPENCER: Some spider or something bit me right next above my left nipple so I don't think I'm going to flash my tits this weekend. Anyway, may your week of disaster come to a close and I'll find a red wine you like in New Orleans. Also expect drunk photos from either myself or travel companion Calderone.

MEGAN: I am greatly looking forward to those! But you should probably tell your girlfriend to stop biting your nipples so hard.

SPENCER: Honestly it's some kind of bug.

MEGAN: I don't really need to know about your role-playing sex games.

SPENCER: Oh but really quick self-promotion: You want a strong woman at the helm of Obama's foreign policy? Meet Susan Rice. And check out this quote Princeton's Ann-Marie Slaughter gave me:

Slaughter added that Rice’s potential ascendancy represented a milestone in gender equity for the foreign-policy community. “It is very important to women in foreign policy that Susan is not married to her job,” Slaughter said. “She has a great husband and two young kids, and she managed to balance it. After Madeleine Albright, whose kids were grown, and Condi Rice, who does not have a family, that’s a very important message to send. After all, most men in foreign policy manage to have families, too.”

That was my kicker in the piece and now I'm out.

MEGAN: I've heard from a number of people about her awesomeness, actually, so here's hoping her participation in the Obama Administration doesn't end with the end of his transition team. Be safe!

The IHT writer interviews a bunch of Catholics in Scranton to highlight the back-and-forth about abortion and voting that happens among the Catholic faithful — if not their leaders — while showing at least some of them swinging toward McCain (and one being racist). Although the Church regards the practice of abortion as a sin, excommunication isn't exactly standard practice for the women of Catholic faith who have had them, since you can cross your legs and — as a friend of my mother's did in high school — wear a hat in the pew and never tell the priest about your abortion. For politicians, on the other hand, it's another story. In the last few years, players in the Church hierarchy have begun vociferously pushing the idea that not only are women who get abortions and the doctors who perform them going to hell, but that the politicians who support the right of non-Catholic women to believe that abortion is not wrong — and Catholic women who believe that the Pope is wrong — are also going to hell.

Joe Biden, for instance, was warned by a local bishop not to try to go to church in or around Scranton, Pennsylvania (his hometown) as he will be denied Communion. Conservative Catholic groups have called for all pro-choice Catholic politicians to be treated similarly in an effort to pressure them to choose their religious faith over their constitutional responsibilities. (Even Catholic writer and professor Douglas Kmiec was denied Communion (i.e., excommunicated) for having the audacity to support Barack Obama because he and Obama believe that Obama's pro-woman, pro-sex ed policies can actually reduce the incidence of abortion by reducing the economic hardships faced by pregnant women...and the number of pregnancies altogether. Shocking, I know.)

Amusingly, as I like to keep repeating, former McCain surrogate Carly Fiorina recently claimed that it is the Democrats who are trying to hold women hostage to the party on the issue of abortion. Well, I'll be damned if too many Democrats go around using their actual pulpits to actually damn people to actual hell (assuming there is a hell to which one can be damned, but Catholics believe there is). Actually, I guess I'll be damned anyway.

In addition to Biden, many politicians — Nancy Pelosi, Tim Kaine, John Kerry and Ted Kennedy, for instance — are practicing Catholics. As such, they are asked to believe that abortion as wrong. And as politicians sworn to uphold the Constitution of this country, they are asked to commit to this leetle thing we like to call the separation of church and state (and to represent the views of their constituents). When your religious values conflict with your responsibilities as a politician, that's a difficult thing to handle. Most do so in the same way that my mother does: they believe that abortion is wrong, but don't believe their religious views should be forced on people who don't share those beliefs. That's called being "pro-choice."

Abortion Issue Again Dividing Catholic Votes [International Herald Tribune]
Denied Communion For Backing Obama [Andrew Sullivan]
Abortion's Foes — On Both Sides Of The Aisle [Wall Street Journal]

• So, hooray, Ted Kennedy is out of the hospital. [NY Times]
• But, tomatoes might kill all of us, and I ain't even talking about the mutant kind. [Washington Post, Killer Tomatoes, with full info from the FDA]
• But daily sex with your partner definitely won't, though it will propel you to the top of the NY Times most emailed list and, actually, that might be more depressing than killer tomatoes. [NY Times]
• But it's okay because the Democrats "stunning" refusal to grant telephone companies legal immunity for doing potentially illegal things means the terrorists are all winning so we'll all be dead soon, so you might as well eat some damn tomatoes and try fucking tonight. [NY Times]

• It doesn't help any that Michelle and Barack Obama are sending super-secret signals to al Qaeda through their open use of the fist pound. No, for real, someone said that. I wish I was kidding. [Politico]
• I will continue to play Cassandra and point out that 17% of Clinton supporters currently plan to vote for McCain in November and another 22% plan to stay home, and that doesn't even count all the people I know that keep telling me they're going to make her a write-in candidate. Oh, and she's totes McCain's new BFF, what with her "centrist foreign policy views," as McCain aide and former National Review writer Michael Goldfarb says. [CNN]
• But, I can always get cheered up by talking trash about Cheney. [LA Times]
• But there's always something to bring me down, like about how you can actually catch a dude giving you a roofie and call the cops and go to the hospital and be able to prove it but the prosecutors can claim there's not enough evidence. Paging BAngieB. [LA Times]
• Oh, and, naturally, we've diverted all this humanitarian aid money that used to go to doing humanitarian stuff in Pakistan to helping them help us fight the War on Terror, you know, like finding Osama and shit, which means that lots of good humanitarian projects, like helping women fight and recover from abusive relationships, are severely underfunded. [Washington Times]
• But, hey, Scott McClellan is going to testify under oath about what little he knows about the nefarious doings in the Bush Administration. That should accomplish exactly nothing [HuffPo]
• I think I'll stick with let's get drunk (on Bloody Marys, natch, since vodka kills germs) and screw.

• Hillary suffered a coughing fit in South Dakota today and might give up altogether tomorrow. I have been suffering coughing fits all weekend and I haven't even managed to give up smoking, so I'm not placing any bets, but apparently there's a deal in the works for the Obama campaign to Bernanke her Bear Stearns. [Huff Po]
• Speaking! Krugman defends Bernanke on the grounds that there are no unions in America sending inflation spiraling of control with their wage demands like there were in the seventies. But hello Paul, you know what the Chinese were making in the seventies? [NYT]
• Also, I bet Americans had slightly less than a trillion dollars in credit card debt in the seventies. [WSJ]
• Stuff we did have in the seventies besides unions: regulations and trade barriers. Without those things to eradicate economic growth may be so hard to achieve that Barack Obama can call himself the "growth candidate" with his proposals to focus on preschool. [Wash Post]

• Ahmadinejad said something about how Jesus will come back and kill all the Jews this time. [Breitbart]
• Sadr City: 110 degrees, lacking potable water or a decent sewage system, but — your boss will be so stoked! — there's totally decent BlackBerry service! [WSJ]
• "I used to watch this mooncalf blunder his way through press conferences and think, Exactly where do we find such men? For the job of swabbing out the White House stables, yes. But for any task involving the weighing of words?" Hitch suggests you forego Scott McClellan's tell-all in favor of Doug Feith's epic defense of Don Rumsfeld, on account of a bunch of bullshit retorts to straw arguments no one seriously makes — "that there was no consideration given to postwar planning," for instance; oh please — and also, Feith's superior prose style. Natch. [Slate]
• Can "parenting classes" save the next generation of inbred underage incest victims from the clutches of Fundamentalist Mormon mind control? Well… [AP]
• Ted Kennedy's brain surgery was successful. Now comes the fun part: radiation and chemo. Good luck.[WSJ]
• Matt Drudge as microcosm for the nation's ideological shift. [Politico]
• Henry Louis Gates talks to James Watson and finds him to not be a racist but a "racialist"; Gates explores his own love-hate relationship with DNA; generally depressing story reveals James Watson has a low IQ. [TheRoot]

• Hillary's push to seat Michigan and Florida despite Harold Ickes' vote to sanction the two states for holding their primaries early: breathtaking cynicism or heroic self-sacrifice? [TPM]
• McCain rejected the endorsement of that pastor who called the Catholic Church "the great whore." I'm not getting something here. I mean, sure, everyone knows by now that "whore" is a slur suggestive of misogyny, but the "Great Sex Worker" just lacks a certain ring, you know? [CNN]
• Anyway devout Catholic Bobby Jindal isn't letting the whole mess keep him away from McCain's running mate race! He's hanging out this weekend at the ranch with Charlie Crist (yikes! too much skin cancer for one presidential ticket!) and Mitt Romney. It's so Apprentice of them! And like, Bobby could tell the story of that time he witnessed an exorcism in the confessional…[AP]
• Abstinence education: Ted Kennedy's brain tumor was probably caused by herpes. [Radar]

• 62% of Americans think the government should tax the wealthy more and 78% of them think the income gap is too wide. By my estimate that's pretty much anyone with a household income less than $78,000. Fascinatingly, countries that already tax the rich a whole lot like Japan and Germany are more favorable to the whole notion while countries with less-developed social services like China and Italy are more skeptical. If you are familiar with common ethnic stereotypes and/or the work of my old professor Francis Fukuyama this will make total sense. [WSJ]

MOE: So uh, Barack Obama won Alaska! It's just because they hate women there. Check out this Super Tuesday map as compiled by the Germans. No, better yet, check this SuperTuesday map of California as compiled by the LA Times. It's funny how in most states, Obama wins the, like, black counties, whereas in California, he won the whitest white counties. Humboldt...Santa Cruz...Santa Barbara...San Francisco...all those counties where snowboarding is the economic engine.
MEGAN: Well, Idaho and Alaska are pretty white, too. And, if I recall correctly, he won a majority of white Democratic party voters in Georgia, too.
MOE: Really? Georgia??? I'd like to see the county readout of that.
MEGAN: That what the exit polls were reporting in the 7:00 hour, but here you go. He didn't win a majority among white men, though.
What's REALLY interesting to me is that if you compare the national maps of which candidate took which state — like the ones on the home page of the Washington Post this morning, how similar McCain's majority and Clinton's majority states are.
MOE: Chris Matthews was making a big deal about that. When was the last time the Republican candidate was chosen by the least Republican states, did not play to the base etc. etc. Um... when was it? Like I'd know. Was Nixon popular in the Bible belt?

MEGAN: Oklahoma and Missouri aren't exactly liberal bastions or something
MOE: Obama won Missouri, don't forget!
Yeah, and that's what I kept saying about Oklahoma.
MEGAN: but Matthews sometimes doesn't like to let facts get in between his brain and his mouth.
MOE: Uh yeah he talks with his gland.
MEGAN: see, i would've said "his ass" but either way

MOE: So basically delegate wise the two Dems are both in dead heat, McCain is pretty much a lock as much as the cable news channels love Huckabee because he will actually show up and talk to them about how he hates Mitt Romney for hours and hours...and...oh yeah, we were supposed to tell our readers what this actually means. I think it means YOUR VOTE STILL COUNTS, Megan Carpentier! So don't be makring your your calendar
MEGAN: Yay!
MOE: Although I'm wondering if mine does. I'm registered in Pennsylvania.
MEGAN: Their primaries are April 22
MOE: Oh god.
Spring Break!
MEGAN: Oh, let me source that for anyone wondering when their state's is.
MOE: Well that will be fun. I love my polling place, it's this little South Philly social club and I'll get dinner at a BYOB afterwards. The first time I went in '04 all the little old people wanted to know if gay marriage or abortion was on the ballot. After hearing that neither were, they promptly voted for Kerry and tried to kick the local Republican boss out of dodge. Those people are not going to be Obama voters, something tells me. Although something tells me they may not be still alive.
MEGAN: I want to see old people drive a Republican party boss away with torches and pitchforks and walkers!
My polling place is a senior center, staffed by seniors. It is soooooooooo slooooooow
MOE: Yeah mine's pretty slow too but so is everything in Philly. SO. Who's better for winning all those old school blue states plus Oklahoma? McCain or Clinton?
And seriously, why are Californians still voting for John Edwards?

MEGAN: Well, part of that is absentee ballots, undoubtedly.
And part of it is people probably thinking that it would get him another couple of delegates, which it doesn't because he's no longer seeking them. Protests votes only work when cast for someone actually still in the race.
I mean, I think in a general election, Hillary probably takes California and New York, and McCain Oklahoma. The question is whether Republican voters turn out for McCain in swing states an/or which of them can inspire voters in the middle. Because neither particularly inspires me to wait in a 45 minute line with the old-people smell to spend 30 seconds touching a computer screen.
Also, I would like to make a plea here for my local election boards to remove all those annoying fuckers with "sample" ballots from my polling place, because walking that gauntlet makes me fucking cranky.
Thanks, assholes. I'm pretty sure I can figure out who your party's candidates' are, what with the big Rs and Ds next to everyone's name.
Sorry, pet peeve.

MOE: I generally think that turning out well in Hillary's states means good things for McCain in the swing states. But who actually knows. I have a feeling he'd be a much nastier debater vis a vis Hillary than Obama, plus there's the whole thing where their positions are actually different. But I can also see him slamming her inconsistency on, say, immigration, just for fun? Because he doesn't have to talk to Republicans anymore? The interesting part is we've never really gotten to see McCain throw down with anyone but his fellow Republicans.
Oh I guess we should also talk about how the people of Massachusetts don't just blindly follow wherever Ted Kennedy would try to steer them...
MEGAN: That's true. It's hard to paint McCain as a flip-flopper over anything other than his willingness to suck up to the hard right this time (unlike in 2000).
MOE: (insert your own tasteless joke)
MEGAN: Doesn't that make Obama a body of water?
That we all might drown in?
MOE: "Slutty anxious females" beware!!!

MOE: So this just in from Politico... Obama won the delegate race possibly maybe.
MEGAN: I dunno, CNN and the WaPo have him behind by about 20, give or take, not including New Mexico where it's so close that if his lead holds he'll only be about 1 delegate ahead
MOE: Hey, dumb question, how did Obama win New Mexico and lose Arizona and California so hard? Did they forget to put John Edwards on the ballot there? How does that bode for Texas? And when is the primary in Texas again?
MEGAN: which then puts him about 5 delegates short of her in terms of pledged delegates and about 74 short of her if you include superdelegates overall
The primary in Texas is March 4.
And, I have no idea. I know that Obama was there this week, and I'm not sure if Hillary was, and I'd bet NM doesn't get a lot of candidate love?
CNN's exit poll for NM here. Not that it's helpful.
MOE: Is it big? And also: don't they have Mexicans there? You know, the types that hate Luo tribesmen like Obama?? Or are they the assimilated Ingles speaking Mexicans that actually like Obama? The only people I've ever known to live in New Mexico were hippies who got unwittingly rich off software company options. All white.
MEGAN: Hillary won big among Latinos there, yes
MOE: Oh wow, Obama won every age group under sixty.
But it's an OLD state.
And yeah there weren't enough Latinos between 18-29 to tally up their vote in NM.
MEGAN: Or they couldn't find enough to agree to be interviewed
MOE: Right, actually Latinos between 18-29 allegedly made up 3% of the electorate there.
Also, it should be pointed out that Hillary wins the churchgoers.
MEGAN: Huh. I would not have guessed that one.

MOE: One state that I forgot to talk about last night was Paul Westerberg's home state of Minnesota, which I think brings up the interesting phenomenon of his campaign, which is, like, okay, it's one thing to win the college/idealist/"trendy" vote and the urban vote. But then he's got these states like Idaho and Colorado. It's an interesting collection of voters. I can, like, "see" the average Hillary voter a lot more clearly. With Obama it seems more nebulous.
And he won Minnesota by a long shot.

MEGAN: I mean, that's really been the essence of Obama's "uniting America" campaign, though, right? Appealing to non-traditional voters and the like. It's probably also worthwhile noting that many of the states Hillary won last night are closed-primary states.
So, it could be argued that Hillary's the nominee that Democrats want to vote for and Obama's the nominee lots of other people kind of want to vote for, which is then a discussion of whether it's good/appropriate/whatever for non-Democrats to be picking the Democratic nominee.
MOE: Hahaha it's only fitting when non-Republicans seem to be picking the Republican nominee! I don't think I was registered with a political party until I lived in Philly. Prior to that I voted, like, Green. Ha.
MEGAN: I am actually not registered in a political party at all, deliberately so. I never have been.
MOE: Can you vote in your chosen state?
MEGAN: Not that I want to state exactly where I live, but even if I could vote in a primary, I still would choose not to because I feel strange about picking the candidate for a party to which I don't belong.