Congress took major steps toward establishing a new system for dealing with terror suspects as the House approved legislation sought by President Bush.
Last night I was one of the participants in a Pajamas Media panel, at the National Press Club. The overall impresario was Roger Simon, and the moderator was none less than Glenn Reynolds. Other participants were Tom Bevan, Mark Blumenthal, Jane Hall, Cliff May, Paul Mirengoff, and Claudia Rosett. The stated subject was "How partisan is too partisan?" but much of the discussion was about the biases of the mainstream media.
Some might call it cocky, others smart planning. But I've stumbled across the latest evidence that Democrats are preparing to take back the House of Representatives after 12 years in the minority. They're hiring! What started about a month ago with lists being drawn up by some Democratic House committee staffers of Republican jobs they'd fill if the GOP loses badly on November 7 has turned into a résumé-collection operation by some. And minority staffers from at least one committee–the House Science Committee–have posted a want ad on the internal House employment website. It reads:
AP - President Bush appealed to the bickering presidents of Pakistan and Afghanistan on Wednesday to put aside their differences and "strategize together" over dinner on ways to defeat the common enemy of terrorism.
AP - A gunman took six girls hostage at the high school in this mountain town Wednesday, using them as human shields for hours before he shot and fatally wounded a girl and then killed himself as a SWAT team moved in, authorities said.
AP - The House approved legislation Wednesday giving the Bush administration authority to interrogate and prosecute terrorism detainees, moving President Bush to the edge of a pre-election victory with a key piece of his anti-terror plan.
Details are emerging about the death of a student taken hostage during an armed standoff in a high school classroom in Bailey, Colorado. Sheriff Fred Wegener of the Park County Sheriff's Department said: "Officers breached the classroom with explosives... Within seconds the gunman shot one of the hostages and then shot himself."
President Bush will play middleman during meetings Wednesday night with two world leaders who are key players in the war on terror, but have been outspoken about their differences with each other.