In a surprise move, Alaska Governor Sarah Palin has announced she is resigning, effective July 26th. She claims that because she is not running for re-election, she doesn’t want to be a lame duck and subject herself to politics as usual.

Odd excuse. Either some scandal is about to break or Palin has decided that stepping down over a year before her term is over will help her prepare for a 2012 run at the presidency. Or, you know, she’s sick of the publicity.

It’ll be interesting to see what the former vice-presidential nominee does next.

Here’s the comment he left at Operation Rescue’s site, via Free Republic:

Scott Roeder Says:
May 19th, 2007 at 4:34 pm
Bleass everyone for attending and praying in May to bring justice to Tiller and the closing of his death camp.

Sometime soon, would it be feasible to organize as many people as possible to attend Tillers church (inside, not just outside) to have much more of a presence and possibly ask questions of the Pastor, Deacons, Elders and members while there? Doesn’t seem like it would hurt anything but bring more attention to Tiller.

Also from Free Republic, looks like he has a criminal record:

July 7, Kansas: Scott Roeder is sentenced to sixteen months in state prison for parole violations following a 1996 conviction for having bomb components in his car trunk. Roeder, a sovereign citizen and tax protester, violated his parole by not filing tax returns or providing his social security number to his employer.

This is just the type of domestic terrorism that the DHS pointed out in their recent report and that the right-wing was crying foul over, even though the Bush administration actually commissioned it.

More as it develops…

From KansasCity.com:

A suspect in the fatal shooting today of Wichita abortion provider George Tiller is in custody in Johnson County. [...]

Police said had been looking for a white male who was driving a 1990s powder blue Ford Taurus with Kansas license plate 225 BAB. The vehicle is registered to an owner in Merriam.

At 2 p.m. today, police in Gardner reportedly had a vehicle matching that description stopped.

My guess is that this man is looking to be some type of martyr in the anti-abortion world and really wasn’t looking to disappear into the shadows.

More as it develops…

Not only that, he was killed at his church.

From KMBC:

In a news conference on Sunday afternoon, Capt. Brent Allred said they were looking for a blue Ford Taurus with a K-State vanity plate, license number 225 BAB. He said the car was registered to an owner in Merriam.

Police described the shooter as a white male in his 50s or 60s, 6 feet 1 inch tall, 220 pounds, wearing a white shirt and dark pants.

Tiller became known because his abortion clinic was one of the few in the country that would perform late term abortions. Because of this, he was repeatedly attacked by militant anti-abortionists. His clinic was bombed in 1986, he was shot in 1993 and just last month his clinic was seriously vandalized.

Operation Rescue, the organization that usually organizes demonstrations in front of Tiller’s clinic, has already officially condemned the murder, but members have repeatedly caller for Tiller’s death.

However, then there’s this statement from the founder of Operation Rescue, Randall Terry:

George Tiller was a mass-murderer. We grieve for him that he did not have time to properly prepare his soul to face God. I am more concerned that the Obama Administration will use Tiller’s killing to intimidate pro-lifers into surrendering our most effective rhetoric and actions. Abortion is still murder. And we still must call abortion by its proper name; murder.

Those men and women who slaughter the unborn are murderers according to the Law of God. We must continue to expose them in our communities and peacefully protest them at their offices and homes, and yes, even their churches.

Wow. It takes some brass ones to put out a statement like that after somebody was murdered at their church. Kind of classless if you ask me.

More as it develops…

Remember that Obama’s first floated choice for CIA Director, John Brennan, had to withdraw his name from consideration due to a mostly blogosphere-induced backlash against his previous advocacy of Bush positions on wiretapping, torture, and the like. While it remains unclear how complicit Brennan actually was in any of that (probably not very, in truth), those of us hoping for a clear indication of new direction were happy to see him go.

But that left Obama in a difficult bind. For CIA director, you kind of need somebody who has been working at a high level in the intelligence community. But, given that that would have been under Bush’s tenure, that also would be someone who almost certainly, on some level, had a hand in the aforementioned abuses.

Obama appears to have squared this circle by bypassing it entirely, nominating instead a man with not one iota of intelligence experience–former Clinton White House Chief of Staff Leon Panetta.

NBC News has confirmed that President-elect Barack Obama has chosen former Clinton White House chief of staff Leon Panetta to run the CIA.

Panetta was a surprise pick for the post, with no experience in the intelligence world. An Obama transition official and another Democrat disclosed his nomination on a condition of anonymity since it was not yet public.

Panetta was director of the Office of Management and Budget and a longtime congressman from California.

If you have to make a quick trip to wikipedia, I don’t blame you.

However, despite the fact that he has no intelligence background, I find myself a bit optimistic about his appointment.

For one, it indicates that Obama is very serious about changing direction–he was responsive to the Brennan criticism, and in response he has gone out of his way to choose an outsider. A way, way outsider. As Andrew Sullivan notes, Panetta is clearly “significantly, detached from the torture regime and its apparatus in a way that anyone involved in the CIA in the last eight years would not be.” And as Glenn Greenwald adds, “it does seem clear that the Obama team was serious about avoiding anyone who had any connection at all to the Bush torture, surveillance and detention programs.”

For another, Panetta does have some thoughts on the germane issues of the post. Atrios uncovers a March op-ed by Panetta (and here’s a related one in the Washington Monthly) in which he more or less unequivocally condemns torture, wiretapping, and in general using fear as a justification for legality. It’s a thin record, to be sure, but at least it’s in the right direction.

And finally, what I think is thus far being missed, is the decision to choose not a spook, but a manager for the post. Panetta’s history is that of a human resources guy, a liason problem-solver. To that end, the smartest early take I’ve read yet on his appointment comes from Marc Ambinder. Panetta is there to clean house and, like much of what Obama does, to provide competent, pragmatic, and not-particular-ideologically driven leadership. In other words, like Obama himself, the hope seems to be that Panetta is being appointed to be the adult in the room at Langley, with the considerable added benefit of not having any particular baggage or loyalties himself.

Since nobody knows much about Panetta (at least not of the bloggers I read) and this is an entirely new role for him, it remains to be seen if he’ll prove effective or not; we can really only make generalized guesses. But as somebody who’s been watching this one decision closely, I’m cautiously optimistic.

Some surprising news today, especially since Richardson was so often mentioned as a possible VP pick:

A Democratic official says New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson has withdrawn his nomination to be President-elect Barack Obama’s commerce secretary.

He cited a pending investigation into a company that has done business with his state as the reason, NBC News reported.

President-elect Barack Obama has accepted Richardson’s decision to withdraw with “deep regret,” according to NBC News.

Here’s more about the investigation…

A federal grand jury is investigating how an investment company won more than $1.5 million in work advising the state of New Mexico after making contributions to the political action committees of Gov. Bill Richardson, President-elect Barack Obama’s choice to be commerce secretary. [...]

The FBI and federal prosecutors are focused on how the Beverly Hills-based CDR won lucrative fees from the New Mexico Finance Authority in 2004 very soon after donating $100,000 to Richardson’s efforts to register Hispanic and American Indian voters and pay for expenses at the Democratic National Convention in 2004, according to the sources. FBI agents have already asked numerous witnesses whether the governor’s aides were involved in CDR’s hiring.

Looks like there’s fire in that smoke, otherwise Richardson wouldn’t be pulling out.

More as it develops…

My friend and colleague, Lagan Sebert, and I have just published a follow-up on the voting situation in Pennsylvania, arrowing in on a recent legal battle over paper ballots and the Philadelphia City Commission (which has kind of become a peculiar little beat for the ANP, I guess.)

This week, we attended the federal hearing against the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania (filed by the NAACP) and the last public meeting of the Philly City Commissioners before the election. We were surprised to see very few members of media at either meeting–Bob Warner of the Philadelphia Daily News was an exception.

If you like it, please do send this along to other people who might be interested or link to it or embed it on your websites! All ANP content is free for use in newspapers, blogs, television, and radio.

Chaos Looms Over Pennsylvania Vote
By Danielle Ivory on Oct 31, 2008

Philadelphia is shaping up to be a key city in a key battleground state in this election, but machine problems and long lines may plague the polling stations and voter disenfranchisement will be a serious risk. Unfortunately for voters, the people charged with running a smooth election in Philly seem surprisingly unconcerned. Philly’s veritable election czar, Marge Tartaglione (D), in particular, shocked ANP with her comments at a recent hearing. See more videos at the American News Project.

ANP has been investigating the perplexing case of the Philadelphia City Commission for a few weeks.

Click for our original story, Philly Official Scoffs at Voting Problems.

Click for our follow-up, Voters Sue Pennsylvania, Election Official Scoffs.

And click for the judge’s recent ruling in the case of the NAACP v. Cortes.

Follow Danielle’s reporting on twitter.

Follow Lagan’s reporting on twitter.

Illinois business man and political fundraiser Antoin “Tony” Rezko was found guilty today on 16 of 24 counts including fraud and money laundering. This, of course, is only news because Rezko has been a friend and prominent supporter/fundraiser for Barack Obama.

I expect the name Rezko to be used in attacks against Obama throughout the campaign but, really, what politician hasn’t had close ties to shady characters? Obama is accused of no wrongdoing, except perhaps being a poor judge of character. I don’t imagine Obama will have much difficulty dodging this bullet.

As stated, chemotherapy and radiation will come after this. There’s a long road ahead yet, but this is encouraging news after we heard last week that the tumor was inoperable.

More as it develops…

Traffic moved pretty well this morning, thanks to the state essentially turning an alternate highway into a freeway by turning off the traffic lights and blocking access from side streets. A new bridge will probably take two years to build, so they’re also looking at longer-term fixes like turning road shoulders into extra lanes and things like that.

It seems like the bridge just got old and fatigued, and frequent inspections, while noting some issues, failed to spot the problems. Which may simply be a comment on how hard it can be to spot a weakening bridge.

I don’t use the bridge on my commute, but my wife crossed it twice yesterday, earlier in the day.

One of my best friends from college normally is on that bridge around that time, commuting home. After the bridge fell, his wife spent a frantic hour or so trying to locate him, but the cellphone network was overloaded and she couldn’t get through. Finally she sent her brother over to his office to look for his car. They found it; he had gotten stuck in a conference call. The bridge collapse and Twins game letting out meant he didn’t get home until late into the night, but that was far better than the alternative.

Over at Centrisity, a friend of Flash’s was on the centerspan that fell into the river. She’s fine, but flip on over for a picture showing her car.

Meanwhile, the fingerpointing has already begun.

I work just a few blocks from the river. Later tonight I’m going to walk over and take a look.

Not unexpected and he even talks about Iraq.

Guardian has more:

In an emotional 17-minute speech, he said the judgment on his 10-year administration was “for you, the people, to make”. Mr Blair paid special tribute to his wife and children “who never let me forget my failings”.

But he concluded: “Hand on heart, I did what I thought was right. I may have been wrong – that’s your call. But I did what I thought was right for our country.

“This country is a blessed country. The British are special. The world knows it, we know it, this is the greatest country on earth.”

He dealt directly with Iraq, many people’s perception as his ultimate legacy, saying: “The blowback since … has been fierce, unrelenting and costly.”

But he insisted: “The terrorists will never give up if we give up.”

Note he says blowback. That’s a very specific word, and I think Blair uses it intentionally. Perhaps a signal to the US and Bush that our tactics in the WoT are breeding more terrorists, not fewer? Perhaps a suggestion that our leadership should change their course and fight terrorists in smart, surgical ways?

Perhaps, perhaps, perhaps…

Also, it’s rumored that the shooter had mental health problems.

After he killed the first two people, he took some photographs, shot a video and sent it in the mail to NBC. This is most likely THE explanation as to why there was a lull in the violence at VA Tech that day.

From MSNBC:

Sometime after he killed two people in a Virginia university dormitory but before he slaughtered 30 more in a classroom building Monday morning, Cho Seung-Hui mailed NBC News a large package, including photographs and videos, lamenting that “this didn’t have to happen,� the network said Wednesday.

Cho, 23, a senior English major at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, killed 32 people in two attacks before taking his own life.

NBC News President Steve Capus said the network received the package in Wednesday morning’s mail delivery and immediately turned the materials over to FBI agents in New York.

The package included a long, “rambling, manifesto-like statement embedded with a series of photographs,â€Â? Capus said. The material is “hard-to-follow … disturbing, very disturbing â€â€? very angry, profanity-laced,â€Â? he said.

It did not include any images of the shootings Monday, but it did contain “vague references,� including “things like ‘this didn’t have to happen,’ � Capus said in an interview late Wednesday afternoon.

Cho wanted to be remembered.

He certainly got his wish.

Tragic news coming out of Virginia Tech.

From the AP:

BLACKSBURG, Va. (AP) – A gunman opened fire in a dorm and classroom at Virginia Tech on Monday, killing 21 people and wounding another 21 before he was killed, police said.

On the Web site, Tech reported the shootings at opposite sides of the 2,600-acre campus at West Ambler Johnston, a co-ed residence hall that houses 895 people, and said there were “multiple victims” at Norris Hall, an engineering building.

All entrances to the campus were closed and classes canceled through Tuesday.

Awful. Just awful.

UPDATE:
The statement of Virginia Tech’s President can be found here, and ABC News has eyewitnesses.

And here’s some video…

I know, I know…you think this is some sort of lame April fool’s prank.

Well, it’s not. This is 100% real.

It all started last week when I received this rather cryptic email:

—–Original Message—–
From: so-ronery@sabrerattlers.nk
Sent: Saturday, March 24, 2007 10:52 PM
To: Justin Gardner
Subject: Interested In A Career Change?

Justin,

What would it take for you to quit your job and redesign an entire country?

Name your price,
Kim

Needless to say, I was a bit puzzled so I followed up and traded emails with this mysterious “Kim.”

Finally I got a phone number and soon enough I was chatting with Kim Jong-Il himself. And let me just say right now, contrary to popular belief, Kim is quite the cut up. Seriously folks, this is one VERY funny dude. We chewed the fat for hours about movies, television, music, fashion, needlepoint, interior design, stray nukes and…of course…what the hell is going on with Britney Spears.

Anyway, Kim acknowledges that North Korea’s image isn’t all that hot right now, and they need a serious revamp if they have any hopes of attracting business and tourism to the country in the coming years.

Long story short, I was offered the position as Awesomely Supreme Minister of All Things Cultural To Benefit of North Korea. Yeah, the title is a little clunky, but the hope is that in less than a decade we can transform North Korea into the #1 tourist destination in the entire world for cats.

Think I’m crazy? Well, stranger things have happened.

So how do you turn an entire country from a “boring, unhip totalitarian nightmare” (Kim’s words, not mine) into an international hotspot for felines of all stripes? First thing up, Kim and I agreed that the name North Korea had too much baggage. It also didn’t really speak to the cat lover demographic we were targeting.

Yes, time to rename North Korea.

We went back and forth about this. Kim was very attached to “North Pussy” but I convinced him that he’d get a whole different type of crowd with that one. I also tried to convince him that “North” is too “civil war,” but he held firm. Old habits die hard I guess.

So after a few hours we finally decided on a name that we think fits perfectly: North Adorable.

And this is going to be our new flag:

Pretty damn adorable flag, no?

So after hearing the new name and seeing the new flag, what cat lover could resist sending their pets to visit North Adorable?

And seriously, if South Korea changes its name to South Adorable, we’ll take them to World Court so fast it’ll make their head spin. Do not screw with us South Korea!

So what does this mean for Donklephant? Well, there will be some downtime because I’ll be moving this entire month, but I will continue to blog as I always have…only now it will be mostly about cats.

I look forward to being your enemy for a while, but ultimately your first choice for all your feline’s vacation plans.

Love live North Adorable!

YouTube has tons of video to choose from.

Sampson came across as sincere and convincing, for the most part, though he seemed like a guy who was given far more responsibility than he could handle. He said “I don’t know” or “I don’t recall” a lot, but that’s normal and prudent. He was particularly convincing when he flatly denied that the firings were related to ongoing investigations or other purely political considerations.

His main meme was clear: the firings were legal, but perhaps poorly handled. And the response to Congressional questioning was totally botched, which was why he resigned.

Fair enough, but there were plenty of troubling details that senators of both parties kept bringing up. Orrin Hatch pitched softballs, but Jeff Sessions sharply criticized the whole affair.

Some of the more notable points raised:

1. While saying the firings were based on performance, he acknowledged that the process was not “scientific nor extensively documented.” Which led several senators to ask just what criteria were used to select these particular attorneys for removal.

2. He said Lam was criticized for her lack of immigration prosecutions. Then Sen. Diane Feinstein read a February 2006 letter from the Justice Department praising Lam for her immigration work in (I think) 2005, with prosecutions up three or fourfold and alien smuggling down by half. That said, the letter was apparently describing improvements over 2004. So one interpretation could be that Lam was doing a horrible job in 2004 — when the firing process was already underway — and her improved performance in 2005 wasn’t enough to save her.

3. Sampson later added that Lam was also let go for her failure to go after gun violations aggressively enough, which seemed like a bit of alternate justification after his initial justification was undermined.

4. He repeated several times, under prodding from senators, that Gonzales said various things that were untrue in previous statements to Congress. On March 12, Gonzales said he was “not involved in seeing any memos, was not involved in any discussions.” But Sampson said he discussed the matter four or five times with Gonzales and kept him informed. And of course there was the Nov. 27 meeting at which Gonzales approved the firing plan. Gonzales said Sampson didn’t share information within the department; Sampson said he did.

5. Sampson said the firings were in the works for two years, as they first compiled an initial list and then waited for the attorneys’ terms to expire. But then there was this bombshell:

Sampson also revealed that New Mexico U.S. Attorney David C. Iglesias was not added to the dismissal list until just before the Nov. 7 elections, after presidential adviser Karl Rove complained that Iglesias had not been aggressive enough in pursuing cases of voter fraud.

Not only proof of direct and forceful Rove involvement, but a last-minute addition that undermines the “two year” and “for performance” claims — since they apparently had no problems with his performance up until that point, and it would seem difficult to properly assess his performance given the hastiness of the addition.

6. Sampson even suggested firing Patrick Fitzgerald in the middle of his prosecution of Lewis Libby. One can only imagine what a firestorm that would have caused. Luckily for all of us cooler heads prevailed, in the form of Harriet Miers. But that’s saying something, consider Miers was the one who initially proposed firing all 93 attorneys at the beginning of Bush’s second term. When she’s considered the cooler head, you’ve got some trouble going.

So what does it all mean?

(Continued at Midtopia)

I respect that it’s a decision between John and Elizabeth, but this isn’t breast cancer. This is cancer in one of her ribs. And just so you know, bone cancer is really, really bad stuff. One of my great aunts had it, and she didn’t last very long after the prognosis. Of course, my great aunt was much older than Elizabeth, but “incurable” is certainly very grim.

Again I ask, should John continue his campaign?

From the AP:

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (AP) – Democrat John Edwards is forging ahead with his second bid for the presidency despite the sobering news that his wife, Elizabeth, is battling an incurable reappearance of cancer. [...]

The recurrence of the cancer – this time on Elizabeth Edwards’ bone – presents a setback for the couple, both personally and politically. Elizabeth Edwards’ illness and treatment is certain to affect her husband’s presence in the early voting states and may raise questions about the viability of his campaign, especially with financial backers. The first fundraising deadline is fast approaching on March 31.

So I think the question needs to be asked, “Are they being realistic?”

But both said the cancer was treatable and that they would stick with their plans to campaign vigorously for the nomination.

“From our perspective, there was no reason to stop,” Edwards said. “I don’t think we seriously thought about it.”

Again, our thoughts and prayers are with Elizabeth during this incredibly difficult time. Here’s to a speedy recovery from this significant illness.

UPDATE:
I’m not the only one questioning the decision. Time magazine weighs in as well…

Instead, Edwards said nothing would change; his campaign would continue and Elizabeth would be by his side on the road. Elizabeth spoke about the importance of her husband’s campaign, how the country needs him to be president. Both said there was never a debate yesterday, as they were receiving the news about her condition, about whether he should drop out of the race. John said that when the two of them were alone, Elizabeth was concerned about everyone but herselfâ€â€?her children, her husband and her country, in that order, but not herself.

He clearly meant it to be inspiring, but there is also something discomfiting about that statement. Even more discomfiting was Edwards’ claim that by soldiering on while his wife has incurable cancer, he would be proving that he could deal with the pressures of being president. I wonder how voters will react to that sentiment.

[...] Edwards’ supporters, and surely many average Americans, have to be wondering at what point the candidate will decide that his duties as husband and father to three children, including a 6 and 8 year old, trump his duty to his country and the cause of winning the White House.

Time continues on about the political and personal realities of this situation.

I urge you to read the whole thing.

From MSNBC:

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – John Edwards said Thursday his wife’s cancer has returned, but said he will continue his campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination.

“The campaign goes on. The campaign goes on strongly,� Edwards told reporters, his wife by his side.

Earlier Thursday, MSNBC.com incorrectly reported that Edwards would suspend his campaign because of his wife’s illness. The report was based on a statement an Edwards friend made to Politico.com, a political Web site, and a source who spoke to NBC.

Honestly, I don’t know how I feel about this. Obviously this is a personal decision between John and Elizabeth, but they have two small children to think of. If Elizabeth gets really sick, I’m sure they have enough family to take care of them…but when should John say enough’s enough?

Andrew Sullivan wrote the following after reading the Politico piece too. I wonder if he wants to retract anything…

He does it because his wife has a recurrence of cancer in some degree to be further explored. It is of a piece with his character to do this; and a simple testament that he has the right priorities and values to be a president of the United States. Sorry, Ms Coulter. But this man will be remembered for a character you do not even want to possess.

Does he still have that character since he’s going to keep going?

Thoughts?

John Edwards is suspending his campaign for President, and may drop out completely, because his wife has suffered a recurrence of the cancer that sickened her in 2004, when she was diagnosed with breast cancer, an Edwards friend told The Politico.

“At a minimum he’s going to suspend” the campaign, the source said. “Nobody knows precisely how serious her recurrence is. It’ll be another couple of days before there’s complete clarity.”

“For him right now he has one priority which is her health and the security of the two young children,” said the friend.

As for the campaign, “You don’t shut this machine off completely, but everything will go on hold.”

The Edwards campaign didn’t deny this, but they said that nobody knows anything until noon. Well, sorry, but the writing seems to be on the wall with this one.

Sincerely, let’s hope we’re all wrong.

Speculation is running wild and none of it looks good. John and Elizabeth have called a news conference today and whenever you hear something like that it feels like they’ll be breaking bad news. Especially just one day after John rushed to be by Elizabeth’s side at her doctors appointment?

From the NY Times:

WASHINGTON, March 21 � John Edwards, the North Carolina Democrat making a second bid for the presidency, announced late Wednesday night that he would hold a news conference Thursday, a day after he and his wife, Elizabeth, visited Mrs. Edwards’ doctor to assess her health following her recovery from breast cancer.

Mrs. Edwards, in a brief interview from her home in Chapel Hill, said she and Mr. Edwards would discuss her health at the news conference, but she declined to elaborate.

“I’m still here,� she said.

I’m still here? This doesn’t sound good folks.

In fact, read these three paragraphs and tell me it’s not bad news…

Mr. Edwards canceled an appearance in Iowa on Wednesday, so he could go to a follow-up doctor’s appointment with his wife. Early in the day, associates of Mr. Edwards said they had no reason to believe the check-up was anything to worry about, but late Wednesday evening two friends said they believed the news was bad.

After the campaign announced its intention to hold a press conference on Thursday in North Carolina, concern quickly among former and current aides to the Edwards family. One close family friend reached Wednesday evening declined to comment on the announcement, but said it would affect at least temporarily the future of the campaign.

Other supporters and friends contacted said they were unaware of the scope of the announcement. A leading contributor to the campaign, speaking on condition of anonymity, said organizers had not been notified to cancel a long string of events scheduled before the end of March, the deadline for the first-quarter financial reports.

This is what Edwards’ blog says…

All our love to Elizabeth, John and family as we await tomorrow’s announcement. No matter what we learn tomorrow, we’re with you and love you. Your grace and toughness puts the fire under our feet!

My thoughts and prayers are with the Edwards family.