BROWN V. CAR BOMB
Posted: Friday, June 29, 2007 12:47 PM by Countdown
Some of what we're working on for tonight...
In his second full day in office, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown is dealing with his first crisis: a car bomb in Central London, not far from Picadilly Circus, that police were able to diffuse overnight. The timing, the BBC points out, comes not only in the wake of the transfer of power but also with the anniversary of the July 7 attacks approaching.
TURNING BACK HISTORY: Two things seem certain in the wake of yesterday’s Supreme Court decision to overturn Brown v. Board of Ed., the Justices having ruled that schools can no longer use race as a factor in fighting – of all things – discrimination: That Justice Anthony Kennedy is the court’s new key swing vote, and that late Chief Justice Earl Warren is rolling over in his grave.
RACE AND THE RACE: The Supreme Court ruling, coincidentally falling on the same day as the first presidential debate designed to focus on minority issues. Of course, the train wreck quotient would have been a lot higher had the Republicans been debating instead of the Democrats. Senator Barack Obama pointed out that he owed his entire candidacy to affirmative action: "If it were not for them,” he said “I would not be standing here." But reporters in attendance say that, once again, Senator Hillary Clinton drew the biggest response, for her observation that AIDS had hit young African-American women particularly hard: “If HIV-AIDS were the leading cause of death of white women between the ages of 25 and 34” the former first lady said, “There would be an outraged, outcry in this country."
STOPPING THE WAR, TAKE TWO: The folks at the Politico report that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid are poised to announce another “coordinated effort” to end
the war in Iraq by forcing votes on the issue throughout July. Countdown would like to point out, in
advance, that voting would not seem to be the problematic portion of any Democratic effort on Iraq.
It’s actually having a spine once the White House starts threatening vetoes on said legislation and
otherwise bad-mouthing the Democrats.
WEB OF INTRIGUE: So if pro wrestler Chris Benoit didn’t change his Wikipedia entry to mention his wife’s death – hours before authorities discovered the body and that of their seven-year-old son – who did? Just the latest development in a story as fascinating as it is heart-breakingly sad.
