Midday Open Thread

• WWUD?

  Two of the country’s largest labor groups, the SEIU and the AFL-CIO, are each holding emergency executive meetings today to discuss whether they should support the latest round of health care compromises made by Senate Democrats.

  Though there’s no official word yet, early indications based on talks with various officials are that the groups will either formally oppose the legislation or, less dramatically, just not fight very hard to ensure its passage.

• What a bunch of boobs:

  How'd you like to fight government-run health-care -- and get a free gift card to Hooters out of it?

  Well, now you can! And it's all thanks to the Chamber of Commerce.

  Online ads have popped up lately, telling readers that they can win a $150 Amex Gift Card for use at Hooters, if they complete a survey about other offers. One of those urges them to sign up for "free emails" from the Chamber of Commerce, which will explain "how to protect your family's future and bring common sense solutions to the health-care debate."

• Just when you thought conservatives couldn't get any crazier:

  The John Birch Society announces it is cosponsoring the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) 2010, to be held in Washington DC, Feb. 18-20.

• And speaking of crazy:

  The Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office, run by the controversial Sheriff Joe Arpaio, released a "news brief" this week announcing that it will be forcing the system’s 8,000 inmates to listen to "Christmas music" during the holiday season, even though the Arpaio has faced six lawsuits over the issue in the past two years.

  Talk about cruel and unusual ...

• South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford will live to hike another day:

  South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford has escaped impeachment threats.

  The Judiciary Committee of the South Carolina state House dropped impeachment charges against the scandal plagued governor on Wednesday, choosing instead to approve a measure censuring the governor. That measure will now go to a vote by the entire state House.

• Former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich can't spend all of his time worrying about prison:

  Blagojevich is scheduled to attend a Wednesday night debate on the 1964 film "Viva Las Vegas" starring Elvis Presley.

• Considering the state of the U.S. Senate, maybe John Kerry (D-MA) shouldn't be making any promises:

   Sen. John Kerry promised Wednesday that Congress will pass a sweeping climate change bill in 2010 -- if negotiators here can reach a global deal this week.

• There's at least one Republican promising to try and derail same-sex marriage in Washington D.C.
• California is accepting applications from regular citizens to become members of the state's new redistricting commission. Brian Leubitz of Calitics has more on why progressives should apply. - DavidNYC
• Check out Laicie Olson's post on women in arms control. Please read the whole thing, but here's an excerpt:

  Women in leadership positions make decisions about war and peace based on the same criteria as their male counterparts – national interest, perception of threat, cost-benefit analysis, legal norms, historical understanding, international and domestic politics, and much more. Those who argue that "Women and girls aren’t the problem; they’re the solution" mean to elevate women’s status, but they actually diminish it by erecting a barrier between women’s allegedly innate predilections and real-world political violence, which has a body of study (and practice) that stretches back thousands of years. If there is indeed any understanding of war that has developed over time, women are not barred from comprehending it simply because they are women.

  - Plutonium Page