Not a lot to put into the diary yet, but the AP is reporting that Ingrid and 3 American hostages have been rescued. I put "Released/Rescued" in the title because there is no word yet if it was a military freeing or a prisoner exchange release.

Regardless, thank you to all that is holy that her six year nightmare is over.

I'll edit in anything else I find. But it's certainly a day to celebrate!

UPDATE: a slightly more informative AP article here. Edited title as it would appear it was a rescue and not an exchange/release.

3 updates after the fold. The Americans freed were Marc Gonsalves, Thomas Howes and Keith Stansell

I was going to write about what a horrible speech John McCain gave tonight. About how he has no chance of winning (barring a world changing event) and this is as good as it gets for him. I was going to explain how awkward and painful a speech that was, especially compared to the dynamic and energetic Clinton and Obama speeches.

This was what was going through my mind as I was waiting for Hillary to get to the point in her speech where she makes the turn and says, "It's been a great race, I love you all for supporting me through these trying times, but now we have to unite behind the Democratic candidate for president, Barack Obama!"

Except that moment never came. I couldn't believe it. She didn't concede. Is she mental? Her chances of winning aren't theoretically low now, they're nonexistent. The race is over. She lost. What is there not to concede? What kind of maniacal move is this?

I have owed President Jimmy Carter an apology for 29 years.  It's about time I made it public.  He was right and I was wrong about his response to the Iranian hostage crisis.

When the Iranian hostage crisis went down, I didn't have a historical context for the middle east.  I didn't know that the CIA had helped to overthrow the democratically elected government to re-install the Shah after the Iranian oil fields had been nationalized.  I didn't know that the Shah was a brutal despot.  What I did know, was that our embassy had been attacked, and some of the guys on "our team" were being held against their will.  When you have been training for the "big game" for nearly three years, you think that is all you need to know.

Context and contrition below the fold...

When are those anti-terror measures we haer about going to kick in?

This is short because I'm watching the news. The man who took hostages in Hillary Clinton's campaign headquarters has been taken into custody.

The man released all hostages, and very shortly afterward was handcuffed and transported away from the scene.

UPDATE: Anderson Cooper reports that three people were released from the building: 2 adults and 1 child. CNN has a picture of the man's face. There were no deaths or even apparent injuries. Thank goodness!

UPDATE 2: From the comments and more news reports there is a little talk about the man having mental health problems. But what I want to touch on is this: with a woman and a black man running for president, is this the tip of the iceberg? I pray that it is not, but it only takes one unbalanced person to create a national tragedy. How do the minority candidates respond to this?

UPDATE 3: The man's identity has been confirmed. AP:

The law enforcement official confirmed the name of the man as Leeland Eisenberg, 46, and said Eisenberg demanded to speak with Clinton.

News broke today that an mentally unhinged man with flares strapped to his torso held several people hostage at a Hillary Clinton campaign office today.  Thankfully, it appears that all hostages are safe, but it is unclear if the man is in custody.  He's apparently still holed up in her office.  I have a suggestion about how Hillary ought to respond.