Congress

Gasoline, oil futures jump on tight supply report - Gasoline and oil futures rose sharply today after the Energy Department reported an unexpected jump in gasoline demand and a big drop in supplies. Prices at the pump returned to record levels, and appeared poised to extend their march higher.

Bernanke Nods at Possibility of a Recession - In his bleakest economic assessment to date, the Federal Reserve chairman, Ben S. Bernanke, said Wednesday that the American economy could contract in the first half of 2008, meeting the technical definition of a recession, and he encouraged Congress to help homeowners caught up in the mortgage crisis.

U.S. and Britain at Odds Over Guantánamo Inmate - The Bush administration and the British government are at odds over how to treat one of the last two British residents held at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, officials from the countries involved in the case and his lawyer say.

Mugabe's Zanu-PF loses majority - Robert Mugabe's party has lost its majority in parliament for the first time since Zimbabwean independence in 1980, official results show. President Mugabe's Zanu-PF party has taken 97 of the 210 seats, while opposition parties have won 109, the Zimbabwe Election Commission says.

Cubans on new freedoms: 'We'll see how far we go - In the past week, President Raúl Castro has legalized cell phone use for ordinary Cubans; granted Cubans access to previously off-limits tourist hotels; and legalized the sale within Cuba of microwaves, DVD players and personal computers. Cubans are welcoming the change, even if the costs are out of their reach.

On Capitol Hill . . . important issues are being entertained. Finally, Congress has setup a competent committee that is distributed to millions of Americans live. There is talk about lies and misremembering. This bipartisan effort is not slacking off. They take no crap for no one and clearly demonstrate it when they speak to their witnesses. They want the truth and they will get it by the end of the hearings. They are hungry for justice and will not stop until they render it. This is great! Finally, tax payer money is going into an investigation that matters . . . or does it?

NO! Who cares if Roger Clemens shot up with HGH (steroids). Who cares if his career was successful due to performance enhancing drugs/supplements. Is it really necessary to dig and research and conclude that his wife also shot up? Must I remind the American people that we are footing a pretty penny for this investigation. The Mitchell Report and its committee are the new joke of the town. Stop wasting my money, our money investigation trivial matters that need to be handled internally by Major League Baseball.

Which begs the question . . . if CNN/MSNBC/FOX are so busy reporting on the Committee findings what is going on that we are not hearing about? Oh yeah . . . FISA aka Protect America Act (Steve breaks it down rather nicely), that bill that is sort of like the Patriot Act. Republicans are fighting tooth and nail to pass this mediocre excuse of legislation in order to protects us . . . from ourselves.