Some of this, some of that...

From American Progress:

Think Fast

"A swath of Amazon rain forest the size of Alabama was placed under government protection Monday," the AP reports. The area "contains more than 25 percent of the world's remaining humid tropical forests and the largest remaining unpolluted fresh water reserves in the American tropics."

Hearings for Defense nominee Robert Gates are today. Gates has said "that he supported Bush's decision to invade in 2003 and that leaving Iraq 'in chaos' would harm U.S. interests for many years. Beyond that he has not said how the U.S. might get Iraq moving in the right direction."
Hours after his meeting yesterday with President Bush, powerful Shiite polititian Abdul Aziz al-Hakim gave a speech denying that "Shiite militias are fueling the sectarian strife" and issuing "one of the starkest criticisms of U.S. military strategy by an Iraqi leader.

A semiannual report filed by the Department of Homeland Security's inspector general "highlights a litany of staff misconduct: immigration officials demanding sex in exchange for visas, airport screeners stealing money from tourists’ luggage, federal air marshals smuggling drugs, and employees from various DHS agencies committing sex crimes."

The Supreme Court is set to rule against "what is left, if anything, of Brown v. Board of Education." After hearings yesterday on two schools' racial integration programs, "the only question was how far the court would go in ruling such plans unconstitutional."

Although companies are supposed to pay royalties every time they drill for oil or gas on federal property, the Interior Department has audited just 20 percent of companies. "The rest of the time, the payments are made on the honor system. But the government agency 'could not accurately count' its own oil and gas audits."

100,000: The number of government contractors operating in Iraq, "a total that is approaching the size of the U.S. military force there." Rep. Janice D. Schakowsky (D-IL) said the estimate "further demonstrates the need for Congress to finally engage in responsible, serious and aggressive oversight" over private military contracting.

"The Army and Marine Corps have sunk more than 40 percent of their ground combat equipment into the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan." Replacing, repairing, and upgrading combat equipment will cost at least $17 billion annually for several more years; before the war, "the Army spent $2.5 billion to $3 billion a year on wear and tear."

Incoming House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) "wants to fast-track efforts to boost the federal minimum wage," and she is pushing for a "stand alone" bill that "will go straight to the floor for consideration."

And finally: Conservative seeking conservative for a radical night out. Last Friday, a "32-year-old married housewife" posted a personal ad on Craigslist.org "looking for guys who work at the Heritage Foundation or other conservative think tanks." "I know I will get some email of someone accusing this of being some scam but it really isn't," she wrote. "I just have a real fetish for intellectual conservatives.

Wrap...