What Caught My Eye Today

Guantanamo Bay, Cuba - Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Congress and the Bush administration should work together to allow the U.S. to permanently imprison some of the more dangerous Guantanamo Bay detainees elsewhere so the facility can be closed. Lawmakers said the Guantanamo facility hurts U.S. credibility with its allies. They asked that Gates give more thought to how it could be closed and detainees moved to a military prison. So to summarize the events here...Congress asks Gates to come up with a proposal to close Gitmo, and he comes back with saying that Congress should work with the White House to come up with a plan. Did I miss something? On the bright side, I'm glad to see there is an effort to close this joint down. As leaders of the free world, holding detainees indefinitely to rot away in some hell-hole, doesn't exactly set a great example.

Iraq - Democratic-controlled Senate approved legislation Thursday calling for the withdrawal of U.S. combat troops from Iraq within a year, propelling Congress closer to an epic, wartime veto confrontation with President Bush. The 51-47 vote was largely along party lines, and like House passage of a separate, more sweeping challenge to the administration's war policies a week ago, fell far short of the two-thirds margin needed to overturn the president's threatened veto. I'm not sure I would call it epic, but I'm guessing the guys at C-SPAN are licking their chops over this one.

Justice Department - Attorney General Alberto Gonzales was briefed regularly over two years on the firings of federal prosecutors, his former top aide said Thursday, disputing Gonzales' claims he was not closely involved with the dismissals. The testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee by Kyle Sampson, the attorney general's former chief of staff, newly undercut Gonzales' already shaky credibility. Well, shucks darn. There goes the 'plausible deniability' defense strategy.

Oil Prices - Oil prices extended their gains Thursday after settling at their highest level since mid-September on Wednesday amid political tensions in the Middle East. Declining U.S. supplies amid high demand also drove up prices. Light, sweet crude rose $1.95 to settle at $66.03 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, after rising as high as $66.50. The recent rise in oil prices generally poses a concern as increased energy costs could curb consumer spending and add to inflationary pressures. Prices for premium unleaded topped $4.00 a gallon in San Francisco. How can I put this in simple terms? How about...THIS SUCKS!!!

American Idol - He's the weakest singer with the best hair and the cutest smile. He is mocked by late-night TV comedians and has become the target of anti-"American Idol" forces. But Sanjaya Malakar has lived to see another round of "American Idol," prompting a passionate debate over whether the nation's most watched TV show has lost its credibility or unwittingly created another media superstar. Far from being voted off the show by members of the public, he appears to be going from strength to strength. Even acerbic British judge Simon Cowell, who quipped last month that he would quit if Malakar won the competition, appears to have succumbed. They may say it is a singing competition, but if the American public gets to determine the winner, then it is a popularity contest, pure and simple. And for the record, I voted for somebody else.