Midday Open Thread

• What Netroots Nation attendees figured out first-hand: Austin is the hardest-drinking city in America. Yee-haw. - SusanG
• Thirty-four years ago today, President Nixon resigned:

  From the discussions I have had with Congressional and other leaders, I have concluded that because of the Watergate matter I might not have the support of the Congress that I would consider necessary to back the very difficult decisions and carry out the duties of this office in the way the interests of the Nation would require.

  I have never been a quitter. To leave office before my term is completed is abhorrent to every instinct in my body. But as President, I must put the interest of America first. America needs a full-time President and a full-time Congress, particularly at this time with problems we face at home and abroad.

  To continue to fight through the months ahead for my personal vindication would almost totally absorb the time and attention of both the President and the Congress in a period when our entire focus should be on the great issues of peace abroad and prosperity without inflation at home.

  Therefore, I shall resign the Presidency effective at noon tomorrow. Vice President Ford will be sworn in as President at that hour in this office.

  - Plutonium Page

• Steve Pearce provides unintentional comedy gold. - Plutonium Page
• Dick Cheney will be speaking at the GOP convention on the same night as George Bush...both on the first night so McCain can get back to pretending he never met them.
• After spending the night in jail for violating the bail agreement, Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick has been charged with two felony assault counts, and:

  In order to get out of jail, Kilpatrick must pay a $50,000 cash bond and wear an electronic tether.

• John McCain doesn't have a clue about the Hamdan case. Said McCain:

  The jury found that the prosecution lawyers had proven, beyond a reasonable doubt, that Hamdan had aided terrorists by supplying weapons to Al Qaeda and Taliban forces in Afghanistan.

  Wrong, John. But it sure sounded scary.

• Don't read this if you plan on watching China's opening ceremonies tonight.