Today’s edition of quick hits:
* It’s hard to even fathom a power outage affecting 600 million people, but for two days, that’s exactly what’s happened for half the population of India.
* New sanctions: “President Barack Obama announced new U.S. sanctions on Tuesday against foreign banks that help Iran sell its oil, efforts that he said would increase pressure on Tehran for failing to meet its international nuclear obligations.”
* I have no idea what Ed DeMarco is thinking: “The independent federal agency that administers Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac said once again on Tuesday that it would not let the mortgage finance companies offer debt forgiveness to homeowners, rejecting the entreaties of Congressional Democrats and the Obama administration.”
* Krugman makes the case that it’s time for DeMarco to be fired immediately.
* After two years of accusing President Obama of being inspired by Europe’s economic policies, Mitt Romney said today we should emulate Poland’s economic policies. (Poland, incidentally, is in Europe.)
* DOMA: “U.S. District Court Judge Vanessa Bryant, a George W. Bush appointee, ruled on Tuesday that the Defense of Marriage Act is unconstitutional.”
* Hmm: “Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) has what he says is an informed explanation for why Mitt Romney refuses to release additional tax returns. According to a Bain investor, Reid charged, Romney didn’t pay any taxes for 10 years.”
* Obama believes he has the authority to maintain a “kill list” featuring the names of suspected terrorists. Congress wants to know where this authority comes from. * The judicial confirmation process is broken: “Senate Democrats failed Monday evening in an effort to end a [Republican] filibuster on the nomination of Magistrate Judge Robert Bacharach to a seat on the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.” His nomination enjoyed broad, bipartisan support. * One-in-four Americans believe they’ll have to pay the individual mandate penalty. The actual number? One-in-100 Americans will actually be affected. Anything to add? Consider this an open thread.
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