Today’s edition of quick hits:
* Former President Bill Clinton delivered one of the more memorable lines of the day: “A great democracy does not make it harder to vote than to buy an assault weapon.”
* Syria: “The United Nations Security Council appeared headed for a new confrontation over Syria on Wednesday after Britain said it would introduce a resolution accusing the Syrian government of a deadly chemical weapons attack last week and authorizing the use of force in that conflict, a measure that Russia was almost certain to block.”
* Vague: “U.N.’s special envoy to Syria Lakhdar Brahimi in Geneva Wednesday told reporters ‘it does seem like some kind of substance was used.’ He went on to say that any action must have U.N. Security Council backing.”
* Afghanistan: “The Taliban breached an international military base in eastern Afghanistan on Wednesday, in a complex attack that left at least one Western soldier, four Afghan police officers, and two other Afghans dead, Western and Afghan officials said.”
* Nidal Hasan: “The Fort Hood gunman, former Army Maj. Nidal Hasan, was sentenced to death Wednesday for killing 13 people, most of them unarmed soldiers, in a 2009 shooting rampage…. Hasan will now be flown to the maximum security U.S. military prison at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, where he will be placed on death row while awaiting lengthy, automatic appeals.”
* More on this in the morning: “More than 100 lawmakers, including 16 Democrats, have signed a letter that says President Obama would violate the Constitution by striking Syria without first getting authorization from Congress.”
* I wish politicians would leave rivals’ kids out of their arguments: “Rep. Tim Huelskamp (R-Kan.) sounded off about school lunches Wednesday, slamming healthy food regulations that ‘rich kids’ and the president’s daughters do not have to endure.”
* Good call: “Wal-Mart Stores Inc. will now allow workers’ same-sex partners to participate in its company health benefits, bringing policies at the largest private employer in the U.S. in line with most of the nation’s top businesses.” * Perhaps praising freedom of expression in Russia isn’t a great idea: “Police in Russia have confiscated a painting of Russian President Vladimir Putin and Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev in women’s underwear from an art gallery in the city of St Petersburg. The artwork depicts President Putin combing the hair of the prime minister.” * And Dylan Matthews asked the right question in response to the on-screen text: “Seriously, Fox News?” Anything to add? Consider this an open thread.
Steve Benen is a producer for "The Rachel Maddow Show," the editor of MaddowBlog and an MS NOW political contributor. He's also the bestselling author of "Ministry of Truth: Democracy, Reality, and the Republicans' War on the Recent Past." Recommended
