Tuesday Morning Open Thread

Good morning.

This morning, the President has a meeting in the Oval Office with Iraq's Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki. That war finally seems to be winding down even as the war in Afghanistan, which George Bush and Dick Cheney ignored, gets worse.

Still waiting for the Department of Defense Authorization conference report to hit the Senate floor. It's already been approved by the House. We're starting to hear that Republicans are playing games to prevent this bill from moving. Why? Because the Defense authorization conference reports contains the Hate Crimes bill. We'll have more on this, but it's looking like the GOP's homophobia is the culprit -- again.

Two weeks til Election Day in Virginia (Governor and Legislature), New Jersey (Governor and Legislature) and the ballot measures in Maine (No on 1), Washington State (Approve Referendum 71) and Kalamazoo, Michigan.

Let's thread the news....