Midday Open Thread

• John McCain's maverick civil rights record is under more scrutiny.

  McCain defiant on vote against 1990 civil rights bill. In 1990, President George H.W. Bush vetoed a civil rights bill requiring employers to show a “business necessity” to screening out women or minority applicants, arguing that it would impose quotas for hiring minorities. Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) voted to sustain Bush’s veto — a veto that survived by only one vote in the Senate. Last weekend, McCain was unapologetic for his vote, calling the issue “more complicated in the 90s” and repeating the false argument that it would have led to quotas. Seven years earlier, McCain had also voted against the creation of a holiday honoring Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., though he now calls that vote a “mistake.” (HT: Huffington Post)

• Not content with taking over the cement and steel industry in Venezuala, yestereday President Hugo Chavez ordered troops to seize 32 sugar plantations.
• The outrage over excessive CEO salaries continues to grow, with calls for big changes.
• Turns out there is one good by-product of the falling dollar.....drug traffickers are taking their cocaine to Europe instead of the US.
• The Pope will be arriving in the US this week.  Oddly enough, the Pope is declining to attend a White House dinner in his honor, although Catholic leaders from around the country are expected to attend.