Tuesday's Mini-Report

TUESDAY'S MINI-REPORT.... Today's edition of quick hits:

* Russia "stunned" Europe and the U.S. today, by recognizing the independence of South Ossetia and Abkhazia. The AP noted that the Kremlin's move "suggested it was willing to risk nearly two decades of economic, political and diplomatic bonds with its Cold War antagonists."

* Barack Obama condemned Russia's decision and called on other nations "not to accord any legitimacy to this action."

* Russia President Dmitry Medvedev said, "We are not afraid of anything, including the prospect of a new Cold War."

* Good question: "What was a top national security aide to Vice President Dick Cheney doing in Georgia shortly before Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili's troops engaged in what became a disastrous fight with South Ossetian rebels -- and then Russian troops?"

* Good advice for one of the media's more transparent and shameless hacks: "Jesus, Joe, why don't you get a shovel."

* Alaskan Sen. Ted Stevens (R) thinks Bush administration prosecutors are trying to smear him. I think the poor guy is cracking under the pressure.

* How much longer can the White House stall? "A district court judge denied Harriet Miers and Joshua Bolten's request for a stay on their Congressional testimony pending the appeal of the recent decision in HJC v. Harriet Miers et al."

* The new data from the Census Bureau did not go unnoticed by Obama campaign HQ.

* The closer one looks at McCain's record on women's issues, the worse it looks.

* Bloggers and MoveOn.org aren't the only ones who've noticed the AP's Ron Fournier's trouble with objectivity.

* And Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) is the latest far-right Republican to raise the specter of a government shutdown over coastal drilling.

Anything to add? Consider this an open thread.