Good morning all. Two stories top the bill today, both somewhat military involved and one that could've involved me.

Last night, as I was literally walking out the door, at about 6:20 pm, I was stopped and asked if I could write something that will appear on a blog today. He wanted it by the end of the night, which meant that I needed to do it in the office. After finishing the piece and some other work, I tweet flash across my screen saying there had been a shooting at the Pentagon, with details sketchy.

It turns out that at about 6:40 pm a man dressed in a very nice suit walked up to Pentagon security guard (who are not military personnel) and started shooting, injuring two, before he was shot in the head.

My Metro stop is Pentagon. It is two stops and a river away from my office. Takes about 10 minutes once you're on the train, meaning that I very well could've been walking out of the Metro station right when it happened. Would not be the first time I've walked nearby a shooting, or even the second really, but still a scary thought nonetheless. The idea of it reminds me of being at Westlake Center in Seattle when I was in the sixth grade, hearing 'bang, bang' and seeing a man running down to the bus tunnel with a rifle in his hand. He had robbed the jewelry store that used the be at the entrance.

Amazingly, despite the fact that the Pentagon Metro Transit Center is major hub for transferring from Metro to buses, the largest I know of in the area, no commuters were injured. The entire situation last only a minute.

Like the story says, the Pentagon Metro remains closed today (although it was open for about an hour last night - I went through it to get home), creating a huge mess at Pentagon City, which is not geared to take anywhere near that amount of bus traffic.

The two officers are expected to be fine.


The second story takes place a world away, but in geography only. Yesterday, the polls opened in Iraq, amid brutal suicide bombings and threats of more. Nearly 6,200 candidates are running for just more than 300 seats, meaning this election is likely to drag on for some time.

As the election lengthens, the U.S. involvement will have to increase, because the violence will as well. Success in this election is paramount to U.S. plans for troop withdrawal.

More links:

I had heard of Paul Ryan some, but not to this depth. His ideas for cutting the deficit make sense, even though they will be tough. However we do it now will be tough. Tax credits and vouchers are still questionable, if only because they require citizens to actually spend the money. But the evidence seems to show that they will. Seemingly the real difference here is in how to tax the rich.

A note on using reconciliation to pass health care from the man who invented it: 'Sen. Robert C. Byrd (D-W.V.), an architect of the reconciliation process and a guardian of Senate procedure, has quietly defended the Democratic plan to use the fast-track parliamentary tactic to finish the health care reform bill. In a noteworthy boost for Democrats, Byrd wrote a letter to the editor in Thursday's Charleston Daily Mail that it is appropriate to use reconciliation on measures that reduce the deficit – a standard that the package of fixes to the Senate health care bill could meet.'

With new jobs numbers set to be released today, the House passed the $15 billion jobs package yesterday. And as I wrote that, the numbers were released, showing no increase in the jobless rate, but 36,000 jobs lost.

In the best news of the day, the Huskies stomped Oregon in their final trip to Oregon's Mac Court. UW dominated the night, opening with a tribute to Brandon Roy and closing with Quincy Pondexter putting on a Roy-like performance: 34 points, 10 rebounds, six assists.

Back at it tomorrow. Hope everyone has a good Friday. And no mom, I'm not moving home. As a matter of fact, more people have been shot in Seattle since I left than DC. Just sayin...