Briefly Noted

- The Washington Post gets into the retirement rumors act this morning, with an article by Peter Baker, "GOP Plots Court Strategy With Rehnquist in Mind," suggesting that the White House and others are continuing to plan for a double vacancy on the Court, which certainly changes the dynamic of the game significantly. We'll all be watching later this morning to see if the planning is going to be put to use ... or not.

- Back on June 27, the House passed - unanimously - a measure sponsored by Rep. Frank LoBiondo aimed at protecting the Delaware River basin from a serious oil spill. The bill, which now heads to the Senate, "encourages the use of double-hulled tankers by increasing oil-spill cleanup liability limits for owners of tankers who do not use the technology. The bill also requires reporting large objects lost in navigable waterways and sets up an advisory committee to improve spill response plans for the river," says an article in the Cherry Hill Courier-Post. Sometimes amidst all the fussing I do about the crazy things Congress is doing (or not doing), I miss pieces of good legislation that somehow find their way to the top of the pile, so I at least wanted to mention this one.