Bits and Pieces - January 31, 2010

I'm not sure anyone in the United States government has thanked NATO members for invoking Article 5 (an attack on one is an attack on all) in response to the September 11, 2001, bombings. Hillary Clinton did this week:

When France and our other NATO allies invoked Article 5 in the aftermath of the attacks of September 11th, 2001, it was a proclamation to the world that our promise to each other was not rhetorical, but real. And the people of Europe brought great comfort to the people of the United States by reminding us that even in such a difficult hour, we were not alone. I was a senator representing the state of New York at that time, and I well remember the extraordinary outpouring of support that the people of New York specifically received. And for that, I thank you.

The New York Times takes Toyota at face value.

A very productive Congress, despite what the approval ratings say.

Fifty years ago, what I think of as the sixties started.

"Not our finest moment" in Haiti.

Vice President Biden shapes the message on the nuclear budget.