A story worth following

The House passed the huge military appropriations bill last week with a significant amendment, sponsored by the few "good guys" in that body, an amendment barring the use of appropriated funds for establishment of permanent US bases in Iraq. There was hardly a mention of the amendment in the MSM, even though it passed unanimously, and was a rare victory for California Congressperson Barbara Lee, an American heroine. (I didn't catch the news of the passage of the amendment, that's how under-reported it was.)

But of course it's not over. The bill still must go to the House/Senate conference committee, where Republicans rule, and which is supposed to "iron out" differences between the House and Senate versions of the bill, but which can often result in significant alteration of, addition to, and subtraction from, legislation. Let's keep an eye on the fate of Barbara Lee's amendment, shall we? Given the state of public opinion about the Iraq war, it's not going to be easy for the Republicans to delete the amendment in committee.