By Bonnie Erbe, Thomas Jefferson Street blog

Today is Save the Horses Day (my phrase) on Capitol Hill for equine enthusiasts nationwide. The Humane Society and Animal Welfare Institute have invited horse lovers and rescue operations from across the country to convene at the U.S. Capitol to lobby their House members and Senators to support a bill that would ban the transport of U.S. horses to Canada and Mexico for slaughter.

By Bonnie Erbe, Thomas Jefferson Street Blog

Hill, we barely knew ye. So funny that Secretary of State Clinton is back in the news again, after what seems like a prolonged absence. I remember being offended when hearing that last month ABC News Sunday talk show host George Stephanopoulos asked her exactly what her portfolio was, or words to that effect, since V.P. Joe Biden and other Obama administration males have succeeded in carving up large, juicy parts of the international issues territory.

Turns out he was right!

Secretary Clinton has been all but invisible since ascending to one of the most visible cabinet posts, and one wonders whether this was done on purpose. She had to resort to carping about the length of time it's taking to get her U.S. AID lieutenant in office in order to make headlines—that after her commander in chief globe-trotted back from Africa, Italy, and other parts of the world these past couple of weeks.

By Bonnie Erbe, Thomas Jefferson Street blog.

U.S. senators frequently spend way too much time belaboring the obvious or posturing during opening statements before they start questioning Supreme Court nominees. But today's statement by Democratic Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island is a surprising exception. In his statement, he laid bare the fallacy of judicial restraint, used by conservatives to pretend that conservative-leaning judges don't make new law, whereas "activist" liberals do:

By Bonnie Erbe, Thomas Jefferson Street blog

I bring to your attention an awe-inspiring article in Friday's New York Times about WNBA player Chamique Holdsclaw. She is the type of person who should be getting all the hype lavished on Michael Jackson. I know, I know, he sold millions of CDs, she didn't, he was a household name, she wasn't, and he has passed on while she is very much alive.

That said, however, this is a woman who has struggled with depression and won. Her values are terrific, her valor even more impressive, and she is the type of role model young Americans should be taught to emulate:

By Bonnie Erbe, Thomas Jefferson Street blog

Let's hope the Spanish government takes yesterday's tragic death of a runner in Pamplona, and the injuries of many others, as a signal that bull running and, indeed, bull fighting are outdated customs that need to go. From Bloomberg:

The victim, Daniel Jimeno Romero from Alcala de Henares, a town near Madrid, was wounded in the neck and chest, the regional government of Navarra said in a statement on its Web site. Five of the 11 injured were released from the hospital. The others include a 61-year-old American man in intensive care.

By Bonnie Erbe, Thomas Jefferson Street blog.

Bravo to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi for nixing a House vote on a resolution honoring the late singer and performer Michael Jackson. It is, I am sure, a move for which she will take flak from the Congressional Black Caucus. Caucus Chair Barbara Lee, a California Democrat, had no comment on Pelosi's decision, which was made to soften divisions in the House, not harden political differences. From the Los Angeles Times:

By Bonnie Erbe, Thomas Jefferson Street blog

I thought Warren Buffett was smarter than this. He told ABC News the United States may need a second federal stimulus package: