Earle got his perp-walk.

"Now Ronnie Earle has the mugshot he wanted," DeGuerin said, referring to the Travis County district attorney who brought the charges [against former House Leader, Tom Delay]. …

DeGuerin said he and DeLay went to the sheriff's office in Houston because it was convenient and because "I wanted to avoid the circus."

"That's what Ronnie (Earle) wanted. He wanted a perp walk and we did not want to do it," the defense attorney said.

The mugshot is really the only interesting part, how Delay handled it (The Smoking Gun has a larger version.)

He has a wide, freshman-yearbook smile going on; suit and tie, shiny little lapel pin - actually a very good photo. He’s the insurance salesman from the corporate newsletter, the one who had the big month and won the trip to Tampa.

‘The funny’ is that everyone knows he’s really pissed as hell, having to suffer the indignity on a BS charge. Still, short-lived irony factor aside, you don’t want a ‘Tawny Kitaen’ angry/stupefied scowl following you all throughout history. The smile means this photo will eventually blend in with all the others of this politician. Good call.

Update: And if you were wondering, 'Hey, where are all the little numbers at the bottom?,' (y'know, that little touch that tips us off we're looking at an actual mugshot), CNN tells us Delay was smart enough to turn himself over to a county that recently stopped doing that.

Well played indeed, Mr. Delay.

Posted by: Dr. Reo Symes at 01:58 PM | Comments (23)
Post contains 249 words, total size 2 kb.

Earle got his perp-walk.

"Now Ronnie Earle has the mugshot he wanted," DeGuerin said, referring to the Travis County district attorney who brought the charges [against former House Leader, Tom Delay]. Â…

DeGuerin said he and DeLay went to the sheriff's office in Houston because it was convenient and because "I wanted to avoid the circus."

"That's what Ronnie (Earle) wanted. He wanted a perp walk and we did not want to do it," the defense attorney said.

The mugshot is really the only interesting part, how Delay handled it (The Smoking Gun has a larger version.)

He has a wide, freshman-yearbook smile going on; suit and tie, shiny little lapel pin - actually a very good photo. HeÂ’s the insurance salesman from the corporate newsletter, the one who had the big month and won the trip to Tampa.

‘The funny’ is that everyone knows he’s really pissed as hell, having to suffer the indignity on a BS charge. Still, short-lived irony factor aside, you don’t want a ‘Tawny Kitaen’ angry/stupefied scowl following you all throughout history. The smile means this photo will eventually blend in with all the others of this politician. Good call.

Update: And if you were wondering, 'Hey, where are all the little numbers at the bottom?,' (y'know, that little touch that tips us off we're looking at an actual mugshot), CNN tells us Delay was smart enough to turn himself over to a county that recently stopped doing that.

Well played indeed, Mr. Delay.

Posted by: Dr. Reo Symes at 01:58 PM | Comments (23)
Post contains 254 words, total size 2 kb.

I'll start tonight writing personal thank-yous, but I just wanted to say a general thank-you to everyone who's donated so far. You've all been very generous and it's very appreciated.

Well, when I say "all," I don't mean all. I mean the people who donated. Everyone else sucks.

The fundraiser so far:

Fundraiser Goal: $250,000

Funds Raised So Far: Six buck two bits, a coupon entitling me to a free map of Nebraska the next time I fill my tank at a BP gas station, and a sorta lame Transformers toy, "Rockhammer," a robot that transforms into a marble bust of actor Stacey Keach

Pretty good so far. But we can do better.

Oh, And... Yes, I know I'm very late on those poetry contest winners. I've had to divide it up into "Integrity" and "Loose Shit" -- some were in the spirit of "bad liberal poetry," other were just ridiculous and hilarious -- and I've got all the poems that placed decided. I just have to chose actual winners and runners-up. The rest are honorable mentions.

Although, who are we kidding, it was Monty by a mile, probably in both categories. Everyone already knows that.

I kind of have to apologize in advance -- there were so many good ones it pains me to have a brief list of winners. A good deal of work went into some of them. But... well, it was a contest, and I had to pick the ones I liked best. Hopefully no one will off themselves for not placing. I especially feel bad about the longer, rhyming ones -- you know, almost actual poems -- that didn't make the cut, but I have to go with my gut.

Posted by: Ace at 01:33 PM | Comments (22)
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This has all gotten a bit labyrthine, but long story short, Tim Russert's denial about telling Libby about Plame is a narrow one with some wiggle room, and Libby continues insisting he heard this from Russert.

So... why would Russert make the public semi-denial? Because he wouldn't want to be accused of helping the Bush Administration.

'Course, to get information, sometimes reporters have to offer some first, and everyone in DC gossips and speculates about politics.

I don't know. I'm having a hard time seeing what Fitzgerald could prove with regard to the underlying matter. Let's say Russert says he didn't tell Libby and Libby says he did. It's he said, he said. How can you prove a case beyond a reasonable doubt?

Fitzgerald will probably indict; he's been at this too long, and the rules are different for Republicans. For something like perjury or obstruction of justice.

I'll tell you, I don't care if you're innocent or not, don't testify before a grand jury if a prosecutor is gunning for you. Invoke your Fifth Amendment rights and issue a statement that you don't want to have slips of memory turned into perjury charges. Because once a prosecutor has spent this many months investigating a dry hole, he's coming out of there with a bill of indictment, one way or another.

Posted by: Ace at 11:05 AM | Comments (36)
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Says "we on the Appropriations Committee will take a 'long, hard look' at any projects in your state" for any who vote for anti-pork amendments.

I seem to remember a large stink about threats/promises made in the context of passing Bush's (bad) drug-prescription bill.

Think the media will likewise turn Patty Murray's naked, publicly-stated threat into a firestorm?

I don't.

Now, we conservatives have been hard on Republicans who won't restrain porkbarrel spending, and rightly so. But the MSM has blamed the runaway spending on Republicans, almost alone. Anyone think they'll take notice that a Democrat is making threats against those who would cut pork spending?

Again-- just me, but I don't.

Traffic Non-Santa has more. Anti-pork amendments are being voted down left and right. I can't wait for the full roll call.

Posted by: Ace at 10:14 AM | Comments (11)
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Yeahhhhhp... one day, when I have a couple of twelve-year-old daughters, I'm going to think "Who can I most trust to babysit them?" and decide upon a nineteen-year-old guy.

I mean, what were the odds that something like this would happen? They must have been miniscule -- no greater than four in five.

Hmmmm... I need someone to squire around my girlfriend when I'm away. I think I'll call up C.C. DeVille from Poison. He seems to have that air of trustworthiness I look for in a gentleman chaperone.

Via Fark.

Posted by: Ace at 10:01 AM | Comments (15)
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I meant to make this point myself, but I forgot to. I think it's telling.

SJKevin notes:

When Saddam was executing people, the left was all in favor of respecting Iraqi national sovereignty. Now that they're having what looks like a pretty fair trial for Saddam, the left is all worked up about it and thinks that the "international community" ought to be running the show.

Indeed. When Saddam was in charge, we were to leave Iraq to the "Iraqis" (actually, the Arab Sunni minority).

Now that he's out of power, the New York Times thinks it's high time we started bossing the Iraqis around.

They'll tell you they don't love dictators; that they "hate" Saddam. Are they trying to convince us or themselves?

By their every word and deed they lend support to a monster. Just because that monster had the balls to stand up to a worse monster -- George W. Antichrist Bush.

Posted by: Ace at 09:43 AM | Comments (12)
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She seems to think "proportional voting" -- seemingly based on race -- is mandated by the Equal Protection Clause.

Okay... Lani Guinnear, the Clinton nominee whose name he wisely withdrew after her writings revealed her to be a race-obsessed leftist -- also believed in proportional voting for minority voters.

Now, this may just be a mistake, an error in language... but really, come on. Even if it is just an error -- even if she's just getting the "republican form of government" clause (interpreted as requiring almost equal Congressional voting districts) with the Equal Protection Clause, this was a written response on a questionnaire. The woman had time to reflect upon and compose her answer.

I don't want to be too nitpicky -- I make a lot of mistakes myself, of course -- but she's either very, very liberal or else utterly confused about what the Constitution says.

Sorry to lose another buck from Monty.

Like I Said... I make a lot of mistakes. I meant Equal Protection Clause, not Equal Rights Clause. Thanks for the correction.

That was MY error, not Harriet Miers. She said "Equal Protection Clause," which is the right terminology.

It's just the right clause to cite when talking about the one-man, one-vote thingee. That's the republican form of government clause.

I guess a case could be made that the EPC sort of implicates that idea too. Still.

Posted by: Ace at 09:33 AM | Comments (16)
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And then wrestling his gun away from him after a long struggle for the weapon, which included the gun going off inches from the victim's head.

A witness to the coffee-throwing counterattack -- a local surfer named Jeff Spicoli -- was quoted as saying, "Awesome, dude!" He then asked a reporter "Where did you get that jacket?"

Posted by: Ace at 09:23 AM | Comments (8)
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Yeah. I like whales and dolphins and all, but, ahhhh... (Link at bottom of link-dump post.)

Does anyone see a pattern here? Broken record, but: These people cannot get what they want (outlawing war itself) so they are simply determined to make it all but impossible for America to fight a war by outlawing one crucial technology after another.

Next up: Jet engines and helicopter blades to be outlawed as "dangerous to the spotted owl."

Posted by: Ace at 09:16 AM | Comments (13)
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