When the Stamp Is Unimpressed
I found this a curious story:

WASHINGTON — A prosecutor tried to persuade a grand jury that Rep. Tom DeLay tacitly approved illegal use of campaign money and became angry when jurors decided against an indictment, according to two people directly familiar with the proceeding.

"The mood was unpleasant," one person said Wednesday, describing Travis County prosecutor Ronnie Earle's reaction.

The people familiar with the proceeding insisted on anonymity because of grand jury secrecy.

I don't know. Does this mean that Earle will now be obligated to investigate the grand jury or his own office?

One person said the sole evidence Earle presented to the grand jury that declined to indict was a DeLay interview with the prosecutor in August. DeLay reportedly said he was generally aware of activities of his associates.

The person said Earle tried to convince the jurors that if DeLay "didn't say, 'Stop it,' he gave his tacit approval."

Oh, well. The Democrats never wanted DeLay like they want Karl Rove. Maybe they'll get their Christmas presents early this year. Some say tomorrow.

Let's have it. Let's have it out.

From the Archives of The Daily Texan: The Red River Shoot-Out to Relocate?
Now Playing: originally published 11 August 1993
I was looking through the online archives of The Daily Texan for the following story and lucked out finding it. I won't vouch for the fidelity of the text to what was actually published because I see that there are a lot of mistakes in other columns of mine archived at the site linked above. (And, so, I have fixed a few typographical errors.)

Nevertheless, the following column has particular relevance to recent word that the University of Texas and Oklahoma University are possibly looking into rotating their annual showdown between Norman and Austin ---leaving Dallas and the Texas State Fair out of it all together.

My opinion of this has not changed:

Last week, the Daily Texan reported that a group from Oklahoma wishes to change the venue for the annual football classic between the universities of Texas and Oklahoma. The so-called Sooner Chamber of Commerce is attempting to have the game played in Austin and Norman alternately. But let's have none of that.

The reason this group wants to switch sites is so that the money spent in Dallas each year (estimated to be $15 million to $20 million) can be spent instead in each of our towns. But, to be frank, there's no way that that kind of revenue could be generated in Norman (and probably not here, either). Furthermore, I can think of entire countries with whom I would rather do battle over trade issues than the City of Dallas and its various chambers of commerce. If the proposed change were argued from a position of genuine viability, one might agree to it. But, Dallas ---with its hotel space, nightlife and familiarity with unruly mobs--- is the logical spot for such a big event. The "Battle on the Red River" is so firmly ensconced in Dallas that only a godless commie would try to move it. Not that we're talking about the removal of the papal seat from Rome to Avignon, but surely tradition holds some sway.

Our two universities have been meeting this way in Dallas since 1929. The fact that the Sooner Chamber of Commerce is in a recessionary mindset hardly justifies such a break with tradition. The curiously named director of the Chamber, Elmer "E.Z." Million, has suggested that "even if the Board of Regents doesn't support the proposition, the Legislature will mandate that the game go on a home-to-home basis." This sounds particularly meddlesome. If the controlling body of Oklahoma University wouldn't agree to the change, then what is Elmer up to? Surely he can find something else to take over the heads of OU's officials.

Part of what makes the "Texas-OU Weekend" so famous is that it inspires a pilgrimage of debauchery that draws the opposing schools and their fans into neutral territory: Dallas and the Cotton Bowl. It provides a chance for both schools to go on the road and have an inordinately good time. Indeed, for some, the game is just an excuse to get up to Dallas and be decadent. Besides, neither of our schools wants to be responsible for all the shenanigans and brouhahas that the other would inevitably engage in on our campuses. It is best that we leave that burden with the folks who know all about it.

Considering that Oklahoma has historically recruited such a disproportionate share of its athletes from this side of the border, it could at least show some gratitude by leaving well enough alone. By playing us each year in Dallas, Oklahoma is, in effect, paying homage to the wellspring of its talent.

Rather than throwing out a 64-year-old tradition, let's stand firm and insist that the game stay in Dallas. Maybe neither of our towns is benefiting from the dollars generated by the "Texas-OU Weekend" ---but that shouldn't be the deciding factor when it comes to sportsmanship and memories.

Yes, to answer your inevitable question, it is nauseating to read something you wrote in your early 20s. But I had been thinking about this column lately and wanted to share it with the class.

The Earle of (Ham) Sandwiches
Now Playing: "Lost in the Supermarket" by the Clash
Contrary to what some people I argue with believe, I am not obligated to like or support Tom DeLay. But, however much of an asshole he is (and, oh, is he ever one), I think people who wish to be intellectually honest should question why the Travis County District Attorney Ronnie Earle is grand jury-shopping:

A Travis County grand jury last week refused to indict former U.S. House Majority Leader Tom DeLay as prosecutors raced to salvage their felony case against the Sugar Land Republican.

In a written statement Tuesday, Travis County District Attorney Ronnie Earle acknowledged that prosecutors presented their case to three grand juries — not just the two they had discussed — and one grand jury refused to indict DeLay. When questions arose about whether the state's conspiracy statute applied to the first indictment returned last Wednesday, prosecutors presented a new money-laundering charge to second grand jury on Friday because the term of the initial grand jury had expired.

Working on its last day Friday, the second grand jury refused to indict DeLay. Normally, a "no-bill" document is available at the courthouse after such a decision. No such document was released Tuesday.

Earle's statement on Tuesday said he took money-laundering and conspiracy charges to a third grand jury on Monday after prosecutors learned of new evidence over the weekend.

I think this case is going to collapse faster than me sitting down on a breakaway chair. What fucking flimsiness.

It's unclear whether those grand jurors refused to indict DeLay on money-laundering charges, a first-degree felony, because of the evidence or because it was given to them on the last day of their 90-day term.

Earle did not say in his statement what new evidence surfaced over the weekend. White, who said he doubts the evidence exists, challenged Earle to reveal it. Prosecutors also called [District Judge Mike] Lynch's grand jurors over the weekend to poll them on how they would have voted on money-laundering charges if they had been given the chance.

Then prosecutors tried again Monday with a new grand jury.

When Monday's grand jury, impaneled by District Judge Brenda Kennedy, a Democrat, reported for its first day, Earle was there to ask them to indict the second most powerful Texan in Washington.

About four hours later, the new felony indictments were returned.

Tools.

Slowly Shaking My Head
Now Playing: "The Closer I Get to You" by Roberta Flack and Donny Hathaway
President Bush's nomination of Harriet Miers continues not only to baffle the hell out of me, but also to annoy me.

No matter what the causes or effects of this nomination are, we already know that Miers is neither a well-known Constitutional scholar nor a highly-regarded jurist. We have plenty of those of every color, gender, and ideological affiliation ---but she is not one of them.

Instead, she is someone whom the President knows and trusts very well. Which is important and necessary in its own context. But to say that she will approach her duties as a strict constructionist and that she is the best person for the job he could find and that we just have to get to know her to realize how able she would be on the Supreme Court of the United States is to say that her ass is the property of the man who puts her on that bench. And that is not judicial independence. That does not in any way meet the standard that we should expect of our highest court.

Okay, so a lot of our Justices over the centuries have not been judges first. Which, I will accept, is something that might give the Supreme Court a more ideologically diverse character than if it only consisted of graduates from the appellate cloisters. But this nomination smacks of cronyism in a very big way and I will not support it unless, somehow, Miss Miers just comes out and impresses the hell out of me.

So, for the first time in a long time, the confirmation hearings for a nominee to the Supreme Court of the United States will prove valuable. We should at least be glad of that.

Harriet Miers
My take? I think it's a kind of cronyism at a time when cronyism is taking a beat-down. I also think it's an example of quotaism.

I have no idea who this woman is. That's my fault entirely, I realize, but come on. Bush has pussied out with this choice because he doesn't want to have to fight for it anymore. And what's he going to get in return for phoning it in like this? I wouldn't be a bit surprised if Miers is rejected.

A very lame move, sir.

Local Boys Make Good Copy
With a big tip of the hat to Kathryn Jean Lopez, have a look at the following excerpt from a story in today's Washington Post about our district attorney Ronnie Earle and one of the great icons from late 20th Century Texas, Bob Bullock:

AUSTIN -- Ronnie Earle, the Texas prosecutor vilified by Rep. Tom DeLay as a "rogue district attorney" and an "unabashed partisan zealot," has heard worse.

There was the time, for instance, that a prominent Texas Democrat vowed to murder him.

"He would hold all these press conferences and say terrible things about me," Earle said, referring to Bob Bullock, the future lieutenant governor whom Earle investigated for allegedly misusing government resources in the 1970s.

"I know at least twice people took guns away from him when he said he was going to kill me."

Earle, a Democrat, was laughing as he recounted the story in the Travis County district attorney's office last week. And like many sagas in Earle's career, the Bullock episode comes with a footnote.

Earle couldn't persuade the grand jury to indict Bullock, who was then the state's comptroller and struggling with a drinking problem. But years later, once Bullock had sobered up, the two men were recounting old times at Bullock's kitchen table.

"You know years ago when you investigated me?" Earle recalled Bullock telling him. "I was guilty as hell."

Heh, heh.

As even DeLay himself has had to explain recently, it doesn't tell you much about Earle's supposed non-partisanship that he's gone after more Democrats than Republicans in a state like Texas. The GOP didn't have much of a presence in this state's government until just this past generation. Thus, it's no surprise that Earle's pursuit of Democrats is more a matter of internecine politics intended to benefit ideological allies than it is a true indication of his [impartiality].

Cheated
What an outrageous call! The Houston Texans just got completely screwed. Unbelievable.

That was a forward pass, you stupid bastard. And you had every angle and opportunity to reverse a shit call.

Incredible.

The Rules of Thumb
Now Playing: "Damned If I Do" by the Alan Parsons Project
Although Charles Johnson says the punishment is "hopelessly naive," it doesn't make this any less funny. I mean sad:

MADRID -- An imam who wrote a book on how to beat your wife without leaving marks on her body has been ordered by a judge in Spain to study the country's constitution.

The judge told Mohamed Kamal Mustafa, imam of a mosque in the southern resort of Fuengirola, to spend six months studying three articles of the constitution and the universal declaration of human rights.

Mr. Mustafa was sentenced to 15 months in jail and fined about $2,600 last year after being found guilty of inciting violence against women.

A judge released him after 22 days in jail on the condition that he undertake a re-education course.

You might be asking yourself just now why you never hear about things like this in either Big Media or the liberal-Left blogosphere. It's confusing, isn't it? You have very clear and routine examples of Muslim brutality against women, but you never hear liberal women's groups in America condemn these practices. Why? Surely they've had enough time by now to regain some of their dignity after whoring themselves out for the sake of Bill Clinton. Why do they not take a stand as liberated women and defend women elsewhere in the world against physical violence?

Because George W. Bush is Satan.

Scratch that: liberal women's groups will never regain the dignity they lost when they unquestioningly defended Clinton's lies and extreme sexual misconduct on the job. They don't even try to stand up against wife-beating in the Muslim world because they're too busy hating on the Rethuglikkkans. Or maybe because they're out buying shoes.

The Story behind Judy Miller's Release: Major League Horseshit
I don't know what the hell's going on with Judy Miller just yet, but let's get something straight: she could have avoided jail and sang her little heart out because Scooter Libby told her she could almost two years ago.

This crap that she and her lawyer are spewing about how she just didn't think the original waiver of confidentiality Libby had signed off on was legitimate is a total head fake.

It's all horseshit.

Something's going on here and I'm not nearly savvy enough to suss it out. But I am sure that there's some major league horseshit going down.

Lame Save, Dude
Mood:  smelly
The thought is going around the blogosphere that California Congressman David Dreier may have lost out on a promotion to Acting House Majority Leader yesterday because of his sexual orientation. I don't know if that's true or not. I didn't even know his orientation was in question. (Then again, there was a long time there when I didn't know that Queen or Elton John or George Michael were gay ---if I even knew what being gay was--- so who knows?)

But what do I come across when I go looking for some spirited discussion at the large Leftist hang-out Eschaton? It's the proprietor of the place, asking in a post entitled "Sharks":

Will closet heterosexual David Dreier maintain the leadership position? We shall see...

Of course, this is just the sort of standard-issue rhetorical irony that people resort to when they wish to have something both ways. I asked why this is acceptable of a liberal-Left ideologue such as Black. Why can he insinuate ---without any repercussions--- whatever he wishes to about a possibly gay Republican when it should be a principle of enlightenment and decency that a person's sexual identity not be an instrument with which to shame him?

Well, I rhetorize myself. The fact is that it's okay by Black to do this because he believes that there is more partisan value to be gained by slagging Dreier as a member of a supposedly homophobic party than by respecting the dignity of a decent man.

As I put it to Black last night at his site:

Oh, hey, Atrios. I was asking everybody earlier why they thought it was okay for you to poke fun at Dreier's sexual orientation. Do you enjoy special immunity or is the irony just too delicious to pass up?

I don't know if there's any connection to my unanswered question, but this morning, Black links to a post by Steve Clemons, self-importantly titling the link (and the accompanying excerpt) "Why It Matters."

Well, what is "it"?

Is "it" the question of why Dreier did not land the job?

Or is "it" the matter of Dreier's putative homosexuality itself?

Turns out, "it" is nauseating weaselness, for Clemons' post states the case in a way that Black very obviously could not bring himself to do (emphasis mine):

Dreier was blocked because he has a long-term, loving relationship with someone of the same sex. This has been documented on many fronts and is widely known by members of Dreier's own caucus. If the reality of this blocked Dreier's ascension, then the news has a duty not to keep this matter hidden.

I'm pleased by Tom DeLay's fall from grace. But I'm irritated by the main stream media's complicity in hiding the bigotry that runs unchecked through a significant quarter of the Republican party.

Yeah, okay. Clemons really [cares] about Dreier's personal life; Black just wants to perpetrate like he was only talking about some Republicans. What a joke.

Guess what, folks: you can go on all day about how it's the Republican Party that's really keeping gay marriage from happening, but if gay marriage were such a broadly popular idea, you wouldn't see so many big league Democrats avoiding the issue at all costs. The Clintons? Kerry? Edwards? I don't recall them fighting for gay marriage.

Time to quit lying to yourselves and the rest of us.

Whither Goes the Ho Chi Minh Trail?
Now Playing: "Happy" by the Rolling Stones

(Note the date of this cartoon. It's not like the ultimate culprits are new to the game, are they?)

Pervez
Now Playing: "Pictures of Lily" by the Who
Oh. Was I not supposed to enjoy the sight of KXAN reporter Jenny Hoff getting tazed by the cops on the news tonight?

Great work, madam. I think you got a real future in show business.

Survives
Now Playing: "Greensleeves"
This afternoon, I went to the funeral and life-celebration of the mother of one of my oldest friends. (And you are one of my oldest friends, S. I've known you since you were a teenager! Isn't that funny?)

And it sounds strange to say it, but these ceremonies were useful to the people who participated in them. Because this woman ---who was far too young to pass away--- was such an important part of her professional community that I think it was just as important to her colleagues and admirers that they recognize the reality of her death together; like it were a confirmation to each other that, indeed, they would not have this woman to depend on any longer. But the subdued bewilderment was palpable.

Over and over, the attestations of her excellence and integrity and unquestionable competence were made. And to me, for my friend's sake, this was a wonderful thing. To leave this world respected and assured of your influence on the lives of thousands? (That is a blessing that will overcome the pain of your loss, S. I am sure of that.)

I very much like the idea of being sent off by those who know you. That is essential to the dignity of this particular occasion. I hope I have that when it is my time to die.

And I hope they know what songs must be played: "Dust in the Wind" by Kansas, "This Train" by Bob Marley, and "Brokedown Palace" by the Grateful Dead. No covers. Just the studio cuts on a decent jam box and get out of the way.

Tonight, I have another beautiful song in my head.

Subhuman Garbage
This story is so fucked up that it's almost like it can't be true. But I think it is:

A Pakistani man's alleged shooting of his younger sister in a so-called 'honour killing' over the weekend has led members of the Pakistani community to discuss ways of halting the practice.

The Organisation of Pakistani Students and Academics intends to discuss the practice during an upcoming debate forum, according to the organisation's chairman Qasam Nazir.

'Many (Pakistanis, ed) [sic] are very disappointed that this problem has again appeared in contemporary Denmark,' said Nazir.

Many members of the Pakistani community were shocked over the weekend to hear reports that a 29-year-old Pakistani man was apprehended on Saturday, accused of shooting his 19-year-old sister and her Afghan husband on Friday. The sister died shortly after from her gunshot wounds.

'We will try to find imams and other prominent people to get a discussion about this cultural phenomenon, which is not a religious practice in any way,' said Nazir.

Keep in mind that this "honor killing" happened in broad daylight on the streets of Denmark.

This is one of those practices that dhimmified Leftists and other America-haters refuse to condemn because of their lack of moral direction. These are the same shithooks who follow and swallow Mother Sheehan's ignorant bilge because it's not nice to criticize The Other ---especially when there's so much energy to be spent on hating your own culture.

I have no respect for contemporary Muslim culture. I have no respect for those who cannot bring themselves to condemn the evil practices that this so-called "religion of peace" sullies the world with.

A lot of you are complicit in this sort of savagery. Don't forget that.

(Hat tip to LGF.)

No, No, Sweetie: You Had It Right the First Time
Via Michelle Malkin, check out this post by Mary Katharine Ham on the evolution of the Associated Press' report on today's arrest of Mother Sheehan outside the White House. Ham's post appears to simply begin as a quick link to the story of the arrest, but keeps updating to include the evolving language in the intro to the news report. Thus (with Ham's emphases):

1:57 p.m.-- Cindy Sheehan, the California woman who has used her son's death in Iraq to spur the anti-war movement, was arrested Monday while protesting outside the White House.

As a matter of fact, I actually read this first version online while I was at work and was somewhat surprised at the employment of such an unromantic verb.

3 p.m.-- Cindy Sheehan, the California woman driven by her son's death in Iraq to re-ignite the anti-war movement, was arrested Monday while protesting outside the White House.

Yeah, okay... Less than an hour later, it's:

Cindy Sheehan, the California woman who became a leader of the anti-war movement following her son's death in Iraq, was arrested Monday along with dozens of others protesting outside the White House.

See, I'm not saying that this is a journalistic scandal, friends.

I'm saying it's standard operating procedure.

A Friendly Note to Our Guests
Mood:  suave
Howdy!

If y'all are done being here in Austin and have a home to go home to, could you please leave as soon as possible? I'm absolutely sick of spending my life in traffic jams that you and your dumb ass are causing.

Thanks. Have a safe trip home.

Exterminated
Mood:  celebratory
Now Playing: "Gear" by Naked Raygun
I am extremely pleased to tell you that the Israeli Defense Forces have exterminated a true piece of shit:

An IAF Apache helicopter flying over Gaza fired a missile and struck a vehicle traveling on the coastal road and carrying the Palestinian terrorists. According to witnesses, one of the victims was decapitated and one was wearing military fatigues.

Military sources said the targeted terrorist was Sheikh Muhammad Khalil, a senior commander of Islamic Jihad in the southern Gaza Strip who was responsible for planning a slew of attacks on Israelis including the murder of Tali Hatuel, who was pregnant, and her four young daughters on the Kissufim road in Gush Katif. He was also behind the attack on the Morag outpost that killed three soldiers and the detonation of an IDF armored vehicle that killed five.

Khalil's bodyguard was also killed in the attack.

Don't remember the story of the Hatuel family? Let me refresh your memory:

An Israeli woman in her eighth month of pregnancy and her four daughters were killed this afternoon [2 May 2004] when two terrorists opened fire at Israeli cars traveling on the Kissufim-Gush Katif road in the Gaza Strip. Soldiers shot the terrorists dead, but only after an explosive device at the scene detonated, wounding three soldiers, two of them with moderate-to-serious injuries.

The victims of the attack were identified as Tali Hatuel, 34, and her daughters Hila (11), Hadar (9), Roni (7) and Merav (2). Tali's husband was not in the car at the time of the attack, ynet reported. The Hatuels lived on the Gush Katif settlement of Katif.

I hope you remember their story. I certainly do. It made me ill:

It was also learned that the terrorists not only murdered the 34-year-old mother of four who was eight months pregnant along with her children, but then ran up to the vehicle and took a video of the results of their actions, filming the young victims as they bled to death.

If I can find any, I will be happy to post photos here of Khalil's shredded carcass.

Good work, General Sharon.

(Hat tip to Charles Johnson and his commenter zulubaby.)

Buffoonery
Michelle Malkin took a walk ---and her camera--- through the anti-war rally in Washington, D.C. today. The picture you see here is one of hers. I hope she doesn't mind my borrowing it, but it's got to be the funniest prop ever brought to an anti-war rally.

I See Better Turnouts When I Go to the Bathroom
Now Playing: "Sugar Mountain" by Neil Young
I'm watching these wankers at the anti-war rally in D.C. on C-SPAN ---and I'm laughing. On and immediately around the stage? About fifty people. And that's being very generous.

You know why there is no anti-war movement? You know why these burnt-out hippies can't persuade America that this is Viet Nam all over again?

Because the men and women who fight for our country are our best and bravest and they fight of their own volition. This isn't Lyndon Johnson clearing out the ghettoes and barrios of his Great Society, you know. These kids who show up to the protests in their bandanas and Che Guevara T-shirts are not only in no danger of any draft, but the United States military probably wouldn't take them, anyway. Better men and women than they could ever hope to be have taken on the responsibility of fighting in our name ---and these bums want to undermine that because it's fashionable?

The War for Iraq is a complicated and ambitious undertaking that hasn't yet yielded what it can. Is the American public down on it right now? Yep. But that's bound to change. Our fighting forces are making a difference in a crucial part of the world. These protesters don't understand that. They just want to re-enact some glorious anti-war past that they've seen in documentaries. It's truly pathetic.

Escher and Nagel
I found the picture you see here at Despair.com, via this post at Galley Slaves, a cool blog I forgot to keep reading when it first came out late last or early this year.

It's a rip on those framed motivational prints you sometimes see in the offices of people with no taste and/or a liking for the high art of Escher and Nagel.

Actually, I adore M.C. Escher, but I don't usually take the opportunity to share an inside joke with one of the audience.

Go check out the rest of 'em. They're full of snarky goodness.