Day: October 3, 2005

Ah, the foreign press…they do these things so well.

In this day and age, you’d hardly think they exist, but they do. A lot of us work hard to appear on Google, but these people go to great lengths to be sure they do not.

Well that didn’t take very long. Hmm…48,250 visits already. The question is, how long can they keep it going?

Actually, who cares.

…I watched Match Game. Now he’s gone. Dang it all to [BLANK].

Actor Nipsey Russell, known as “the poet laureate of television,” passed away yesterday afternoon at Lenox Hill Hospital.

Eyewitness News has learned Russell died of cancer, confirmed his longtime manager, Joseph Rapp. He was 80.

The man could definitely rhyme. Forget Charles Nelson Reilly. Nipsey was the Match Game master.

RIP.

Chief Justice John Roberts warmed the BIG seat on the Supreme Court for the first time today. He’s just so yesterday’s news isn’t he!

I suspect we’ll be seeing a lot more of this type of book publishing in the not too distant future.

If one indictment feels good, two must feel better.

A Texas grand jury indicted Rep. Tom DeLay (R-Tex.) yesterday for alleged involvement in money laundering related to the 2002 Texas election, raising new and more serious allegations than the conspiracy charge lodged against the former House majority leader last week.

The surprising new indictments followed by a matter of hours a motion by DeLay’s Texas legal defense team to quash last week’s charge on grounds that the Texas prosecutor in charge of the case lacked authority to bring it. The lawyers alleged that the crime of conspiracy was not covered by the state election law at the time of the alleged violation.

Later on Monday, a different grand jury — which had no prior involvement in the case — brought the new charges, which roughly match allegations made against two of DeLay’s political associates one year ago.

DeLay, who had earlier accused the prosecutor — Travis County District Attorney Ronnie Earle — of partisan zealotry, promptly issued a statement accusing him of stooping “to a new low with his brand of prosecutorial abuse.” DeLay said Earle “is trying to pull the legal equivalent of a ‘do-over’ since he knows very well that the charges he brought against me last week are totally manufactured and illegitimate.” The congressman added: “This is an abomination of justice.”

I expect the media circus to run for awhile on this DeLay matter, so long as political hay can be made.

The other new count alleges that DeLay and the two associates “did knowingly, conduct, supervise, and facilitate” the transfer of the $190,000 to Washington and back to Texas in violation of the state’s money-laundering statutes. Last week’s conspiracy charge, in contrast, involved the state’s election law, and it was that linkage that DeLay’s attorneys challenged.

Earle, who spoke to reporters after last week’s action, did not explain his decision to present his case to a new grand jury on the first day it met. DeLay spokesman Kevin Madden said that Earle’s action came after he “panicked” after realizing his error in bringing last week’s charges.

But a source close to the investigation, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because he lacks authority to speak publicly, responded by noting that Earle told reporters last week his investigation was continuing, and asserting that Earle had intended to bring these charges even before the challenge raised by DeLay’s lawyers.

Whatever the reason, the potential consequences for DeLay are more dire. Both money-laundering crimes are more serious felonies, and the maximum punishment is life in prison.

BUT, we’ll have to wait a year, maybe two before we know whether DeLay will have to serve any time. At least that’s what I believe, as I am convinced that Earle wants this fight to continue in the political arena more than a court of law.

Is it over yet?

As I said yesterday, I wasn’t all that excited about the next round buzz, debate, trash talk, and confirmation grilling that is now underway with today’s pick. I’m still not. The first I heard of Harriet Miers was when I read this article from Ann Althouse. Today she’s a household name, and the blogosphere is afire.

Hugh Hewitt says Miers is a solid B+ pick, while Patterico claims he’s applying lipstick on a pig. Meanwhile, The Anchoress is some kind of clairvoyant, since she picked Ms. Harriet over a week ago. She just knew Bush would pick her. Professor Bainbridge goes the flip-side of Hugh and gives the pick a D-, claiming that the Supreme Court is no place for B pluses since decisions are made which affect millions of lives.

MSM’er Bill Kristol is in need of an anti-depressant prescription, and quick. Bush’s pick has made him Disappointed, Depressed and Demoralized. Marvin Olasky over at WorldViews says, “I never heard her (Miers) take a position on anything”. Anne Gearan from the AP writes that Harriet Miers led an unsuccessful bid to revisit the decision on abortion.

And Michelle Malkin has reaction from EVERYONE ELSE IN THE WORLD…well, practically everyone.

I’ll be back to a more normal condition later this evening, and as if almost by magic, this blog will wake up simultaneously.

UPDATE: 8:45 PM PDT – Back in business. Blogging to resume shortly.