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Alito Dubbed 'Scalito'

Samuel A. Alito has been a strong conservative jurist on the Philadelphia-based 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, a court with a reputation for being among the nation's most liberal.

Dubbed "Scalito" or "Scalia-lite," a play not only on his name but his opinions, Alito, 55, brings a hefty legal resume that belies his age. He has served on the federal appeals court for 15 years since President George H.W. Bush nominated him in 1990.

Before that Alito was U.S. attorney for the District of New Jersey from 1987 to 1990, where his first assistant was a lawyer by the name of Michael Chertoff, now the Homeland Security secretary.

Alito was the deputy assistant attorney general in the Reagan administration from 1985 to 1987 and assistant to the solicitor general from 1981 to 1985.

His New Jersey ties run deep. Alito, the son of an Italian immigrant, was born in Trenton and attended Princeton University. He headed to Connecticut to receive his law degree, graduating from Yale University in 1975.

Among his noteworthy opinions was his lone dissent in the 1991 case of Planned Parenthood v. Casey, in which the 3rd Circuit struck down a Pennsylvania law that included a provision requiring women seeking abortions to notify their spouses.

"The Pennsylvania legislature could have rationally believed that some married women are initially inclined to obtain an abortion without their husbands' knowledge because of perceived problems — such as economic constraints, future plans, or the husbands' previously expressed opposition — that may be obviated by discussion prior to the abortion," Alito wrote.

The Supreme Court, in a 6-3 ruling, struck down the spousal notification, but Chief Justice William Rehnquist quoted from Alito's opinion in his dissent.

Former appellate judge Timothy Lewis, who served with Alito, has ideological differences with him but believes he would be a good Supreme Court justice.

"There is nobody that I believe would give my case a more fair and balanced treatment," Lewis said. "He has no agenda. He's open-minded, he's fair and he's balanced."

In a 1999 case, Fraternal Order of Police v. City of Newark, the 3rd Circuit ruled 3-0 that Muslim police officers in the city can keep their beards. The police had made exemption in its facial hair policy for medical reasons (a skin condition known as pseudo folliculitis barbae) but not for religious reasons.

Alito wrote the opinion, saying, "We cannot accept the department's position that its differential treatment of medical exemptions and religious exemptions is premised on a good-faith belief that the former may be required by law while the latter are not."

In July 2004, the 3rd Circuit Court ruled that a Pennsylvania law prohibiting student newspapers from running ads for alcohol was unconstitutional. At issue was Act 199, an amendment to the Pennsylvania Liquor Code passed in 1996 that denied student newspapers advertising revenue from alcoholic beverages.

Alito said the law violated the First Amendment rights of the student newspaper, The Pitt News, from the University of Pittsburgh.

"If government were free to suppress disfavored speech by preventing potential speakers from being paid, there would not be much left of the First Amendment," Alito wrote.

In 1999, Alito was part of a majority opinion in ACLU v. Schundler. At issue was a holiday display in Jersey City. The court held that the display didn't violate the establishment clause of the First Amendment because in addition to a creche and a menorah, it also had a Frosty the Snowman and a banner hailing diversity.

In the case of Homar v. Gilbert in 1996, Alito wrote the dissenting opinion that a state university didn't violate the due process rights of a campus police officer when they suspended him without pay after they learned he had been arrested on drug charges.

One of the most notable opinions was Alito's dissent in the 1996 case of Sheridan v. Dupont, a sex discrimination case. Alito wrote that a plaintiff in such a case should not be able to withstand summary judgment just by casting doubt on an employer's version of the story.

In Fatin v. INS (1993), Alito joined the majority in ruling that an Iranian woman seeking asylum could establish eligibility based on citing that she would be persecuted for gender and belief in feminism.

In a 1996 ruling that upheld the constitutionality of a federal law banning the possession of machine guns, Alito argued for greater state rights in reasoning that Congress had no authority to regulate private gun possession.

On the bench, Alito is known to be probing, but more polite than the often-caustic Justice Antonin Scalia, to whom he is sometimes compared. In high school, he competed in debate with his younger sister Rosemary. His style is considered quiet and thoughtful.

In a May 2005 profile in the Newark Star-Ledger, Alito said, "Most of the labels people use to talk about judges, and the way judges decide (cases) aren't too

The King of Talk Radio Reigns Over Liberal Talkers

Rush Limbaugh is still the king of political talk radio, according to just-released Arbitron numbers for the summer of 2005, which show him trouncing the competition from liberal talkers.

An Arbitron summary posted to PR Newswire shows:

• Limbaugh beats liberal talkers Al Franken, Ed Schultz, and Jerry Springer in the all-encompassing sex/age category of Persons 12+.

• For the key target demographic of Adults 25-54 in the top 10 market grouping, Limbaugh beats Franken by a three to one margin.

• Limbaugh also enjoys a seven to one margin against Schultz and Springer in the same market grouping category.

• In the aggregate total of the top 25 market grouping for Adults 25-54, Limbaugh again beats Franken by a three to one margin, Schultz by a five to one margin, and finally, Springer by an eight to one margin.

The Arbitron summer book also shows that Limbaugh's audience is 1.5 times greater than the combined audience of all three liberal talkers in the top 10 market grouping with Adults 25-54 - and more than 1.5 times greater in the top 25 market grouping.

The latest Arbitron numbers contradict widespread media predictions that liberal radio hosts would eventually begin to eat into Limbaugh's 20 million listener audience base, who hear him on over 600 stations.

Since it debuted last year, for instance, Franken's Air America network has added few new outlets, topping out at just 70 stations.

Late Nite Jokes

Leno

Average American household spends up to eight hours a day watching TV. Up three percent from last year. Well they’re not watching NBC, have you seen our fall lineup?!

At his civil trial this week Robert Blake said he is dyslexic. This explains why he killed his wife and then went and got the gun.

Letterman

It’s been raining here. We had so much rain in New York City today that on the "Today Show” Tom Cruise lectured Matt Lauer about umbrellas.

Iraq has officially approved its constitution – okay, so we’re out of there.

How about that Harriet Miers mess? Woo…the White House is steadfast saying they won’t withdraw her nomination. You know what that means? She’ll be out of there in a week.

Dick Cheney is giving pep talks at the White House – because when you think pep you think Dick Cheney!

Donald Trump and Regis have a CD coming out full out of Christmas songs. I don’t know how good it is but shoplifters are actually returning it.

The Pentagon is actually using it to break the will of detainees.

Late Nite Jokes

Letterman

The holidays are just around the corner. Regis and Donald Trump have gotten together and have released a Christmas CD. Coming to work this morning in the car the dashboard kept spitting it out.

This may be the first Christmas album to result in indictments.

Did you see that baseball game last night? The longest World Series game ever. At about midnight Jose Canseco injected the players with shots of coffee.

5 hours and 41 minutes. As it dragged on and dragged on I started to think it was something George Bush got us into.

How many folks been to McDonalds lately? They’re trying to improve their image. They now have big screen TV’s and leather coaches…I’m thinking wouldn’t that money have been better spent on actual beef?

Hillary Clinton is 58 years old today. Bill Clinton celebrated her birthday the way he does every year…a dozen roses, candlelight dinner, passionate sex – and then he went home to Hillary.

Sen. Hatch: Democratic Filibuster? Bring It On!

When Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, the former chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, met with Harriet Miers on Oct. 4th, he said he intended to support her nomination, and now says he still would, had she remained a candidate.

He reminded Fox News viewers today that Miers was rated as one of America's top 100 lawyers, and then asked "if any of her critics were of the other 99," then answered his own question by stating "I can tell you right now they aren't."

"She's a person of great ability, great integrity, and of course great capacity, but she's made this decision, and we'll have to accept it," he said.

Fox's Martha McCallum then asked Hatch if the president needs to "make a conservative choice to get the base behind him in these difficult times?"

Hatch replied, "I do think he wants to appoint conservatives, and that's what he's going to do. The Left is already saying, 'The Right has won here, and you must now appoint a moderate,' but keep in mind that 22 of them wouldn't even vote for (Chief Justice) Roberts, who most people are saying is one of the greatest nominations in history, so you can imagine this has become a very partisan ordeal.

"I think the president ought to pick the best conservative he possibly can, and we go on from there - and I'll be there to help."

On the question of a filibuster of possible conservative nominees like Michael Luttig or Sam Alito, Hatch said, "These are people who have great dimension and great caliber in the law - Michael Luttig is the perfect illustration - but if they want a filibuster, we're gonna have to take them on."

"There's really never been a leader-led partisan filibuster in the history of our country with regard to Supreme Court nominees," Hatch said, "or any other member of the judiciary, and I think we're just gonna have to take them on."

"We're not going to put up with that," he added emphatically.

CIA Leaked Plame's Name

The ultimate source of information identifying Leakgate accuser Valerie Plame as a CIA employee my turn out to be the CIA itself, the New York Times reported Tuesday.

Notes obtained by Special Counsel Patrick Fitzgerald identify then-CIA Director George Tenet as the person who gave up Plame's secret to the White House, with the Times reporting that Tenet tipped Vice President Dick Cheney to her identity.

However the notes - taken by Cheney's chief of staff Lewis Libby - "contain no suggestion that either Mr. Cheney or Mr. Libby knew at the time of Ms. Wilson's undercover status or that her identity was classified."

So far, Tenet has neither confirmed nor denied that he was the original source of the Plamegate leak, with the Times reporting that he was "unavailable for comment."

"But another former senior intelligence official said Mr. Tenet had been interviewed by the special prosecutor and his staff in early 2004, and never appeared before the grand jury."

Mr. Tenet has not talked since then to the prosecutors, the former official told the Times.

Zogby: Bush Approval Bounce to 45%

President Bush, his job approval rating beleaguered by poor marks in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, rebounded from historic lows this summer to 45% in Zogby International's latest poll. The president's job approval numbers bumped back up into the range where they have hovered for most of his second term.

The survey also found that, while voters do not give the President passing marks on his handling of the Iraq War, half (50%) believe the recently-passed Iraqi constitution is a major step in the right direction for the strife-torn nation that will lead to peace and democracy. Meanwhile, 37% believe Iraq is on the brink of a civil war.

The Zogby America telephone poll of 1005 likely voters, conducted from October 19 through 21, 2005, has a margin of error of +/-3.2 percentage points.

While President Bush's overall job approval is up, and a 52% majority of voters hold a favorable opinion of him, his handling of any number of issues continues to score negative marks-including his handling of the War on Terror, which is now disapproved by 53% in the survey; this is typically President Bush's strongest area in the survey.

Bush's bounce appears to be tied to overall perception of the nation's direction; three weeks ago, just 40% said the nation was on the right track. This number now stands at 45%.

Voter outlook on the nation's direction improved over an October 3 poll, which showed just 40% believing the nation to be on the right track. That number now stands at 45%, while those who said the nation is on the wrong track declined from 54% to 51%.

Southerners continue to hold the most optimistic outlook on the nation's direction; in this region, which the President carried solidly in the last election, half of voters (50%) say the nation is on the right track.

The same holds for the "Red States," those states carried by the President during the 2004 election: there, 50% of voters feel the nation is heading in the right direction, while 46% hold a more pessimistic view.

In the "Blue States" carried by Democratic Senator John Kerry, meanwhile, just 39% say the nation is heading in the right direction while 56% believe the nation is on the wrong track.

The trend is even more pronounced along party lines. While Republicans are overwhelmingly optimistic about the nation's direction, with 75% saying the nation is on the right track, among Democrats, this drops to 17%. Independents lag behind the national average at 42%.

Despite the bounce in his overall job approval, President Bush continues to receive negative marks for his handling of several aspects related to his job.

His signature issue of the War on Terror continues for a second straight month to be rated negatively; previously, the President received favorable marks for his handling of this particular area of his presidency.

Zogby International conducted interviews of 1005 likely voters chosen at random nationwide. All calls were made from Zogby International headquarters in Utica, N.Y., from October 19 through 21, 2005. The margin of error is +/- 3.2 percentage points. Slight weights were added to region, party, age, race, religion, and gender to more accurately reflect the voting population. Margins of error are higher in sub-groups.

Patrick Fitzgerald Appointed by Longtime Crony

Now that the press is convinced that U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald is about to bring indictments in the Leakgate case, reporters are praising him as an unbiased, objective and independent-minded prosecutor.

But it turns out - independence had nothing to do with the way Fitzgerald won his appointment as Leakgate special counsel.

According to a May 2003 profile in American Lawyer magazine, Fitzgerald had been "best friends" for 14 years with the man who tapped him - then-Deputy Attorney General James Comey.

In fact, Fitzgerald and Comey were so chummy that the magazine headlined its piece - "The Pat and Jim Show."

Highlights of American Lawyer's profile include the following details:
"Today Comey and Fitzgerald are, well, far better connected [then they were starting out together in the 1980s in the U.S. attorney's office in New York]. When they press buttons, investigations follow . . .

"Fitzgerald and Comey take obvious joy in the work they do. One is a lifer who doesn't like to think about the inevitable end of his term. The other is a natural politician, the sort who can move easily between public and private sectors-and already has. . . .

"But they're something else as well, something that informs the work they did then and the work they do now. Pat Fitzgerald and Jim Comey are best friends."

Seven months after the American Lawyer profile, the CIA referred the Leakgate case to the Justice Department. Citing a conflict of interest, then-Attorney General John Ashcroft immediately recused himself.

It fell to Comey, then Deputy AG, to name an outside counsel. Comey wasted no time in recruiting his "best friend" to fill the post.

Apparently it never occurred to either Fitzgerald or Comey that their closeness could pose problems.

But should Fitzgerald indict senior White House officials, critics are likely to zero in on his February 2004 request to Comey to expand his investigation well beyond its original charter, which was to determine whether any laws had been broken when Valerie Plame's name "outed."

Had Comey refused, chances are Fitzgerald's probe would have ended shortly thereafter.

But when his old friend requested new authority to pursue perjury, obstruction and conspiracy charges in Leakgate, Comey approved without hesitation.

It was deja vu all over again for "the Pat and Jim Show."

Late Nite Jokes

Leno

You can really tell the sign’s of fall are everywhere. The air’s a little crisper, the leaves changing, the Raider’s are losing.

There have been horrible rainstorms all around the country...Las Vegas has had a record amount of rainfall in this week. More rain this month than ever before. In fact, it was so bad, Roy got mauled by a sea lion.

According to "U.S. News and World Report”, there are now rumors circulating that because of the CIA spy investigation, Dick Cheney might resign and Condoleezza Rice will be named vice president. Due to the highly-sensitive nature of the situation, they had to explain it to President Bush using puppets.

Saddam Hussein went on trial today. I had no idea he worked in the Bush White House.

Here’s the strange thing about the trial, today, Amber Frey flew to Baghdad to testify. I’m not sure what that means…

The trial has begun. And Saddam’s lawyers say they will accept any judge except Harriet Miers. They don’t feel she is qualified.

Saddam Hussein may have killed over a million people. Of course tobacco companies are not impressed. Amateurs!

Saddam is 68 years-old. In fact, he is the first senior citizen ever charged with murder who didn’t star in "Baretta.”

U.S. forces have captured Osama bin Laden’s barber. I believe his name is Vidal Kaboom and his brother Infidel Sassoon. I believe they worked at a shop called Fanatical Sam’s.

President Bush has declared war on the bird flu. I don’t think he learns from his mistakes, like today he made a speech at a bird sanctuary in front of a big banner that said, "Mission accomplished!”

Letterman

Regis and Donald Trump have a Christmas CD coming out. Regis and Donald together. Here’s what I’m going to do…on Christmas Eve I’m going to start a big roaring fire and throw the CD into it.

Regis and Donald together on CD – or as I like to call it – a Frisbee.

President Bush’s approval rating is now so bad that more people approve of the job I’m doing.

This Harriet Miers, the Supreme Court nominee is refusing to talk about herself. I’m thinking, hell where do you find a woman like that?

Conan

Saddam Hussein’s trial started today. During the proceedings he refused to identify himself. Luckily everyone in the courtroom was able to identify himself because of those 25 years he ran the country.

The trial was televised live and many Iraqis were glued to their TV sets – mainly because years ago Saddam had them glued to their TV sets.

In New Jersey lawmakers are considering a bill that would outlaw smoking while driving. Lawmakers went further to say that if New Jersey drivers want to inhale polluted air they should just roll down the window.

Gorelick Aide Blocked Able Danger Testimony

An aide to former Clinton Justice Department official Jamie Gorelick blocked the 9/11 Commission from hearing bombshell testimony about the findings of the elite Able Danger military intelligence team, Rep. Curt Weldon said late Friday.

"The person who debriefed [Able Danger analyst] Scott Philpot was, in fact, the lead staffer for Jamie Gorelick," Weldon told the Fox News Channel's "Hannity & Colmes." "His name was Dieter Snell."

Weldon contended: "It was Dieter Snell who did not brief the 9/11 Commission. The 9/11 Commissioners were never briefed on Able Danger."

Gorelick was the lead Democrat on the 9/11 Commission.

Weldon said Able Danger team members have been "gagged" by the Pentagon and by Defense Intelligence Agency leaders who stand to be embarrassed by their revelations.

"The Defense Intelligence Agency has people who were held over from the previous administration," he told Fox News. "They were there when [Able Danger] brought forward this information."

The Pennsylvania Republican said that besides identifying Atta and three other 9/11 hijackers as terrorist threats, Able Danger had warned of the impending attack on the U.S.S. Cole.

"Two weeks before the attack on the U.S.S. Cole," he told "Hannity & Colmes, "they sensed that something was about to happen in Yemen. Two days before the attack on the Cole - and the arrival of the Cole in harbor - they warned that the ship should not enter the harbor."

"This information needs to be brought to the public," Weldon said. "We lost 3,000 people here. This cannot be covered up. This is 3,000 times worse than Watergate."

NY Times: Karl Rove, Lewis Libby Likely Cleared on Leakgate Charges

Special prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald has likely decided not to indict top White House aides Karl Rove and Lewis "Scooter" Libby based on allegations they "outed" CIA employee Valerie Plame, lawyers close to Fitzgerald's Leakgate investigation have told the New York Times.

Instead, the paper said, conflicting accounts given by Mr. Rove and Mr. Libby have been the focus of Mr. Fitzgerald's probe "almost from the start" - raising questions about whether the respected prosecutor continued his investigation after determining that no underlying crime had been committed.

It's not clear whether Fitzgerald believes that Rove and/or Libby had indeed violated the 1982 Intelligence Identities Protection Act, but couldn't prove his case. Or whether he realized early on that the law didn't apply to Ms. Plame, who doesn't qualify as a covert agent because she hadn't served abroad within five years of her "outing."

Instead, the Times said: "Among the charges that Mr. Fitzgerald is considering are perjury, obstruction of justice and false statement" - raising speculation that the Leakgate case may devolve into a Martha Stewart-like prosecution, which drew howls of derision from legal critics.

Stewart was sentenced to jail in 2003 for lying to investigators after the Justice Department abandoned its insider trading case against her for lack of evidence.
Unlike the Stewart case, however, it's hard to see how Fitzgerald could have ever believed that the 1982 law in question had been violated, when a quick check of Ms. Plame's work history would have rendered his investigation moot from the start.

Even the Times noted: "Possible violations under consideration by Mr. Fitzgerald are peripheral to the issue he was appointed in December 2003 to investigate."

In Mr. Rove's case, Fitzgerald's prosecution may rest, not on any false testimony, but instead on Rove's failure to tell the grand jury early on about a conversation he had about Ms. Plame with Time magazine reporter Matthew Cooper.

"Mr. Fitzgerald has remained skeptical about the omission," the Times said.

It's still not clear that Rove and Libby would be indicted even if Fitzgerald could prove they gave false testimony to the grand jury.

In 2000, Independent Counsel Robert Ray concluded that then-first lady Hillary Clinton had provided materially false testimony in the Travelgate investigation.

Mr. Ray declined to indict, however - explaining that he could not prove that Mrs. Clinton's false statements were intentional.

Judge in DeLay Case Backed MoveOn.org

Supporters of former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay might not be overly paranoid to suspect that there is just a hint of politics complicating his legal troubles.

When the Texas Republican appears in court on Friday to face money-laundering charges, the presiding judge will be a Democratic Party activist who has contributed money to the George Soros-backed MoveOn.org, Sen. John Kerry and the Democratic National Committee.

DeLay will face a hearing in Austin before state district Judge Bob Perkins, whose political contributions include:

$200 to presidential candidate John Kerry on July 14, 2004.
$200 to Sen. Kerry on July 24, 2004.
$475 to Kerry on July 29, 2004.
$200 to MoveOn.org on Sept. 11, 2004.
$200 to the Democratic National Committee on Oct. 13, 2004.
Another $200 to the DNC the very next day.

Cindy Sheehan: Hillary Clinton Sounds Like Rush Limbaugh

Peace Mom" Cindy Sheehan is urging fellow Democrats not to support "pro-war Democrat" Hillary Clinton for president, saying she sounds too much like conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh in her support for U.S. efforts in Iraq.

In an open letter posted to Michael Moore's web site, Sheehan blasts Hillary for backing the Iraq invasion, saying, "I think she is a political animal who believes she has to be a war hawk to keep up with the big boys."

Sheehan says that unless Hillary "shows us the wisdom it takes to be a truly great leader" and backs an Iraq pullout, "I will resist her candidacy with every bit of my power and strength."

"I will not make the mistake of supporting another pro-war Democrat for president again," she vowed.

Sheehan said she thought her meeting with the New York Democrat earlier this month had gone well - until she found out that Mrs. Clinton had dismissed her advice afterwards.

Citing Hillary's comments to the Village Voice that a pullout would mean U.S. troops had died in vain, Sheehan complained:

"That sounds like Rush Limbaugh to me. That doesn't sound like an opposition party leader speaking to me. What Sen. Clinton said after our meeting sounds exactly like the Republican Party talking points I heard from Senators Dole and McCain."

DeLay Evidence Missing

The most compelling piece of evidence cited by Travis County District Attorney Ronnie Earle to implicate House Majority Leader Tom DeLay in a money laundering and conspiracy case can't be located, Earle's prosecution team admitted on Friday.

Indictments against DeLay and fundraisers Jim Ellis and John Colyandro allege that Ellis gave "a document that contained the names of several candidates for the Texas House" to a Republican National Committee official in 2002, reports the Houston Chronicle.

The document was touted as proof that DeLay was part of a scheme to swap $190,000 in restricted corporate money for the same amount of money from individuals that could be legally used by Texas candidates.

But Earle's prosecution team told the court on Friday that they had only a "similar" list and not the one allegedly given to the RNC. Late in the day, they released a list of 17 Republican candidates in Texas, but fewer than half are alleged to have received money as part of the alleged DeLay plot.

DeLay's lawyer, Dick DeGuerin immediately pounced on the development, telling the Chronicle that the lack of a list "destroys" Earle's case against the three men.

"That's astonishing, astonishing that they would get a grand jury to indict and allege there is a list and then they have to admit in open court the first time they appear in open court that there is no list," DeGuerin said.

Prosecutor Earle engaged in similar tactics in 1993, when he twice indicted Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison for misuse of campaign funds, only to have the case dismissed both times. Earle indicted a third time, but when the case went to trial he failed to produce any evidence and was forced to dismiss all charges.

Louis Farrakhan: Sue U.S. for Criminal Neglect

Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan told tens of thousands of followers gathered on Washington, D.C.'s mall yesterday that black people should unite and file a class action lawsuit for the "criminal neglect" perpetrated by the U.S. government during the Hurricane Katrina disaster.

Noting that the four hurricanes that struck Florida last year didn't result in anything like the 1,000-plus storm deaths in New Orleans, Farrakhan asked the crowd at his Millions More March: "What happened to the federal government's response to the suffering victims of Katrina?"

"I believe that we can charge the government with criminal neglect of the people of New Orleans," the firebrand black leader said.

"I believe that if we can't sue the federal government, we need to look into it - we can sue Homeland Security and FEMA for criminal neglect. I think we need to look into a class action suit on behalf of the citizens of New Orleans who have lost everything."

Farrakhan urged people of color in America to form their own quasi-governmental ministries to see that their needs are addressed, and reiterated his call for slavery reparations to make amends for the U.S.'s "wickedness."

"We want America to acknowledge her wickedness to the indigenous peoples of this hemisphere. Acknowledge the wickedness of slavery and the transatlantic slave trade. Acknowledge what you did in robbing our fathers of their names, their language, their culture, their religion, their God and turning them upside down and inside out."

He said African-Americans shouldn't pay taxes unless they're treated more justly by the government, explaining:

"If you're going to take our tax dollars then we demand of you the same justice that you give white people. We demand it, we deserve it - or we shut it down."

Late Nite Jokes

Leno

Happy Yom Kippur. It feels like the al Jazeera network around here today. No Jewish writers!

Well, I guess you heard. Major League Baseball has a new policy…three strikes and you walk!

That was a bad call. Did you see that last night? The White Sox and the Angels game. Even Harriet Miers said, "Is this the most qualified umpire we could find?”

Bush is getting a lot of grief from conservative republicans over Harriet Miers’ lack of legal opinions, which is surprising. A woman without any opinions – that’s a republican’s dream!

Al Gore said this week he is ruling out ever running for president again. He said he has no desire to be a presidential candidate ever again. Apparently sounds like he might have had some bad experience in the past. I guess he figured he won once.

In speech earlier this at Harvard, Bill Clinton said he has no idea if Hillary will run for president. But he says if he ever sees her again he’ll certainly ask.

Letterman

It’s been raining like crazy! Now rained for like 15 straight days. The only nice thing about all the rain is that for a change all the puddles aren’t man made.

It was raining so hard down in D.C. that Tom Delay didn’t have to launder his money.

How about the Yankees? Alex Rodriguez is now apologizing for his poor performance – don’t’ expect that out of me tonight.

Remember that show the "Simple Life”? It starred Paris Hilton and her little friend Nicole? It was on Fox for a few years. Well now it has been cancelled. There goes the golden age of television!

GOP Steamrolled by Dem Investigations

Democrats have discovered the tool which they believe will finally wrest control of both Congress and the White House from GOP hands in the next few years - and they may very well turn out to be right.

Scandalmongering.

Just a few short years ago, Dems were complaining about the politics of personal destruction, with friendly pollsters reminding at regular intervals that the public was suffering from "scandal fatigue."

But Democrats and their media friends are fatigued no longer. With Tom DeLay forced to step down over bogus charges of "money laundering," Bill Frist under investigation for the sale of stock in his family business and Karl Rove, according to breathless media predictions, about to be indicted any second now - happy days are here again.

What's wrong with this picture?

Simply this: A little GOP scrutiny directed towards a myriad of alleged crimes perpetrated by Democrats could easily neutralize their ability to wage the current investigative jihad.

Yet the Republican controlled Justice Department and congressional oversight committees refuse to lift a finger.

While a special prosecutor threatens to upend the Bush White House with indictments of top aides Karl Rove and Lewis Libby, former national security advisor Sandy Berger continues to carry on as a trusted advisor to both Bill and Hillary Clinton - and remains a respected "expert" in media circles.

Why? Because the Bush Justice Department let Berger off earlier this year with a slap on the wrist plea bargain after he confessed to stealing and destroying top secret national security documents.

If a more serious crime has ever been committed by a senior White House official, we can't think of it.

By copping a plea, however, Berger shut down any further public examination of the serious questions that remain about this episode.

Such as:

• Did he act of his own volition - or at the direction of somebody else? Berger was reportedly on a mission to research the Clinton administration's terrorism record in advance of both his and Mr. Clinton's testimony before the 9/11 Commission. In fact, Berger accompanied Clinton to his April 9, 2004 interrogation by the 9/11 commission.

So it's reasonable to ask whether he was protecting someone else's interests as well as his own by destroying key terrorism documents.

• Who was Berger calling from the Nations Archives? Guards report that he repeatedly asked for privacy so he could make phone calls as he sifted through the archives. Was he calling Clinton or trusted consigliere Bruce Lindsey - who was also brought along for the April 9 session? If so, did those coversations have anything to do with documents that later went missing?

• What did Berger's notes say? National Archive regulations stipulate that anyone reviewing records may make private notes - but must relinquish them to the staff before leaving. Did Berger do that? And if he took his notes home along with the purloined documents, what happened to them? [Removing and destroying those notes would also be a crime.]

By itself, the Sandy Berger scandal dwarfs by a factor of fifty anything currently being probed by Democrats and the prosecutors they're now cheering on. And while the Bush Justice Department may have gone into the tank, that's no excuse for Congress.

Getting to the bottom of one of the most serious crimes in the history of the U.S. government - perpetrated with the obvious intention of subverting the 9/11 Commission's investigation - would seem to be very much in the public interest, not to mention fully within in the purview of Congress' oversight responsibility.

Compare the legitimacy of a congressional Berger probe to the bid by Democrats' to nail Tom DeLay on phantom campaign finance charges. Or even attempts by an otherwise credible prosecutor, Partrick Fitzgerald, to prove that Karl Rove lied about a case where - as now seems likely - no initial crime was committed.

The Berger case isn't the only important scandal GOP'ers have taken a pass on.

Imagine congressional reaction if - six weeks before the 2004 election - Fox News had broadcast forged documents purporting to show that John Kerry had been dishonorably discharged from the Navy. There wouldn't be enough committee rooms on Capitol Hill to hold all the investigations.

Likewise, a Senate Intelligence Committee memo that surfaced in 2003 suggesting that Democrats were prepared to leak classified information in a bid to undermine President Bush's reelection chances bears some looking into.

Still, elected Republicans refuse to act.

Absent any GOP interest in spotlighting alleged crimes that may have genuinely damaged the national interest, Republicans shouldn't be surprised to find themselves surrendering control of Congress in 2006 - along with the White House two years later.

Bill Clinton Endorsed Farrakhan March

When Nation of Islam chief Louis Farrakhan brings his Millions More Movement to Washington, D.C. this weekend, he's likely to elaborate on recent claims that New Orleans' levees were bombed during Hurricane Katrina, and reiterate his complaint that the Red Cross is "too white."

The question is, will he still have ex-President Bill Clinton's blessing when he does?

In May, before Katrina sent Farrakhan into conspiracy overdrive, Clinton endorsed the Millions More March, telling New York City's Amsterdam News, "I think this is a very positive idea."

Speaking from his Harlem office the top Democrat said: "I like the idea of a march. It's fine to be concerned about [homeland] security but we also have to keep trying to make America strong and better here at home."

Farrakhan's 1995 Million Man March had impressed the then-president.

"They were basically standing up for the dignity of family and asking African American men and fathers to be more responsible," Clinton told News. "It was totally non-violent and got a big participation and it also showed ... [that] there’s all these people and they are advocating a responsible agenda and not just asking for something."

Last month, after Farrakhan uncorked his levee bombing conspiracy theory, NewsMax.com tried to get reaction from the ex-president. Several phone calls to Clinton's Harlem office have yet to be returned.

Gore: America 'Routinely Torturing People'

Former Vice President Al Gore said Wednesday he had no intention of ever running for president again, but he said the United States would be "a different country" if he had won the 2000 election, launching into a scathing attack of the Bush administration.

"I have absolutely no plans and no expectations of ever being a candidate again," Gore told reporters after giving a speech at an economic forum in Sweden.

When asked how the United States would have been different if he had become president, though, he had harsh criticism for Bush's policies.

"We would not have invaded a country that didn't attack us," he said, referring to Iraq. "We would not have taken money from the working families and given it to the most wealthy families."

"We would not be trying to control and intimidate the news media. We would not be routinely torturing people," Gore said. "We would be a different country."

Gore did not elaborate. But last year, he blamed Bush administration policies for the inmate abuse scandal at the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq.

Mike Feldman, Gore's spokesman, did not immediately comment on Gore's remark when reached by phone in Washington.

Tracey Schmitt, spokeswoman for the Republican National Committee, called Gore's comments "fictitious rants that border on dangerous."

"To accuse Americans of participating in 'routine torture' is absurd and reveals that while Al Gore may no longer be a leader in his party, he still embodies the maniacal anger that guides Democrat leaders in Washington today," Schmitt wrote in an e-mail to The Associated Press.

Gore also reiterated his criticism that the Bush administration was too slow in responding to the crisis in New Orleans after the city's levees failed during Hurricane Katrina. He said that should have been predicted.

"There were specific warnings that the levees might break," he said. "But for whatever reason those warnings were not acted upon in a timely way."

He said the United States and other countries are similarly ignoring the threats that global warning pose to the environment.

"My country is extremely attentive to the slightest increase in a risk from terror, and that's appropriate," he said. "But why should we be so tolerant of risk where the future habitability of our planet is concerned?"

Gore, who now runs a cable TV channel and is the chairman of an investment company, did not completely shut the door to future political endeavors.

"I don't completely rule out some future interest, but I don't expect to have that," Gore said.

He declined to comment on New York Sen. Hillary Clinton's possible run for the White House in 2008, but he said he believes the country is ready for a female president.

"Of course a woman could get elected president," he said. "I am not going to make any comment on individual candidates. It's quite premature."

Anti-terror TV Show Angers Arabs

A new television series being broadcast around the Middle East tells the story of Arabs living in residential compounds in Saudi Arabia and the militant Islamists who want to blow them up so they can collect their rewards in heaven - 72 beautiful virgins.

The show's message: terrorism is giving Islam a bad name, and Muslims are suffering because of the actions of a few.

The programs, which began last Tuesday on the first day of the Muslim holy fasting month of Ramadan, have come under a blistering attack on the Internet in Arabic language chat rooms.

The critics are demanding the Saudi-owned and Dubai-based Middle East Broadcasting Corporation, a popular Arabic satellite television station that bought the show and broadcasts it across the region, cancel it.

Others lambasted its Syrian Muslim director and producer, Najdat Anzour, as an infidel for tarnishing the image of Islam. But still others have praised the groundbreaking series.

Perhaps the most controversial thing about the new program is its title: "Al-Hour Al-Ayn," Arabic for "Beautiful Maidens."

Islamic militants have taken a reference in one of the sayings of the Prophet Muhammad and made it their belief that martyrs who die defending God and their honor will meet more than 70 virgins in paradise. For militants throughout the Middle East, suicide bombers are martyrs.

The Quran, Islam's holy book, tells of beautiful maidens in paradise but does not mention any number. The Prophet's saying (or Hadith), adopted by militants, speaks of 72 virgins in heaven as a reward for virtuous men. But there is no mention of martyrs in the saying.

One of the show's writers, Abdullah Bjad, is a Saudi and self-described former militant who was consulted on religious aspects of the script. He said that just before one of the 2003 attacks on a residential compound in Saudi Arabia, an attacker who was in contact with his superiors was "heard on the mobile phone counting down the seconds to the 'beautiful maidens.' His last words were: 'One second to the 'beautiful maidens.' He then blew himself up."

No one can deny that one of the reasons that push terrorists to commit terrorism is a concept in terrorist literature: 'Blow yourself up so you can meet 'beautiful maidens,"' al-Mutairi said.

"Beautiful Maidens" is not the first Arab television show that has provoked controversy. In fact, almost every Ramadan, one show in the Middle East is singled out either because it is perceived as ridiculing Islam or because it deals with a controversial social issue, such as polygamy.

Last year, some television stations canceled "The Road to Kabul," which chronicled life under Afghanistan's former Taliban rulers, after Internet threats from Islamists against everyone from actors to television executives if the show portrayed the Taliban in a negative light.

Farrakhan Stirs Racial Pot with Katrina Claim

Hurricane Katrina thrust racial disparities onto the nation's political agenda and top civil rights leaders, fueled by outrage over the disaster, are heading to Washington. The occasion is the 10th anniversary of Louis Farrakhan's Million Man March, a long-planned event that now is shaping up as a stage for black America to respond to the devastation in New Orleans.

"Because Katrina put it out there, no one can play the pretend game any more that there isn't poverty and inequality in this country," said Marc Morial, president of the National Urban League. "The Millions More Movement - Katrina gives it added significance."

Though Farrakhan has long stirred controversy - and lately he has speculated that New Orleans' levees were bombed to destroy black neighborhoods - his event will unite a wide array of prominent social justice advocates. The guest list for Saturday's event includes members of Congress, hip-hop artists, civil rights activists, media pundits, academics and business leaders. Muslim and Christian religious figures will also participate.

"The need to save our people - it's so much bigger than the personality or the baggage that has been heaped on Louis Farrakhan or others," Farrakhan said. "Katrina has focused this agenda."

At the 1995 rally, Farrakhan was "a facilitator," said Ronald Walters, a political scientist at the University of Maryland. Most people had "a range of other reasons why they came, and I would venture to say that's pretty much his role this time around."

The day-long gathering is scheduled to begin at dawn with a public memorial service for those who died in the hurricane, followed by music, prayer, dancing and dozens of speeches.

Event spokeswoman Linda Boyd said the goal is to build on the themes of 1995, which focused on urging black men to take responsibility for improving their families and communities, creating a movement that gets people to act for change locally and nationally.

Many who advocate for disadvantaged groups said the rally at the National Mall comes at a pivotal time.

Images of chaos and death as Katrina's flood waters engulfed black neighborhoods shocked many Americans: poor New Orleans residents, many black, begging for rescue; corpses on the street; looting. Prominent opinion-makers from the president on down suddenly talked about poverty and racial inequality.

In recent weeks, Farrakhan has raised eyebrows by speculating that New Orleans' levees did not collapse beneath the rising waters of Lake Pontchartrain, but that they were bombed.

"Is this a means of getting rid of the poor? The black?" Farrakhan asked in a telephone interview with The Associated Press. "Is this a means of ensuring that in the elections there will never again be a black or Creole mayor of that city?"

Russell Simmons, chairman of the Hip Hop Action Summit, who has helped pull in a long list of entertainers to participate, said he doesn't know what happened to the levees.

"I don't agree with every single thing anybody says," he said, "but what he (Farrakhan) says about poor people and spiritual practice and being responsible for your family ... that speaks to me."

Late Nite Jokes

Leno

The latest approval polls came out today. Not looking good for President Bush. According to the latest polls, he is now two points below the bird flu.

Here’s one of the symptoms of bird flu. If you find yourself going to bathroom on the windshield of your car. You may have the bird flu.

President Bush said that today, "More and more Iraqis are able to take the fight to the enemy.” The problem, the enemy is more and more Iraqis.

In a scathing new book former FBI Chief Louis Freeh criticizes former President Bill Clinton’s "moral compass.” You all remember Bill Clinton’s moral compass. Which, I believe it was always pointing north.

Last night was the Clintons 30th wedding anniversary. You know what keeps them together — spite.

President Bush is taking more liberal positions. For example global warming. He used to be against it. Now it's the Republican plan for heating homes this winter.

Supreme Court nominee Harriet Miers told the "New York Times” that George Bush was the most brilliant man she ever met. This is scary. She only has one known opinion and that’s it?

As you may have heard, Boy George was arrested after they found cocaine in his New York City apartment. I wasn’t surprised they found cocaine. I was surprised they were able to find Boy George. Where’s he been since ’83?

Letterman

We’ve had so much rain here this week. Do you realize that we are this close to being ignored by FEMA!

eBay has blocked the sale of stun guns to New Yorkers. How are we now going to stop charging rats?!

A lot of people are blaming the Yankees loss on A-Rod, Alex Rodriguez. Saying he’s been a disappointment. Thank God! I’m no longer the most overpaid disappointment in New York.

Late Nite Jokes

Leno

Huge wildfire broke out last night in Orange County. Twenty-five people were choking…no, I’m sorry, that was the New York Yankees.

Congratulations to the Angels. They beat the Yankees 5–3. The Yankees were so upset that right after the game, a lot of the Yankee pitchers caught the first raft home.

The FBI now says they are considering relaxing their drug policy on new applicants who want to join the FBI. If you’ve smoked marijuana it’s ok. You thought the FBI was losing stuff before! How bad are they gonna be when their high on weed?

So much for the war on drugs. I guess the new slogan is "if you can’t beat, join them!”

The FBI will not hire you if you smoked pot more than 15 times in your life. Not today…but the good news, you can still be president…

Here’s my question, who picked the number 15? After a guy has smoked dope 8, 10, or 13 times it’s pretty obvious that he likes it. Are there a lot of stoners going, "Oh man, this is my 14th joint. No more for me dude. I’m joining the FBI.”

Pat Robertson said that all these earthquakes and hurricanes we’ve been having are indications of the second coming. To which President Bush said, why would Santa Claus be coming around Halloween? It doesn’t make any sense.

Harriet Miers told the "New York Times” that President Bush is the most brilliant man she knows. And Vice President Dick Cheney is the greatest athlete she’s ever met.

Over the weekend Hillary Clinton was inducted into the National Women’s Hall of Fame. However she is still not in Bill Clinton’s Women’s Hall of Fame. In fact, she is not even in the top ten.

Letterman

Bill and Hillary Clinton are celebrating their 30th wedding anniversary. Bill showed up at the scene of the celebration with former President Bush.

Bill had a nice candlelight dinner planned out at a seaside hotel. We don’t know where Hillary was though.

The New York Yankees were beaten of the playoffs by the Angels. George Steinbrenner isn’t messing around…today he ordered all his players back on steroids.

Conan

The White House is denying a report by the BBC that says President Bush said that the reason he invaded Iraq was because God told him too. President Bush went on to add, "That’s ridiculous…Batman told me to invade Iraq!”

Late Nite Jokes

Leno

Happy Columbus Day everybody. The holiday named for the man who discovered the America. Although President Bush said that Columbus didn’t occupy the country, so much as liberate the Indians.

Columbus did not set out to discover America. He was looking for a quicker route to India. Do you know why he was trying to get to India? He was trying to get the King of Spain’s computer fixed.

Most medical historians now believe that it is Christopher Columbus who brought sexually transmitted diseases to the new world. On the other hand, the Indians gave him tobacco so it’s pretty much a wash.

U.S. relief supplies have started arriving in Pakistan. That’s quick. I didn’t realize that Pakistan was so much closer to the United States than New Orleans.

Over the weekend a huge wildfire jumped across the border from Mexico into California. Here’s the strange part, today it got a job at Wal-Mart.

President Bush's top advisor, Karl Rove will soon be testifying for the fourth time before a grand jury at the federal courthouse in Washington this week. President Bush's Supreme Court nominee Harriet Miers is fascinated by all this. She asked Rove, "What goes on in those federal court houses?"

Did you see the Astros-Braves game yesterday? The Astros won in 18 innings. 18 innings. The game was so long, three of the relief pitchers visas expired!

You know why it took so long? Most of the steroids stopped working after the 12th inning. That’s why there weren’t any hits…

Cadillac is now offering satellite TV in the new Escalade SUV. I guess they figure you can’t afford to drive it anymore might as well make it a rec. room.

Letterman

Hi, welcome to the show, I am your host Columbus Dave!

All the stores in New York City are offering specials for Columbus Day. Even the hookers over in Time Square are offering anything for only 1492!

This Harriet Miers pick for the Supreme Court is turning out to be the most controversial pick involving the Supreme Court since…George Bush.

Bill Clinton: U.S. Likely to Lose in Iraq

Ex-president Bill Clinton is predicting that the U.S. will lose the war in Iraq, saying "the odds are not great of our prevailing there."

In an interview with the Ladies Home Journal due out next month, Clinton calls the Iraq war "a quagmire" and warns "it could go wrong."

He reminded: "Since the end of World War II, the only major foreign power that succeeded in putting down an insurgency was the British putting down the Malay insurgency, but the British stayed 15 years."

"So you can say for historical reasons, the odds are not great of our prevailing there," he argued.

Despite Clinton's prediction of U.S. failure, he said analogies to Vietnam were not fair.

"The reason this is not Vietnam is that 58 percent of the eligible voters showed up and voted in Iraq," he told the Journal.

On the other hand, he said, the South Vietnamese government was "never legitimate" in the eyes of the Vietnamese.

Clinton spokesman Jay Carson immediately sought to tone down the ex-president morale-busting remarks, telling the New York Daily News:

"President Clinton has always been clear that there are reasons for optimism and that there clearly are reasons for concern with the current situation in Iraq. But no one has been clearer than President Clinton about the necessity of winning now that we are there."

Plamegate Indictments May Be Soon

Indictments in the case of the leaded identity of CIA operative Valerie Plame may yield indictments in the next few days.

Reuters reported late Wednesday that federal prosecutor Patrick Fitzegrald will decide in days if he plans to bring indictments.

The wire service said that Fitzgerald "was expected to notify officials by letter if they have become targets" -- an indication he is ready to seek a criminal indictment against them.

Fitzgerald's two year probe into the Plame came is expected to end in the next month. Fitzgerald has several options, including bringing indictments, making plea agreements with targets, or concluding the case with no prosecution.

Press reports have indicated that senior Bush administration officials, including political adviser, Karl Rove, and Vice President Dick Cheney's chief of staff, Lewis "Scooter" Libby, are among the key persons of interest for Fitzgerald's probe.

'Hanoi' Jane Fonda Bankrolling Hillary

'Hanoi' Jane Fonda, whose anti-U.S. activities during the Vietnam war remain an anathema to most Americans, is helping to bankroll New York Sen. Hillary Clinton's reelection campaign.

The woman who sat behind a North Vietnamese gun installation and pretended to shoot down American pilots donated the maximum - $2,000 - to Hillary's campaign coffers, the New York Daily News reports in Wednesday editions.

Earlier this year Fonda told Time magazine that she "hopes for a Hillary Clinton presidency." The politically radioactive actress had also been a sleepover guest at the Clinton White House.

Mrs. Clinton has been struggling to reshape her image as pro-defense, with multiple visits to the troops in Iraq and boasts on her web site that she saved New York military bases from closure.

But news of Fonda's support could complicate matters.
"If Hillary wants us to think she supports the military - she can't afford to be seen taking money from 'Hanoi' Jane," one longtime Clinton-watcher told NewsMax.

Links to Fonda proved toxic for Sen. John Kerry's presidential campaign last year, when NewsMax published an authentic photo showing him standing near the left-wing actress at a 1970 anti-war demonstration in Pennsylvania. [A subsequent photo circulated on the Internet showing Fonda standing side-by-side with Kerry at a 1971 protest was doctored.]

Reaction to the Kerry-Fonda photo was sharp.

"Seeing this picture of Kerry with [Fonda] at antiwar demonstrations in the United States just makes me want to throw up," Rep. Sam Johnson - a former Vietnam POW - told the Washington Times.

Farrakhan Plans Action Against Bill Bennett

Nation of Islam chief Louis Farrakhan will announce plans tomorrow to take action against radio host Bill Bennett for his comments last week suggesting the crime rate would decline if the black abortion rate went up.

In a statement released Tuesday by Farrakhan's "Millions More Movement," the group says it will use a press conference on Wednesday to "issue a response to the racist comments of former Secretary of Education William Bennett who proposed genocide, or 'aborting all Black Babies,' as a remedy to America's crime problem."

"Specific action will be announced to deal with William Bennett and his financial sponsors," the statement warned.

In fact, rather than advocate a plan to abort black babies, Bennett said such a proposal would be "morally reprehensible."

Tomorrow's press conference will also deal with Farrakhan's charge that New Orleans levees were deliberately blown up to flood black sections of the city.

"The Millions More Movement supports this contention and calls for a federal investigation into this matter," the release said. "Lawsuits against the State of Louisiana and the federal government will also be discussed at this news conference."

Ten days ago Farrakhan revealed that New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin gave him secret information that a 25-foot crater was discovered beneath one of the collapsed levees.

Repeated calls to Mayor Nagin's office to verify Farrakhan's account of their meeting have gone unanswered.

Hillary Clinton Urges Katrina Aid for Illegal Immigrants

Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton is urging the Department of Homeland Security to assure illegal immigrants that they will get their fair share of Hurricane Katrina relief aid without fear of being deported.

In a statement posted to her official Senate web site on Wednesday, Clinton said that the DHS should "issue a formal statement reassuring immigrant victims of Hurricane Rita and Katrina that they can seek help from relief agencies without fear of deportation or being turned over to immigration authorities."

In a letter written directly to Homeland Security Chief Michael Chertoff, Clinton and other Senate Democrats complained that they first asked for Katrina amnesty for illegals more than two weeks ago, but have not received a response.

"In fact," they said, "we were surprised and troubled to learn that DHS has placed some individuals in deportation proceedings after these individuals sought assistance, despite the fact that the government had previously encouraged all storm victims to come forward to seek help.

"Particularly given the widely publicized reports that DHS will deport some immigrant victims of Katrina who sought assistance, we believe such a public assurance is crucial."

Mrs. Clinton urged Chertoff to "terminate removal proceedings against those [illegal immigrants] who were placed in proceedings after they sought assistance."

Other Senate Democrats who signed onto Mrs. Clinton bid to obtain Katrina aid for illegal immigrants include Harry Reid, Dick Durbin, Maria Cantwell, Barack Obama, Russ Feingold, Daniel Akaka, Frank Lautenberg, Joe Lieberman, Carl Levin, John F. Kerry, Chris Dodd, Pat Leahy and Jon Corzine.

Late Nite Jokes

Leno

I was watching that reality show where they kick someone out of the house. Tom Delay.

Tom Delay says he has a new priority in life. Outlawing prison rape.

Remember when Republicans like Newt Gingrich or Bob Livingston would get in trouble for sex scandals. Tom delay is in trouble over money. Or as Republicans call it, a return to traditional values.

Because of all the fuel shortages, President Bush asked all Americans to cut back on unnecessary travel. You know, like trips to Iraq?

Saudi Arabia said today that they have twice the oil they thought they had. Which means they can screw us twice as much as they thought they could.

Eighty-seven year old Democratic Senator Robert Byrd of West Virginia announced he’s seeking another term. He wants six more years. But then so does every 87 year old.

John Hinckley, Jr. the idiot that shot President Reagan, is now trying to get unsupervised visits away from his prison. The prosecutor argued this week against allowing Hinckley unsupervised visits. Because they claim that Hinckley still has delusions about women. He thinks women are making overtures to him when they clearly are not. Right now guys all over America are going, "They can put you jail for that?”

FEC: Nancy Pelosi's PACs Broke the Law

Two political action committees linked to House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi have been charged with attempting to circumvent to legal limits on campaign giving, the Federal Election Commission has ruled.

According to the March 2004 FEC finding, Pelosi appears to have violated the same kind of arcane campaign finance regulation that spurred the indictment of House Majority Leader Tom DeLay this week.

The San Francisco Chronicle explained at the time:

"The FEC ruled that two Pelosi political action committees created to help Democrats in the 2002 elections were related instead of being independent and therefore violated a rule against giving more than the maximum $5,000 annual contribution."

Mr. DeLay, by then under investigation for his own campaign finance problems, reacted sharply to the news about Pelosi's campaign finance irregularities, saying: "She has violated the law. It's in the facts."
Pelosi operated two PACs: Team Majority and PAC to the Future.

According to the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, Team Majority reported 16 contributions of $5,000 each from donors who had already given the maximum to Pelosi's other PAC. Five of the donors gave to both PACs on the same day.

Rather than referring the case to the Justice Department for prosecution, however, the FEC allowed Pelosi's two committees to negotiate "conciliation agreements" under which they were fined a total of $21,000.