The Philadelphia Inquirer pulled off an incredible feat, scooping the New York Times on a story about NYT's own writer, Judith Miller. The Philadelphia Inquirer reported first that Miller had been released from jail, and that the source she now names is I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, Vice President Dick Cheney's chief of staff.

Now the question is this: was it Scooter Libby's lips that actually told Miller about Valerie Plame, or is he taking one for the team? A VP being indicted is big news and could transform our political landscape (ie - the backlash against republicans after Nixon), but a VP's chief of staff could get run over by a bus tomorrow and a week from now less than 10% of the country would even know about it.
'Philadelphia Inquirer' Writers Scoop Gray Lady on its Own Story

After three months, NYT reporter Judith Miller was finally released from jail today. She has agreed to testify before a grand jury as part of the investigation into the leak of CIA operative. Government officials, including some working in the White House, could face criminal charges in the leak. Here's a quick recap of what happened.
1) CIA operative Valerie Plame's husband is critical of Bush administration lies about nuclear weapons in Africa.
2) Someone within the White House tells Judith Miller that Valerie Plame is a CIA operative, possibly to get back at Plame's husband for his critical assessment of the Bush administration. Miller does not report this knowledge, realizing that outing a CIA agent is a crime.
3) Windbag journalist Robert Novak scoops Miller's story and prints it. This not only blows Plame's cover, but also the cover business that she worked for, and the covers of all the other CIA operatives who worked for that cover business. If any of them had been working in foreign countries at the time they could have been imprisoned or even killed for spying.
4) To avoid legal troubles for himself, Robert Novak rats out everyone under the sun. A comment about this ordeal on a CNN causes Novak to go ballistic and swear on live TV. He is immediately fired.
5) Judith Miller refuses to give her source to investigators, citing her own journalistic integrity as the reason (contrast - Robert Novak).
6) Miller goes to jail.
7) Miller gets permission to talk from people close to her original source... after spending 3 months in jail.
BREITBART.COM - Just The News

Here's the most in-depth look I've seen of Senate majority leader Bill Frist's possible insider trading. Here's a quick summary:
1) Bill Frist's family is worth billions of dollars. They started HCA Inc., the largest hospital chain in the nation. That's right, there is such a thing as hospital chains.
2) Bill Frist had his portfolio managers dump the family's shares of HCA in June.
3) In July, HCA announced weaker than expected earnings, causing the stock price to plunge 9%. It's a relatively stable stock, so a drop of 9% in one day was a very big deal.
4) The SEC is now asking "Did Frist know that HCA was going to announce weak earnings, or did he just dump the family's holdings in the company they started on a whim?"

It's been a banner year for Frist. In March, he used his medical expertise to diagnose Terry Schiavo. He concluded that she looked fine, a stark contrast to the results of her autopsy, which revealed her brain had been deteriorating for the past 10 years and most of it had become a pool of liquid. I guess he should stick to politics. Oh wait, no he shouldn't. Maybe him and Tom DeLay can clean toilets at a federal prison.
Baseball Crank: LAW/POLITICS: Selling Frist Short

A close look at the indictment passed down on Tom DeLay yesterday reveals that he has likely already negotiated a plea bargain, which will probably allow him to avoid prosecution for charges that are more serious than conspiracy and will not be revealed to the public. DeLay's attacks against district attorney Ronnie Earle are just political posturing, allowing DeLay a chance to save face while he secretly is admitting guilt to avoid prison time. The article I link to also points out that Spiro Agnew did the same exact thing back in the 1970s. I want everyone reading this to remember: scum always rises to the top... when you let it. 9-11 turned this country into a bunch of Republican-controlled zombies, and the corruption-laden mess we have now is exactly what we deserve.
Daily Kos: Tom Delay will plea 'nolo contendere'

The list for Bush's next supreme court nominee has been narrowed down to just a few names, according to recent reports. The money's on Harriet Miers, a younger, red-headed version of the judge she would replace, Sandra Day O'Connor. Miers is leading the search for finding a replacement, which is probably why she is the favorite to be picked for the position. The Bush administration has traditionally hired people who are vastly under-qualified to lead searches for high-level positions, and when those incompetent people are unable to find a suitable person to take the position, they are chosen by Bush's staff. With a system like this why would anyone ever want to find a qualified person? Heck, if your search fails, YOU get the job! (the article I link to mentions the most well-known example of this activity, the selection of Dick Cheney as running mate)
CNN.com - Bush narrows Supreme Court list - Sep 28, 2005

Roy Blunt of Missouri was elected by Republicans in the House to be the new majority leader, replacing indicted former leader Tom DeLay. He will share duties with David Dreier of California, as I reported earlier in the day. Meanwhile, Tom DeLay will hopefully share some duties cleaning toilets at a Texas prison with a 350 lb man named "Tiny".
BREITBART.COM - Just The News

A Grand Jury indicted House majority leader Tom Delay and two of his associates on charges of conspiracy, relating to his campaign finance activities. He has "temporarily" stepped down from his duties as majority leader, and he likely will be "temporarily" replaced by David Dreier of California.
It's been a bad month for Delay, just a few weeks ago he asked a group of Hurricane Katrina refugees staying in the Houston Astrodome "Isn't this kind of fun?". I think that question pretty much sums up how Delay looks at the world: African Americans are all poor and live in squalor, and living in a old sports coliseum with thousands of other people is probably fun for them, because they don't know any better. America will be a better place the day this windbag is out of office for good.
Yahoo! News

This is a great thing for the American people, the American justice system, and the American government. A grand jury will consider whether or not to indict House Majority Leader Tom Delay on charges of conspiracy, which stem from using corporate money to fund his successful 2002 campaign. Delay, who has lived his whole life as if he were above the law, could finally be brought to justice, and removed from his position in Congress.

I encourage everyone to read this article, as it exposes the criminal activity of Texas Republicans. Is it any coincidence that they got away with it up until now, and our current president just happens to be one of those Texas Republicans? It's truly sickening what these people have done to American politics, and we need to clean it up immediately.
Conspiracy charge a possibility for DeLay

Democrats are fighting over the nomination of John Roberts to the Supreme Court, but what else would you expect? I think the dems should just agree to accept the Roberts nomination, and spend their efforts fighting off the next nominee, or doing something constructive. This is a fight they cannot win, and they only injure themselves by fighting about it.
Leahy felt blindsided by Sen. Reid

The recommendations proposed by the Carter-Baker commission could have a substancial impact on voter participation in the future. Although voters would not be required to have a driver's license, they would have to have a photo ID that meets the requirements of the Real ID Act. Poor people, the disabled, elderly, and minorities are all statistically less likely to have a driver's license. Could this be another scheme by the Republican-controlled US political system to keep those who traditionally vote against them away from the polls? Do we really need the Real ID Act? Isn't the better solution just telling New Jersey to start making a driver's license that can't be made by a 13-year-old with a computer or we're going to kick them out of the union? Maybe we should just kick New Jersey out of the union anyway. I know over half the underage people who got into bars at my college in upstate New York were using fake New Jersey IDs. The 9/11 hijackers also used the easily-duplicated New Jersey IDs. The problem isn't a non-standard ID system, it's New Jersey.
USATODAY.com - Task force on wrong track

"Politics is the art of controlling your environment." I'm not sure where that quote came from originally, but I'm lifting it from the writings of Hunter S. Thompson, one of the great writers on the subject of politics in the past 200 years. He could see through the BS, and he always seemed to know what was going to happen. When he predicted a Kerry win in 2004, and Bush ended up getting a second term, Hunter could see the world unraveling before him. He's not here anymore, and it's because he didn't want to be here.

Oh well, I guess the rest of us have to move on. This blog is dedicated to the legend that was, is, and always will be Hunter Stockton Thompson. Our elected leaders will attempt to blind us from the truth, but - with a little help from Hunter - I hope I will see through it all. In the interest of full disclosure, whatever it means, I should reveal that my own political views tend to lean toward the left, albeit with a strong touch of libertarianism. The Liberal Libertarian is not an extinct creature, it's just been hibernating for a long time.