Quick Political Rundown

Democrat William Jefferson's caught taking bribes! So both parties are now officially corrupt, right? Talking Points Memo points out the difference. The upshot: Jefferson was an independent bribe-taker; the Republicans currently being indicted are part of Tom Delay's pay-for-play system that is actually the heart of the modern Republican machine, resulting in the huge lobbyist giveaways of Medicare D, the Energy Bill, and on down the line. Read here.

I don't expect the media to make much of this difference, though. They're probably wetting their pants over finally being able to call a scandal "bipartisan" and get Fox News off their back. Plus, of course, there's all that sexy footage ...

And here's a nice link (to anther link) to a sobering article about the explosion of the notion of "state secrets" under Bush and how it's interfering with the legal process.

I should have been on the train ten minutes ago. If only my roommate would get out of the damn bathroom ...