Post-Holiday Odds and Ends

It's a slow news week, but there's still some nuggets out there to find...

In Libby news, ol' Scooty paid his fine of $250,400 and may now resume his life as a free man-- pending that January '09 pardon to seal the deal-- thanks to George W. Bush's mercy. Of course, Andrew Sullivan reminds us that said mercy was absent in his days governing Texas and only applies to those who have covered up for the crimes of his associates worked for his administration.

Meanwhile, Congress plans to hold hearings on this, which should accomplish... nothing.

Honesty in politics alert!! From the BBC: "Australian Defence Minister Brendan Nelson has admitted that securing oil supplies is a key factor behind the presence of Australian troops in Iraq." OMGz!!1!!! That's moonbat talk, Brendan!!

And the LA Times reports that "The number of U.S.-paid private contractors in Iraq now exceeds that of American combat troops". It notes that "More than 180,000 civilians... are working in Iraq under U.S. contracts." War has never been more profitable or awesome.

Senator Clinton, meanwhile, picks up the all-important coal lobbyist endorsement. Hooray!

And unaccomplished GOP darling Fred Thompson, we learn, was President Nixon's mole on the Senate Watergate Committee. After people like Cheney and Rumsfeld, it's not surprising that the GOP is so eager to have another Nixon-era scumbag in the executive branch... Wait, what?!

Finally, President Bush tells us how we can help the troops: Car pool. Pray.