Thursday Roundup: Gonzales on the Spot

Alberto Gonzales testifies before the Senate today, and this Washington Post story indicates that if it weren't for his eons of loyal service to Bush, he would already be gone. Instead, because he is so totally a hardcore Bushie, as it were, he has been given a chance to fix everything by way of his testimony today. Since Gonzales is a pro, I doubt anything incredibly interesting will shake out of his appearance, but you never know.

In other unfortunate news for Bush, this time by proxy, the FBI raided the Virginia residence of John Doolittle, a Republican Congressman from California. This was in connection with the Abramoff scandal. The story is the usual stuff, with everyone working for everyone else in sketchy circumstances, money being thrown around, etc. The Abramoff thing will keep going, most likely, for a while.

Representative Phil King is working a deal that could end up with NRG and TXU selling some of their plants. The legislation, which seems surprisingly like an anti-monopoly bill, would restrict the percentage share that a utility company can control in Texas to 35% per region. It may also result in TXU's buyout deal being canceled. So, I imagine, there are some clenched jaws over there today.

Guess who I'm getting tired of?

From the Statesman, Selby has a strange tale of a Land Commissioner coming to the Capitol to stump for that guy from Law and Order to Republicans. To describe someone as "Ronald Reagan with subject knowledge" seems like a weird way to build someone up — to us that sounds terrible, and to Republicans that sounds like you're being mean to The Gipper.

If you're an Aggie, you may have noticed the toxic cloud of brucella infecting a researcher with extreme prejudice. If you did see that and didn't tell anyone, the CDC would like to have a word with you. Texas A&M is currently under investigation for the possibility that they failed to disclose the infection of a lab worker with a bioweapon. Gig 'em!