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“Now we know,” said Jon Stewart, “what it takes for the federal government to pay some attention to a black man from New Orleans.” More details on the story from my colleague Ken Silverstein here.
The Jefferson-related quip of the day goes to Kevin Drum:
I just want to remind everyone that William Jefferson (D–Icebox) is innocent until proven guilty. That’s the American way. Besides, there are lots of reasons why a congressman might have bricks of hundred dollar bills wrapped in aluminum foil and stuffed in his freezer. Right?
Certainly, he has no Jeeves to press them with an iron in the morning. Or, perhaps, he wants to protect them against spoilage.
More from Scott Horton:
No Comment — April 12, 2013, 11:11 am
A new report from Seton Hall University exposes government surveillance of attorney-client conversations
No Comment, Six Questions — March 18, 2013, 9:00 am
Rashid Khalidi on how the United States sustains the failure of the Israel-Palestine peace process
No Comment, Six Questions — February 4, 2013, 9:00 am
Alex Gibney on his documentary investigating the Roman Catholic Church’s handling of child sex-abuse cases


Years of consideration preceding the inclusion of the word “phat” in Random House’s 1996 Compact Unabridged Dictionary:

Scientists created crash helmets that stink when cracked and fruit flies to whom blue light smells delicious.

In Belize, a construction company bulldozed a 2,300-year-old Mayan temple to make road fill.
“This is the heart of the magic factory, the place where medicine is infused with the miracles of science, and I’ve come to see how it’s done.”