Rep. Jefferson indicted in bribery probe  —  WASHINGTON - Louisiana congressman William Jefferson (news, bio, voting record) received more than $500,000 in bribes and sought millions more in nearly a dozen separate schemes to enrich himself by using his office to broker business deals in Africa, according to a federal indictment Monday.

Stunning Gitmo Development — Charges Thrown Out  —  The AP is reporting that a military court today threw out murder charges against Omar Khadr on the grounds that the military commission system as constituted may only try "alien unlawful enemy combatants" and Khadr was only previously found to be an "enemy combatant."

The great right-wing fraud to repudiate George W. Bush  —  The great fraud being perpetrated in our political discourse is the concerted attempt by movement conservatives, now that the Bush presidency lay irreversibly in ruins, to repudiate George Bush by claiming that he is not, and never has been, a "real conservative."

CBO: Bill would only reduce illegals by 25%  —  The Senate's immigration bill will only reduce illegal immigration by about 25 percent a year, according to a new Congressional Budget Office report, Stephen Dinan will report Tuesday in The Washington Times.  —  The bill's new guest-worker program …

Scarborough has an "Imus moment"  —  Presidential candidate Fred Thompson's second-and-current wife Jeri, who is considered by some to be a "trophy wife," was the topic of an interesting conversation on Friday's Morning Joe radio talk show, which aired live on MSNBC.

Ruling Helps Prosecutors in Death Penalty Cases  —  The Supreme Court today strengthened the hand of prosecutors in death penalty cases by making it easier to remove potential jurors who express ambivalence about the death penalty or confusion about how it should be applied.

Key Bush backers rally to Fred Thompson  —  George P. Bush, a nephew of President Bush who recently joined the Navy Reserve, has contributed to the prospective presidential campaign of Fred Thompson and signed an e-mail asking friends and associates to do the same, The Politico has learned.

Democrats Lose Their Edge  —  Poll Shows Congressional Approval Ratings Have Returned to Pre-Election Levels  —  The Democrats in Congress have lost much of the leadership edge they carried out of the 2006 midterm election, with the lack of progress in Iraq being the leading cause.

Calling Himself 'The Whitest Man In America,' Fox's Gibson Defends 'Ooga Booga Fever'  —  Last week, during a discussion of the "TB Man story," Fox News anchor John Gibson declared that tuberculosis usually affects someone "from the third world" or who contracted "ooga booga fever" in "some godforsaken hellhole."

My Time in Swampland  —  As I settle in as a guest blogger here at Swampland, I'd like to thank Time and its readers for inviting me to share my views.  I hope I can raise the debate about the direction in which the conservative movement and the nation are heading.  I welcome questions and comments.

Our World: Echoes of 1919  —  Both critics and supporters of US President George W. Bush's post-September 11 vision of a new, freedom-loving Middle East have noted the strong similarities between the president and his predecessor Woodrow Wilson.  —  In 1917, the 28th president introduced US forces …