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.

Guantanamo judge dismisses terror case  —  GUANTANAMO BAY NAVAL BASE, Cuba - A military judge dismissed terrorism-related charges Monday against a prisoner charged with killing an American soldier in Afghanistan, delivering a blow to the Bush administration's attempt to try Guantanamo detainees in military courts.

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.

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."

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.

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.

Hatch Act Hatchet Job  —  A year ago Lurita Alexis Doan, an innovative African American entrepreneur from Northern Virginia, took a big government job: chief executive of the General Services Administration (GSA).  After 12 months she is on the ropes.  She is the victim of a fiercely partisan …

Iraqi Insurgents Claim to Have Killed Missing Soldiers  —  Brian Ross and Rhonda Schwartz Report:  —  An Iraqi insurgent group says it has killed two missing American soldiers who they said had been captured alive.  —  According to a full translation of a ten-minute video released …

Begging for Billionaire$  —  Philip Klein wants to build a better battering ram.  —  You might not think that is the the type of metaphor an eminent domain abuse crusader would employ, but Klein is a "fight fire with fire" sort if ever there was one.  —  "I think the tide is changing.

Smokers told to quit or surgery will be refused  —  Smokers are to be denied operations on the Health Service unless they give up cigarettes for at least four weeks beforehand.  —  Doctors will police the rule by ordering patients to take a blood test to prove they have not been smoking.

7 Turkish Troops Killed in Rebel Attack  —  ANKARA, Turkey (AP) - Kurdish rebels fired rockets and grenades at a Turkish military outpost Monday, killing seven soldiers in an attack that heightened tension at a time when Ankara has threatened military action against the rebels in northern Iraq.

Stay-the-Course Plus  —  Obama, Romney and Foreign Engagement on Steroids  —  You might expect the candidates in this presidential election to want to lead the nation in radically new foreign policy directions.  The incumbent, after all, is widely perceived to have driven the country off a cliff.

Brit Hume uses the racist phrase "spearchucker" to describe John Glenn  —  Brit Hume called former Senator John Glenn a "partisan—spearchucker" to describe his role in a Fred Thompson investigation back in his old Senate days on FOX News Sunday.  (via Wikpedia: Glenn also served …

It's Alright Mr. Kennedy, My Uterus Is Only Bleeding  —  Marty Lederman points us to an interesting WaPo article, in which a few members of America's tiny minority of serious, principled "pro-lifers" have come to see that "Partial Birth" bans are silly, irrational laws whose primary purpose …