Ex-House Leader DeLay Found Guilty in Texas Case  —  AUSTIN - A Texas jury Wednesday found Tom DeLay, the former House majority leader and Texas political powerhouse, guilty in a money-laundering trial involving contributions to political campaigns.  —  Jurors deliberated for 19 hours …

Sarah Palin clubs to death a fish on reality show labelled ‘a snuff video’ by animal rights group  —  Sarah Palin is under fire for clubbing a fish to death on her new reality TV show.  —  The Tea Party darling and her daughter Bristol, 20, were shown on a halibut fishing trip filmed for her new programme, Sarah Palin's Alaska.

Anatomy of a journalistic smear job  —  (updated below - Update II)  —  One long-standing — and justifiable — progressive grievance is that whenever ordinary Americans allow their personal plight to enter the public sphere in a way that advances a liberal political goal …

Palin Hits Back at Barbara Bush  —  In an interview on the Laura Ingraham Show, Sarah Palin blasted back at Barbara Bush's recent comments suggesting she stay in Alaska and not run for president.  —  Said Palin: “I think the majority of Americans don't want to put up with the blue bloods.

CAIR: Muslim Group Updates Travel Advisory for Holiday Weekend  —  The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) today issued an updated travel advisory for those concerned about new airport security measures involving full-body scanners and more invasive pat-downs.  —  Background:

Woman: TSA Agents Singled Me Out For My Breasts  —  Travelers Plan To Boycott TSA's Latest Security Measure Aiming To Clog Security Lines  —  ORLANDO, Fla. — The head of the Transportation Security Administration said the agency will look further into allegations that two male TSA workers picked …

Kamala Harris wins attorney general's race as Steve Cooley concedes [Updated]  —  More than three weeks after he declared victory in the race for state attorney general, Los Angeles County Dist.  Atty. Steve Cooley conceded defeat Wednesday as he trailed by more than 50,000 votes …

No. 1: Richard Cohen  —  The Washington Post's Richard Cohen has been a columnist since 1976.  He's good friends with Ben Bradlee and Sally Quinn.  He works one day a week.  At a certain point, in that exceptionally privileged and cushy position, his brain disintegrated.

Mr. Smut goes to Washington  —  While November's election brought a tsunami of change to Michigan policies, some incumbents are untouchable.  So untouchable, apparently, that they openly read girlie magazines on their trips to and from Washington.  Detroit Congressman John Conyers was caught …

PROMISES, PROMISES: GOP leader reaps $200 million  —  WASHINGTON — Senate Republicans' ban on earmarks - money included in a bill by a lawmaker to benefit a home-state project or interest - was short-lived.  —  Only three days after GOP senators and senators-elect renounced earmarks …

Palin responds to Bushes' criticism: No offense but they're “blue bloods”  —  Too bad it wasn't Huckabee who tossed this rhetorical grenade, as we could have spent a fun afternoon ripping on him in the comments for such a heavy-handed populist pander.  (Huck would have thrown in a reference …

Outsider, Meet Insider  —  Rep. Allen West drew a ton of attention — I think he's the most-analyzed freshman of the transition — after briefly selecting radio host Joyce Kaufman as his chief of staff.  But West's slip-up over the hiring of a controversial outsider seems to be a one-off.

Family Research Council Labeled ‘Hate Group’ By SPLC Over Anti-Gay Rhetoric  —  The Family Research Council is perhaps the most prominent voice in conservative social politics and the hosts of an annual rite of passage for many Republicans who hope to run for president.

Gloomy Fed employment forecast overshadows upbeat GDP data  —  The Fed predicts unemployment will remain high for years.  The pessimistic outlook comes shortly after the Commerce Department revised third-quarter growth to an annual rate of 2.5%, up from 2%.  —  Reporting from Washington —

Trust in Government  —  Matt Bai muses: … That broad-based skepticism of government is, of course, why the Obama Era has also witnessed a broad-based public backlash against unrestrained government surveillance powers, the closure of the Guantanamo Bay detention facility, public demands that Obama cut Medicare benefits more sharply.