I don’t know if Tom Delay has committed any crimes — though it sure seems like he’s guilty of something to me (good thing I don’t live in Austin where I could get pulled into jury service for his trial; I don’t think I could be impartial). Heck, he’s a politician. There’s no way his hands are clean.

What’s got me so ruffled today, however, is this. His "mug shot". What the…?!?!?!?! He’s smiling like he’s posing for a campaign photo op! Come on, man. Show some respect for the law. For the process. For the charges against you. For the judicial system.  Just a little.  Please. "Mug Shot" doesn’t mean you mug for the camera. It means your sorry ass is now in a sling. And you might want to consider the gravity of the situation. Try to look like you take this whole thing seriously and you don’t think people are gonna let you off just because you’re a Republican.

I take in the news from a variety of sources. Today I ran across this little tidbit in this article on FoxNews.com. You know its bad when even they can’t spin it in a positive light.

DeLay’s Republican fundraising in 2002 had major political consequences, allowing the GOP to take control of the Texas Legislature. The Legislature then redrew congressional boundaries according to a DeLay-inspired plan, took command of the state’s U.S. House delegation and helped the GOP retain its House majority.

Whether or not Delay is guilty of the charges laid against him, and whether or not the redrawing of congressional boundaries was within legal/moral/ethical parameters is yet to be decided. But I gotta tell ya, this whole thing smells really bad to me. Even if its legal, its rotten.