Aha! I knew something was missing from the shot:
The full booking photo with a computer slate is here:
http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/051021/photos_ts_afp/05102020065367e9c6u8_photo0
Notice that the originally released photo was of better quality that the official one, so I think now that the DeLay people took or got a hold of the source image and released it early to the media.
That, or the media did crop the rest. The fault of the liberal media?. :dubious:
Has no-one thought of selling coffee cups with that photo on them? That’d be a genuine “Mug Shot”.
Somebody get out the copyright application 
Well, I kinda sorta did, if you look at post #3. My suggestion was a photo of his T-shirt. Or maybe him in a T-shirt.
I thin the reason is very clear: There are two courts, one being judicial, the other being popular. Even if DeLay is aquitted, he must fight the perception that he simply “beat the rap” in OJ-like fashion. The best way to do that is to smear the opponent. You won the case not because evidence of your guilt could not surmount resonable doubt; you won because your opponent was a partisan hack whose crusade against you withered in the harsh light of justice. You won in spite of a biased judge, whose anti-Republican hate could not ultimately besmirch you. Etc. Smart lawyers try anything that might help them win, even if it’s likely to fail. And even if it does fail, seeds of doubt are sown in the court of public oppinion. Failure can even be a virtue, in some instances, for a specious argument that is rebutted might appear to the uncritical as a reasonable request denied by a biased jurist.
This public perception of bias is especially important to the politician who is found guilty.
Hmm, think it would be nice to have a coffee mug with the official DeLay mug shot, with appropriate slogans: “Don’t DeLay, Get Your Powermongering Fix Today”, or " It Ain’t Over Til…Oh Shit…", or “Have You Seen This Man? Please Report To Nearest Sympathetic Judicial System”, or, simply, “I Have A Dream”.
Sure there must be more.
I know that fudging the facts is just the way of life in politics nowadays, with no repercussions. But isn’t claiming something false in a legal proceeding a litle bit worse than that?
Maybe I’m naive, but I think the best way to convince folks that I was innocent of a crime would be to offer them the evidence that exonerated me. It’s possible that DeLay just did a lot of legal but ubersleazy stuff, and that explaining his innocence would mean explaining all the sleazy stuff he did; in that case, his strategy makes sense. But I can’t think of any reason why he’d fight the public opinion trial through personal attacks if he were ethically beyond reproach.
Daniel
Well, it does stay on message about those pesky liberal activist judges causing the downfall of society blah blah blah. It sets him up nicely as a martyr for the cause. He can still present proper evidence for his defense while smearing democrats as a whole. It lays out the theme for any other trials aimed at republicans. Watch for Karl Rove and Scooter Libby to use this if they get indicted.
Also, think of the whole “liberal media” thing. It’s never been proven. It’s never been really even close to proven, but there it is ingrained in the culture. You can’t trust the media because it’s politically biased. All it takes is repetition. Think about that with the courts.
Call me crazy - and worse if it makes you feel better – but the sooner you get rid of your current scumbag Government officials, the better the odds you can join the rest of the civilized world.
Not looking at bright at the moment.
Go USA! #1!..as if.
Not with all these corrupt ideologue assholes in charge anyway.
Good luck – though you may ned quite a bit more than that. Plenty of actions and amendments for instance.
Fat chance? Hope not. But even hope has limits…
Its a similar tactic to the Swift Boats in this last campaign. It shifts the talk from Bush being a dodger and Kerry serving admirably to was Kerry really all that heroic? These accusations shift at least some of the focus from “is Delay guilty?” to is the prosecutor biased.
The prosecutor and the judge as well! The ruthless grip on power that liberals hold in Texas is widely known. But Tom DeLay (R-Undead) dares to defy thier monolithic tyranny! Brave, brave, brave Sir Thomas!
Just a guess: besides the public campaign to depict DeLay as the besieged palladin of Truth, Justice, and the American Way…there is also the chance that they might piss off the judge enough so that some reversible error might be provoked. And that an appeal might find its way into the hands of a judge more mindful of the historic significance of Mr. DeLay, someone inclined to accept a technical bending of some minor legislation in the service of a Greater Cause.
If nothing else, though, the notion of a Texas judge who contributes to MoveOn.org gives me reason to reconsider the whole just-and-loving-God issue from a more cheerful perspective.
(Cue Kingston Trio…)
Hang down your head Tom De-lay
Hang down your head and cry!
Hand down your head Tom De-lay
Poor boy, you’re bound to lie…
Just chalk it up to IOKIARDI again.
On the contrary! Add that to her purportedly fervent adherence to the tenets of evangelical Christianity and her hero-worship of The Leader, and you’ve got all the qualifications you need for nomination by this administration.
It’s about time – long since overdue! – that those pesky judges with their delusions of impartiality and independence smartened up and started hewing to the One Right Way. No loonie liberal, Dem-hugging judicial activist is gonna nail the Hammer!