Wonkette

A well-placed fern adds a touch of nature to your giant, panel-dwarfing doric columns.

Busy week so far for Wonkette. Last night saw us at some sort of weird auditorium/ballroom thing attached to the EPA (no one knew what purpose the space served, except for hosting panel discussions in a fancier-than-usual setting) for The Week Opinion Awards (in Partnership with The Aspen Institute). It was a blast, of course, though we admit that we don’t remember the awards bit, or the round-table bit, or the speeches, as we were having way too much fun schmoozing and drinking. We’re sure the winners were very deserving, though. Despite our not winning.

And boy, what a star-studded occasion it was. Froomkin! Arianna Huffington! Sid Blumenthal! Froomkin! Our full (hazily-reconstructed, actually) report, complete with exclusive photos from Liz Gorman, Intrepid Girl Reporter, after the jump.

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• Supreme Court, by 6 to 3 vote, rules against the administration and John Ashcroft to allow Oregon to practice physician-assisted suicide. [WP, NYT, NYT, W$J, USAT, WT]
• “High-level intelligence assessment” from early 2002 downplayed the likelihood of Niger providing uranium to Iraq. Admin official: “The president has said the intelligence was wrong, and we have reorganized our intelligence agencies so we can do better in the future.” [NYT]
• Jack Abramoff had a “few staff-level” White House meetings; officials are not releasing specifics. [USAT]
• Republicans outline their proposals to limit lobbying; some plans contain plenty of loopholes. Sen. Harry Reid (D-Nev.): “It is like asking John Gotti to do what he can to clean up organized crime.” [WP, WP, NYT, NYT, W$J, USAT, WT]
• Kidnappers of American journalist in Iraq issue ultimatum: release all female prisoners in Iraq or she will be killed. [WP]
• Senators ready their inquiries of NSA eavesdropping; determining its legality will “prove tricky.” [W$J]

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Senate staffer Amanda Schweitzer, 25, of Winter Park, Fla., was arrested last week for “refusing to leave [Shea Field]” after a college football game, yelling at the police and “pushing an officer away belligerently.” Heady stuff (though around here we just call that Friday night). Schweitzer told police that “Her boss, Sen. Bill Nelson, would take care of the cops and that they couldn’t do anything to her.” It’s a gross misuse of authority — literally: Schweitzer worked — she resigned yesterday — for Florida’s other, Republican, senator, Mel Martinez. MORE »

The AP reports that the Florida Republican Party, unhappy with U.S. Senate candidacy of Katherine “I’ve Already Counted the Votes, Thank You Very Much” Harris, is wooing former Republican Revolutionary Joe Scarborough as a replacement candidate to go up against incumbent Senator Bill Nelson. Still, Scarborough is just a TV personality, and a cable one at that; Nelson is a former astronaut. According to our own boyhood hierarchy of professions, only a fireman or a cowboy can beat him. Unless, of course, Scarborough can get Kathering Harris back to count the votes. . . — HOLLY MARTINS MORE »