Here is a photo of France’s new First Lady arriving in England with her midget husband. Her outfit speaks diplomatic volumes: flats, so as not to tower over M. Sarkozy; modest tweed, so as to remind Camilla of her youth back in the Depression. (In turn, Camilla wears a trashy befeathered nightmare hat because she is a tart.) But the real question is, why would a rail-thin former model be sporting a little belly pooch? We smell shotgun wedding. [The Sun]

Prince Charles celebrates his 59th birthday today. Right-o, good man! You know what that means? Yep, Camilla Parker Bowles administers his annual tooth-scraping blowjob! Ouch! Know what else it means? He gets an ice cream named after him! Ben & Jerry’s has rolled out its latest flavor Heir to the Cone. Those goofy, hirsute Vermont Deadheads describe it as a “royal treat of creamy banana ice cream, walnuts and chocolatey chunks. Of course, only the finest ingredients were used in this ice cream fit for a king (to be).” Awesome.
Ben & Jerry’s Celebrates Prince Charles’ Birthday [Wellfed.net]

• Reliable Source: Prince Charles and Camilla determined the guest list for tonight’s reception at the British Embassy. . . Michael Brown called himself a “fashion god” in an email dated Aug. 29th. . . Lewis Libby, like Harriet Miers, failed to pay bar dues. [WP]
• Under the Dome: Congressional candidates’ creative fundraising methods –such as dating for a donation– backfire. . . Rep. Jim Ramstad (R-Minn.) gets married. . . Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) is not running for president in ‘08: “[S]omeone needs to be the designated driver. I’m in detox.” [The Hill]
• Page Six: Clinton reportedly has two escape clauses from his Harlem lease: “one, if Hillary runs for the Senate and loses, two, if she runs for president and wins.” [NYP]

• Democrats win concession on the investigation of pre-war intelligence by holding private Senate session; Republicans outraged by maneuver. Bill Frist: “This is an affront to me personally [and] an affront to the United States of America.” Harry Reid: “The American people had a victory today.” [WP, NYT, LAT, WT]
• White House hopes to avoid filibuster attempt by selling Alito to moderates; Karl Rove is “deeply involved” in the strategy. Arlen Specter: “I hope we do not come back to the terrible schism we had. That just about tore the Senate apart, and it has the potential to do it again, except that the stakes would be bigger. You are talking about the Supreme Court.” [WP, NYT, NYT, LAT, WT]
• Bush calls for $7b in emergency spending for avian flu preparedness: “[I]f we wait for a pandemic to appear, it will be too late to prepare, and one day many lives could be needlessly lost because we failed to act today.” [WP, NYT]
• Democrats want to use Alito’s conservative record “to drive a wedge between Republicans and swing voters who could be critical in next year’s midterm elections.” [WSJ]
• Samuel Alito’s “legal reasoning” implies his disapproval of Roe v. Wade; legal history shows “his thinking is shaped by a traditional concept of marriage.” [WP, NYT]
• Liberal colleagues of Alito say he is no ideologue. Said one attorney, “He didn’t decide cases based on ideology, and his record was not extremely conservative.” [LAT]
• Judge in the trial of Tom DeLay is removed from the case because of his donations to Democratic candidates and causes. [WP, NYT, LAT]
• DeLay is angering some Republicans by not relinquishing influential role. Said one congressman, “My issue is having an indicted former leader hanging around the leadership offices… Why does he want to stick around? He’s not helping us.” [WP]

MORE »

• Reliable Source: Nancy Reagan, Dick Cheney, Condoleezza Rice, Donald Rumsfeld and Tom Brokaw will attend tomorrow’s White House dinner for Prince Charles and Camilla. . . Patrick Fitzgerald is a “confirmed bachelor”. . . John Roberts was Groucho Marx for Halloween. [WP]
• Inside the Beltway: White House pool report: “In what has become something of a custom on Monday mornings in October, President Bush today announced a Supreme Court nominee.” [WT]
• Under the Dome: Interest in Scooter Libby’s 1996 novel spikes. . . Joe Biden’s not so-secret for fundraising: “Find enough beautiful women and enough guys will show up.”. . . Robert Byrd is a product of the Spanish flu of 1917-1918. . . Jane Harman, 60, runs 26-mile Marine Corps Marathon in five hours and 23 minutes. [The Hill]
• Ben Widdicombe’s Gatecrasher: Alito’s son: “I became interested in politics and got involved with Gary Condit (not like that). I served as a parking aide to Nancy Pelosi (I won’t even start on her), but was fired when Barbara Boxer came onto me.” Widdicombe responds, “Since when did college kids get so picky about sleeping with senators? No wonder the country’s going to hell.” [NYDN]
• Page Six: McCain and Giuliani dined together recently. . . Charlie Rangel asks that Cheney be tested for mental illness. . . Tucker Carlson and Moby will attempt comedy with Triumph the Insult Dog. [NYP, NYP, NYP]
• Cindy Adams: Jon Corzine’s ex-wife tells-all. . . George H.W. Bush is planning another parachute jump. [NYP]

• Inside the Beltway: Margaret Spellings said of Miers in 2003: “She doesn’t want to be in the paper. She’s all about the president. Will people think she is important and in the know for her next gig? I can tell you she is and she is.”. . . White House pool report noted that Cheney dashed his turkey with salt or pepper. [WT]
• Under the Dome: After urging conservation, Secretary of Energy Samuel Bodman uses Cadillac limo and large SUV to travel 15 blocks. . . Rumsfeld distracted by the “wrong rabbit”. . . Aspen Institute names Reps. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.), Dan Boren (D-Okla.), Artur Davis (D-Ala.), Kendrick Meek (D-Fla.), Heather Wilson (R-N.M.) and Mark Kirk (R-Ill.) among top 24 “emerging leaders.” [The Hill]
• Rush & Molloy: Dean on Miers: “You can’t play hide the salami, or whatever it’s called. [Bush has] got to go out there and say something about this woman