* The instant Congress recognizes those Indian tribes in Virginia, you’ll get sweet, sweet “casino gambling in the Commonwealth.” [Congress Blog]
* But never hit the roulette table with Joe Trippi, that guy just can’t pick a winner. [Political Wire, On Call]
* The Politico: Reading at a 4th grade level should be no barrier to in-depth political news. [Romenesko]
* Communist John Murtha thinks everyone should have an equal opportunity to get ’sploded in Baghdad. [HuffPo]
* Staffers incessant wearing of Che Guevara themed novelty shirts proves the BBC is evil. [YouTube]
* Those presidential candidates are just so quirky. [McSweeney's]

* You have to make interim appointments with the U.S. attorneys you want to slip in, not the ones you pretend will get confirmed. [Think Progress]
* Put your money where Alberto Gonzales’ mouth is. [Intrade]
* John Edwards’ chips are already down. [Election Central]
* Too bad Rudy’s not a betting man. [Election Central]
* Presidential candidates make their “presentations” to investment bankers, no Power Point included. [Robert Reich]
* Print newspapers dying because print newspaper reporters are lazy as shit. [Romenesko]
* Chris Dodd live blogs Chris Dodd’s appearance on The Daily Show. [Chris Dodd]
* ‘07 to be that year for DC voting rights. [The Gavel]

Above, a graphic from John McCain’s website offering you a look at his coveted “bracket.” It’s apparently some sort of college basketball thing. It facilitates gambling, or something. MORE »

Why did violent, delusional alcoholic Jim Gibbons take the oath as Nevada’s newest and craziest governor at 12:00:12 a.m. on January 1? Initial reports blamed some make-believe terror threat because Saddam Hussein supporters would certainly target some nobody in Northern Nevada to avenge the Iraqi president’s hanging.

But the real reason for the bizarre midnight ceremony in Gibbons’ Reno living room has less to do with the sociopath’s terror fantasies than his cheap mafia casino power grabs and fanatical loathing for the popular, competent and sane outgoing governor, Republican Kenny Guinn.

Learn all about the pig-eyed thug’s latest filthy schemes, after the jump.

MORE »

• Congressional logic: “War = ok, Gambling = not so ok.” [A 'Feel Good' Production]
• There is a secret Chick-fil-A at GW. [Till Human Voices Wake Us, And We Drown]
• “…this latest rash of allen’s attack ads employing women-as-a-wedge plays like a demand for every pre-pregnant woman to make a decision; i’ve made mine, and it’s to support the candidate who would continue to allow me to make my own choices.” [Cocoricamo]
• Perfect, “they are going to make a movie of Ayn Rand’s novel Atlas Shrugged and Angelina is going to play Dagney.” [MLP's Blog]
• Free screenings of Saved and Jessica Simpson’s Employee of the Month in Maryland. We’re just going to let that sink in. [Too Many Words]

Last week’s legislation apparently banning online gambling may not be particularly effective when it comes to stopping the $12 billion a year folks plunk down for online wagering, but it settled an issue that had been tearing the nation apart like the old Young Elvis/Fat Elvis stamp vote. It turns out that online gambling is gaming equivalent of crack cocaine (move over, Mah Jong!). Rep. Jim Leach (R-Iowa), among several members of Congress, dubbed online poker little more than taking the pipe. MORE »

Supporting federal recognition of an ostensibly anti-gambling Indian tribe is like lobbying for high-dose Viagra for a eunuch. But there’s the wife of the little blue pill’s best-known pitchman, Sen. Elizabeth “Liddy” Dole (R-N.C.), carrying water for the Lumbee Indians, who are recognized by the state of North Carolina but only “acknowledged” by the feds. Full federal recognition, which will bring between $77 million and $100 million into tribal coffers before the first pull of a slot machine. “This is about fairness” says Dole, and not the inevitable casino that will grow up on I-95 in the Tarheel State. MORE »

• The House today will debate extensively on the Iraq war, in a move designed to force members — mostly Democrats — into an on-the-record vote on resolve and course-staying. The resolution, which calls on the US to complete its mission to make Iraq a free and soverign state, has attracted criticism even from pro-war Republicans: Thaddeus McCotter (R-Mich) called it “”strategically nebulous and morally obtuse.” [WP]

• In a speech on Iraq, President Bush also urged resolve and course-staying. He said he planned on making some of his cabinet secretaries go to Iraq to offer their support to the new Prime Minister. When asked about a timetable for troop withdrawal, he neglected to answer. “The answer to electricity is, sooner the better,” he said. “I mean, it’s hot over there!” [NYT]
• The annual financial disclosure reports of members of congress were released yesterday. Book royalties made up a significant portion of income for a few lawmarkers, and “scores of House and Senate members and their spouses traveled the world as guests of think tanks and corporations.” Majority leader John Boehner “reported winning $2,700 at slot machines in Manistique, Mich., where an aide said he had gambled to pass the time at a rest area while waiting for a colleague.” [NYT, WP]
• In the first federal ruling on detainment of noncitizens, a judge in Brooklyn ruled yesterday that the US government has broad authority to detain foreign nationals on US soil for as long as it likes, without explanation. [NYT]

* If you can’t tax it, then God hates it. [Circle V] MORE »

* Remember that exclusive poker game we told you about? We weren’t able to make it, but lots of bloggers did attend. We hear it was a total blast. [Flickr; DC metblogs; I Had Outs; Hit & Run] MORE »

Poker is a fine Washington tradition. It’s a game that power brokers in the nation’s capital enjoying playing, as they hammer out deals that decide the fate of the free world. MORE »