From the L.A. Times:

BAGHDAD — A man in a wheelchair blew himself up Monday and killed a police commander in what an Iraqi official suggested may have been a case of a disabled person being used by insurgents.

If so, it would be the third time this month that Iraqi security forces say disabled people were used to carry explosives that killed themselves and others.

. . . .

In a meeting with journalists, Interior Minister Jawad Bolani said the wheelchair bomber who struck in Samarra, 60 miles north of Baghdad, might also have been an unwitting carrier of a bomb.

More and more, Iraqi terrorists are using disabled people who may not even know they’re going to be suicide bombers.

Jeez. They sound almost as desperate and pathetic as Hillary Clinton.

[Guest post by DRJ]

In October 2006, Antoin “Tony” Rezko entered a plea of not guilty to federal charges that he used his influence with public officials “to extort illegal payments and a campaign contribution from investment firms seeking to do business with Illinois.”

Today, Chicago federal district Judge Amy St. Eve revealed that one of those public officials was, as most suspected, Democratic Gov. Rod Blagojevich. Blogojevich is believed to be the intended recipient of a $1.5 million campaign contribution at the center of the alleged scheme.

Judge St. Eve also entered a ruling that makes it likely the name of Barack Obama will come up in Rezko’s trial:

“U.S. District Court Judge Amy St. Eve, who is presiding over Rezko’s trial, told prosecutors they could introduce evidence to support allegations that Rezko used straw men to make political contributions on his behalf. Prosecutors have alleged that the money came from fees Rezko illegally siphoned from a state pension board.

In her ruling, St. Eve said the government contends that Rezko directed business associates Joseph Aramanda and Elie Maloof to make contributions to an unnamed political candidate in late 2003 and 2004 because Rezko had already contributed the maximum legal amount.

The only candidate Maloof and Aramanda contributed to during that time frame was Obama, then running for the U.S. Senate in Illinois. Maloof and Aramanda each gave $10,000 to Obama’s campaign.”

Prosecutors have not alleged any wrongdoing by Obama but Rezko is described as his long-time friend and financial supporter. Obama’s spokesman denied the campaign had any knowledge of straw donations and noted that the campaign has returned or donated to charity more than $150,000 in Rezko-linked contributions.

— DRJ

[Posted By WLS]

Put your hand up if you think Hillary Clinton’s life-long ambition to be President will end next week in Texas and Ohio?

Obama may, in fact, win the nomination. But that’s only a minor stumbling block in the Clinton world. Remember, Bill Clinton left the interior of the Democrat party to embrace the DLC in order to make himself more electable — hell with all that “libralism”.

The “party” is meaningless to them other than as a vehicle to power — as is the good of the party — if they are rejected by that party.

So, what happens if Obama wins the nomination?

Well, the Clintons will say all the right things, and congratulate all the right people, but their resentment will seethe just below the surface. The nastiness of the campaign will not go away, and a grudge will be held because Obama will have denied her the destiny to which she believes she is entitled and the legacy which he thinks he is owed.

I predict — and bookmark this spot for posterity — that the Clintons will not lift a finger to help Obama in the general election. Why? Because an Obama win only puts a Clinton resurrection off another 4 years until 2016.

If Hillary can’t win in 2008, what is Plan B?

How about this for nostalgia for the Clintons: A 2012 campaign against an older, not-well-liked-by-his-party GOP one-term incumbent who might be struggling with a difficult economy and a changing world.

If the Golden Boy goes forward in Nov 2008 and, dare they think it, gets beat by McCain, that would set up a pretty good “I told you so” campaign for the nomination by Hillary in 2012, with a general election match-up that Bill Clinton already won once circa 1992.

So, Hillary concedes the nomination next Wednesday, and waves good luck to Barack with a promise to see him — in December back in the Senate.

[Guest post by DRJ]

It was inevitable: “If you elect me, I’ll repeal those subsidies … ”

— DRJ

UPDATE BY PATTERICO: With all due respect, I don’t think this is a fair knock on Clinton. He begins the clip by saying “So, Hillary says . . .” and ends it with the phrase “if you elect me.” So the fair reading of this is: “Hillary says . . . if you elect me . . .” It’s a non-story, in my view.

By the way, isn’t that endless loop annoying?

UPDATE BY DRJ: Fair enough. I think your analysis is reasonable, and obviously Bill Clinton knows he isn’t running for President. Furthermore, even if this was a misstatement, it’s understandable given their hectic schedules and the frequent speeches they give. But I still think it was a little Freudian.

[posted by Justin Levine]

CNN explains why Clarence Thomas rocks.

Has there ever been a case where the issues and arguments haven’t been articulated enough in written briefs such that oral argument was absolutely necessary? Maybe so, but I’d wager it’s probably less than 5% of the cases the court hears.

I love the entertainment that Scalia provides in putting many lawyers (and fellow Justices) in their place during these sessions, but let’s face it, most Justices just like to hear themselves talk. I can get my Scalia entertainment fix just as easily from his written decisions.

[posted by Justin Levine]

Among the movies that were actually nominated, No Country For Old Men was the best and a well deserved winner (as Patterico himself discovered).

But unfortunately, the best film of the year wasn’t even nominated for anything- presumably since it wasn’t released in December (apparently the only month that Academy members are able to remember films that they saw).

The Best Film of the Year? No contest. Not even close.  Zodiac.

My (minority) views on There Will Be Blood have already been articulated here. Daniel Day-Lewis was by no means a bad choice for Best Actor, but I still felt that the performance exhibited a certain quality of ‘showiness’ that the Academy tends to overvalue in its aesthetic taste. If I was Oscar dictator, I’d have given Best Actor to Viggo Mortgensen for Eastern Promises.

Pleased that Marion Cotillard won a much deserved award for Best Actress in La Vie En Rose by upsetting front-runner Julie Christie in Away From Her. With Christie, I think people confused a great performance with a good performance in a great role (and a great film). In contrast, Cotillard gave a great performance in a good film.

Final note, my hero Kevin O’Connell lost his Oscar nomination again for a record 20th time without a win. Admittedly, the winning sound mixing on Bourne Ultimatum was quite good as well. Always next year Kevin. It will happen. I know it will….

The announcement has been made. I’ll make you click the link to find out who it is. But it is awesome.

Hint: my predictions below were all wrong.

Good luck to Bryan Preston in his new gig with Laura Ingraham, and good luck/congratulations to the new man at the helm.

UPDATE: Just saying “awesome” doesn’t do it justice. This is literally the best pick I can imagine: a great writer, original journalist, and sensible thinker. I love it!

The addition confirms Hot Air’s status as the number one go-to site for conservative blog readers. It already was with Allahpundit, but this doesn’t hurt a bit.

I gotta say, though: Allahpundit is still tops in my book. Best blogger working today, bar none.

In a post below, I note how the L.A. Times is portraying Hillary as desperate.

They didn’t know how right they were.

With a week to go until the Texas and Ohio primaries, stressed Clinton staffers circulated a photo over the weekend of a “dressed” Barack Obama.

The photo, taken in 2006, shows the Democrat frontrunner fitted as a Somali Elder, during his visit to Wajir, a rural area in northeastern Kenya.

The senator was on a five-country tour of Africa.

“Wouldn’t we be seeing this on the cover of every magazine if it were HRC?” questioned one campaign staffer, in an email obtained by the DRUDGE REPORT.

Well, we’re seeing photos of HRC in similar local dress in the linked Drudge item. And GWB. And WJC, aka Billy Jeff.

Man. She really is desperate. The debate is gonna be great.

Via Allah, who has analysis.