Now some fresh pickings from the Political Grapevine:
Explaining To Do
The vice chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee wants former CIA officer Valerie Plame to explain discrepancies in her accounts of how her husband was hired for an intelligence mission to Africa.
Joe Wilson went to Niger in 2002 to investigate reports Iraq was trying to buy uranium. USA Today reports Missouri Republican Senator Kit Bond says Plame has had three different stories. He says she told the CIA's inspector general in 2003 or 2004 that she suggested Wilson told Intelligence Committee staffers in 2004 she couldn't remember whether she had suggested Wilson, and told a House panel last March that an unidentified CIA officer came up with the idea.
Plame's CIA connection was revealed after Wilson accused the Bush administration of ignoring his findings. The leak of her CIA status led to the conviction of former White House aide "Scooter" Libby on perjury and obstruction of justice charges.
Fine Print
Even if the House leadership can drum up enough votes to pass the Senate's immigration bill — it might get derailed on procedural grounds.
The Hill newspaper reports House Republicans are poised to exercise what's called a "blue slip" protest. The constitution mandates that revenue-related bills must originate in the House. But the Senate proposal requires illegal immigrants to pay back taxes before becoming citizens — and that makes it a revenue bill.
One House GOP aide tells the paper — "I think it's going to be a matter of who will get there first. A number of people in the House are dying to be fingered as the person who killed the Senate bill."
A House member would introduce the "blue slip" and it would then be debated and voted upon — with a majority vote either killing it or sending the bill back to the Senate.
Holy Hit Man?
An Illinois gun rights group plans to complain to the Catholic Church after a Chicago priest appeared to call for the murder of a suburban gun shop owner.
Cybercast News reports Reverend Michael Pfleger mentioned the owner by name at an anti-gun rally — saying — "We're going to find you and snuff you out... You're going to hide but like a rat we're going to catch you and pull you out...We're going to snuff out John Riggio, we're going to snuff out legislators that are voting (for gun rights)."
The head of the Illinois State Rifle Association called the comments "disgusting and dangerous," and said it was "shocking" to hear a priest advocate murder.
Personal Trainers
Fat killers and robbers are getting free personal trainers is some British jails — thanks to the taxpayers. The Sun reports prison officials say obese inmates suffer what they call "social exclusion" because they're too fat to exercise with other inmates.
So, at a cost of about $800,000 — personal trainers are now working with prisoners at 25 of Britain's toughest jails.
One outraged Parliament member summed it up by saying — "Why are these people getting personal trainers? If they want to lose weight, give them vegetables instead of pies."
—FOX News Channel's Martin Hill contributed to this report.
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