Our good buddies at the Chronicle have a very interesting article on the latest twist in the DeLay case. It seems that the donor list central to the indictment of the Majority Leader does not exist. A court hearing brought out the development:

AUSTIN - Travis County prosecutors admitted Friday they lack physical proof of a list of Republican candidates that is at the heart of money-laundering indictments against U.S. Rep. Tom DeLay and two of his associates.

Without the actual paper, the case would hinge on the testimony of the former Republican National Committee official said to have received the list. DeLay “associate” Jim Ellis’ lawyer characterized the non-existence of the list as McCarthy-style tactics.

DeLay’s attorney, who was not at the court hearing, weighed in as well:

"That’s astonishing, astonishing that they would get a grand jury to indict and allege there is a list and then they have to admit in open court the first time they appear in open court that there is no list," DeGuerin said.

The plot thickens…

The AP is reporting that Representative Tom DeLay, under questionable indictment by Travis County District Attorney Ronnie Earle, is likely to make the appearance this week for fingerprinting and mugshots, much to the delight of Democrats everywhere.

An interesting comment from the courthouse:

DeLay’s arraignment is set for Friday before state district Judge Bob Perkins in Travis County, Texas.
"Perkins believes that if God was charged with a felony, he would have to go through the booking process, too," said D’Ann Underwood, court coordinator for the judge.

So much for judicial humility.

This is what happens when you get reporters with WAY too much free time:

Karl Rove’s Garage Proves to Be Typical
By DARLENE SUPERVILLE
Associated Press Writer

He is “the architect” who steered George W. Bush to victory four times, twice as Texas governor and twice as president.

But can Karl Rove organize his own garage? Can the master of Bush’s political planning figure out where to put the ladders, paint cans and cardboard boxes?

Rove’s wife, Darby, raised the white garage door one morning last week to show journalists outside the million-dollar brick home that the deputy chief of staff, assistant to the president and senior adviser wasn’t home. All the interest came on the eve of his testimony Friday before a grand jury investigating who in the White House might have revealed the identity of a CIA operative.

There was no car in the garage. And the stuff left behind turned out not to be much different from what gathers dust inside most American garages.

The inventory, seen from outside…

And yes, it goes on to list the entire contents of Karl Roves’ garage. Weird.

You may recall our coverage from June regarding two PETA employees accused of killing animals taken from shelters under the pretense of finding them homes, then unloading the dead cats and dogs in dumpsters.

Apparently there was some trouble with the criminal charges, which had to be re-done. According to this story the employees:

…were served with warrants on 22 felony charges of animal cruelty and the three felony charges of obtaining property by false pretense in court on Friday.

The new animal cruelty charges replaced 31 previous animal cruelty charges, which were dismissed.

The two employees are still charged with eight misdemeanor counts of illegal disposal of dead animals and one count of trespassing.

This is PETA, folks. People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. Well, have they lowered the boom on the accused employees? Perhaps they are waiting for the trial results:

Both have been released on $35,000 bail, and PETA is paying their legal fees. PETA suspended Hinkle for 90 days and did not discipline Cook.

One wonders what would have happened if Tom DeLay worked for PETA.

The LST Sports Desk has been hard at work the last few days, covering everything from the Astros playoff run to teenage girls playing golf. The logical extension of all this is fictional boxing. Well here you go:

Do you still remember this boxer named Rocky? Sylvester Stallone is ready to one more close-up in a role that first brought him to the spotlight in 1976. He will direct and star in Rocky VI, which probably starts filming this December in Los Angeles.

In the film, lonely and retired boxer Rocky Balboa is back on the ring to take part in a few low-profile local fights. But then he is offered to challenge the reigning heavyweight champion, enigmatically named Mason "The Line" Dixon, and that’s where Rocky finds himself in the middle of the media frenzy.

I know what you’re thinking: "But Rocky V sucked!" And you’re absolutely right. That’s why I think this one will be much better. There’s no way Stallone will bring the Stallion out of retirement for a stinker.

It also begs the question: What’s your Rocky lineup? Clearly, "Rocky" was the best of the series, and "Rocky V" the worst. But how does the middle stack up? Here’s mine:

1. Rocky
2. Rocky IV
3. Rocky II
4. Rocky III
5. Rocky V

What do you think?

The Chron’s SciGuy reports on a 4,000-year-old batch of Chinese food. No, it wasn’t discovered in the back of my fridge:

The discovery of a pot of thin yellow noodles preserved for 4,000 years in Yellow river silt may have tipped the bowl in China’s favor. It suggests that people were eating noodles at least 1,000 years earlier than previously thought, and many centuries before such dishes were documented in Europe.

"These are undoubtedly the oldest noodles ever found," says Houyuan Lu at China’s Institute of Geology and Geophysics in Beijing.

Researchers are still digging, hoping to find a millenia-old packet of duck sauce.

Although you are also free to discuss the Astros in the general open comment thread (below), try to keep this one focused on baseball only– no politics, please.

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If a beg on a blog is a bleg, then would a shameless plug on a blog be a shameless blug?

Anyway, I’ve designed what I call "Cool Cross Shirts" on CafePress. There are 48 different designs to choose from. I really can’t describe what they look like, but you can check them out for yourself here.

It’s all yours, folks. Here are today’s random facts:

• Dudley Do-Right’s horse was named Horse.
• Winning U.S. political candidates tend to be taller than the national average, though many dictators have been pretty short.
• There are penguin hookers.

And today’s trivia question is a doubleheader:

• Who holds the NL record for grounding into the most double plays in a season, with 30?
• Who holds the NL record for grounding into the fewest double plays in a season, with zero? (150+ games played)

Here’s a hint. They were both Houston Astros when they accomplished their feats, and they still are.

I just took Ranger One, LST’s smuggling hurricane reconnaissance aircraft out for a spin around the Caymans, and it’s not looking good out there. Tropical Depression #24, currently hovering over the western Caribbean, is expected to strenghten into Tropical Storm Wilma today. Unfortunately, the National Hurricane Center has it heading into the Gulf later this week:

Maybe we’ll get to see whether Ray Nagin learned anything.

Here’s the NHC’s take. Here’s the skinny from the Weather Channel. Weather Underground puts Wilma on track to graze the Yucatan, though the models suggest otherwise.

Wilma is the last name on the Center’s 2005 list. If more storms develop, they’ll be named frat-boy style. Thus, the season’s 22nd storm would be named Alpha, just to remind us all that the NHC is a government organization.

Stay tuned to LST’s SuperDopplerStormTrackerSkyWatch coverage, where we don’t have to fake it.