Gonzales Lands Teaching Gig at Texas Tech

(NEWSER) - Two years after leaving the Justice Department in disgrace, Alberto Gonzales is still trying to get back on his feet. In an interview with New York Times Magazine's grand inquisitor Deborah Solomon, the former AG says he's living in an apartment in Lubbock, Texas, where he'll begin a teaching gig this month that will give students "a behind-the-scenes look at how the White House is really organized." Solomon questions him about the 70 Texas Tech professors protesting his "ethical failings," to which Gonzales responds: "It's an ongoing investigation. I cannot comment." More»

Controversial ex-AG defends White House role

(NEWSER) - Controversial former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales didn't deserve the flak he got as a high-ranking Bush administration official, he tells the Wall Street Journal. Gonzales was pilloried for his involvement in the government's "war on terror" policies, but he denies drafting the legal opinions that supported harsh interrogation techniques and holding "unlawful combatants" indefinitely. "What is it that I did that is so fundamentally wrong?" he asks. More»

(USER SUBMITTED) - Texas Tech professor Rodney "Rod" Hicks gave his students more than they signed on for (or he intended). The 50-year-old health sciences professor taught a class via teleconference from Austin, but didn't terminate the live video feed after the lecture. The professor then proceeded to surf the web for porn, apparently unaware that his activities were being transmitted for any still-connected students to see. More»

'Quaint' calls for balance follow reign of 'Boy Emperor'

(NEWSER) - As their party contracts with the defection of Arlen Specter, the GOP is complaining about a disappearing balance of power: “How quaint,” writes Maureen Dowd in the New York Times—this from the party whose “arrogant” previous administration “did its best to undermine checks and balances.” Meanwhile, the current “professor in chief” is playing constitutional scholar, assuring us he won’t run things like “the Boy Emperor and his regents.” More»

Scooter Libby? Alberto Gonzales? The entire CIA? Speculation swirls

(NEWSER) - President Bush has shown no inclination to go on a Clinton-esque pardon binge, but that won't stop Josh Gerstein of Politico from speculating. Here are the potential pardon/commutation prospects, and the odds:

• All CIA and military interrogators: Bush could make a big splash with a blanket pardon to anyone who may or may not have tortured suspects in the war on terror. But it’d be legally tricky and enrage many. Odds: 4 to 1