One of the interesting, and I think somewhat predictable developments has been the newfound "virtues" of Hillary in the Media, particularly the Gang of 500. With the fall of Bush, to an extent that even Mark Halperin has had to suck it up, Hillary actually is getting a real chance to control her political message and image. Consider this from The Note:

The Gang of 500, every cable network, talk radio host, and pajama-clad blogger is significantly more interested in all things Clinton than they are in health care tax credits, nuanced global warming positions, or Cheney-Pelosi body language. And between now and Tuesday night's 9 pm SOTU, Hillary Clinton will claim some really choice network television real estate . . . Senator Clinton has already answered many key questions about her presidential campaign, but left some very much tbd. Now known: . . . she will manage the Clinton Brand in a hands-on fashion; she is going to compete hard for the netroots; there will be no photo op left behind.

This is respectful coverage from the Beltway. Her second act will be in her hands. More.

Council for a Livable World has put together a compendium, with links, of the various bills introduced in Congress seeking to limit President Bush's plan to increase troops in Iraq.

Think Progress reports that Sen. John Warner will introduce his legislation opposing the troop increase today.

The American Constitution Society has Streaming video of a panel discussion of Congressional power to limit the President's ability to escalate the Iraq War.

Empty Wheel, Pachacutec and Christy of Firedoglake have been doing a great job of live-blogging this morning's jury selection in the Scooter Libby trial.

The magic number of needed jurors is 36, so that the Government can have 8 peremptory challenges and the defense 12. This will leave 16 jurors, 12 regulars and 4 alternates.

The jury pool has been directed to return at 3:00 pm. At that time, each side will exercise their peremptory challenges. Since no reasons for the strikes need be given, it will take each side just a few moments to regroup after hearing the other side's challenge and the whole process should take well under an hour. Then we will have a jury. Opening arguments begin tomorrow. My thoughts on openings in the case are here.

More below the fold:

[Cross-posted at Firedoglake]

Pachacutec has done a great job at Firedoglake of live-blogging and commenting on the jury selection process in the Scooter Libby trial (also see here and here, and as updated in the comments to the posts.) With 30 of the 36 needed prospective jurors already qualified for cause, I think we'll have a jury by Monday afternoon. It won't take long for both sides to exercise their peremptory challenges. Then what?

Then we're off to the races. Opening arguments will begin Tuesday. Looseheadprop did a nice job of explaining the process of openings here.

Since I've never been a prosecutor, only a defense lawyer, I can't get behind the prosecution mindset to predict Fitz's strategy for his opening statement. But I can say what I expect of Libby's defense lawyers in opening.

More troops, more death. The BBC reports:

More than 3,000 US troops have arrived in Baghdad, the first deployment of extra forces promised for the Iraqi capital by US President George W Bush.

As the deployment began, the US military said four soldiers and one marine had been killed in the restive western province of Anbar.

It took to 25 the number of US deaths in Iraq on Saturday - one of the worst days for US troops since the invasion.

Right wing chatterers, outraged as always, are calling upon the president to pardon Border Patrol agents who shot an unarmed Mexican in Texas. The agents, having been tried and convicted, would seem unlikely candidates to become a conservative cause celebre, but advocates of a more lethal approach to border security stand in strong support of their rogue tactics. In their simple world, law enforcement officers are always heroic, and suspected drug dealers from Mexico inevitably deserve to be shot. They have no interest in the actual evidence.

Johnny Sutton, the United States attorney who oversaw prosecution of the case, dismissed the idea that the two men were simply doing their jobs or defending themselves. During their trial, the agents said they had scuffled with the suspected drug dealer, who they believed had a gun, before firing at him. “Nothing could be further from the truth,” Mr. Sutton said in a statement last week, noting that the two men did not report the shooting to their superiors.

“These agents shot someone who they knew to be unarmed and running away,” Mr. Sutton said. “They destroyed evidence, covered up a crime scene and then filed false reports about what happened. It is shocking that there are people who believe it is O.K. for agents to shoot an unarmed suspect who is running away.”

Since when did conservatives lose their abiding faith in guilty verdicts?

Ed Kilgore writes an interesting post about Netroots attitudes towards Bill Clinton. Only problem - it is based on a false premise:

Chris [Bowers] and others didn't come to grips with Scott [Winship]'s underlying argument about the anti-Clinton worldview of the Netroots Left. And that's a shame.

Sorry Ed. Indeed, I think that is part of the whole problem of the discussion at TPMCAfe - the idea that the Netroots has some type of New New Left ideology. That simply is wrong. More.

A big thanks to TChris and Big Tent Democrat for posting the past few days while I've been at a seminar in Miami. I'll be home late tonight and back to regular posting Sunday at some point.

If we haven't covered your topic du jour in a few days, here's some space for you.

Say hello to HillaryClinton.com.

Hillary has announced the formation of her presidential exploratory committee. She will begin with "a live conversation with America – an unprecedented series of video webcasts beginning Monday, January 22nd at 7pm EST for three nights."

I chronicled Hillary's 2000 run for Senator daily, back when TalkLeft was just a website, not a blog. I'm looking forward to following her presidential bid with the same enthusiasm -- although I like John Edwards as a candidate too.

It is exciting to have a serious female candidate for President. I'll be anxiously awaiting her position on issues to see if she's the candidate for me.

Which federal crime deserves a harsher punishment? Selling 5 grams of crack or selling out your country? The crack sale triggers a 5 year mandatory minimum. Bob Ney's "significant and serious abuse of the public trust" (in the words of the sentencing judge) earned a sentence of 30 months -- three more than the government recommended.

“You have a long way to go to make amends,” Judge Huvelle told the former lawmaker, citing tens of thousands of dollars’ worth of luxury overseas travel and other gifts he accepted from [Jack] Abramoff and the corrupt Republican lobbyist’s partners in return for official favors.

The Bulletin of Atomic Scientists has advanced the minute hand of its Doomsday Clock by two minutes. It now shows five minutes to a catastrophic midnight.

Current nuclear worries touched on by the speakers included the ambitions of North Korea and Iran, the nuclear rivalry between Pakistan and India, new initiatives to expand nuclear power plants around the world and the lack of progress toward realizing the goals of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty or ratifying the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty. The board also added climate change to their list of doomsday concerns, because "it could cause irremediable harm to the habitat humanity needs for survival."

Corporate accountability does not come easily to AT&T. The corporation's cozy relationship with the NSA prompted a lawsuit (discussed here) seeking redress for violations of customer privacy. Concerned about corporate decisions that harm customers and the corporation, shareholders are asking management to answer some questions.

[Shareholders have] introduced a resolution for consideration at AT&T's stockholder meeting in April. It asks the company's management to explain what steps it is taking to ensure customer privacy and to disclose how much money it has spent on collaborating with the NSA program.

Management has no interest in being held accountable.

AT&T is asking the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for permission to exclude the resolution from its proxy statement, claiming it would interfere with business and the company should not have to divulge information because of state secrets privileges, according to a statement released by the groups pushing for the resolution.