re: #4 Killgore Trout

That unrelated photo is Harriet Miers.

The Roberts non story was hilarious because it was completely unsourced from the outset and I’m sure that if someone actually sought to get a comment from Roberts himself, he’d probably say what the heck.

Even TMZ has better sourcing than that.

As for the Obama selection of a brother of a Rep to a judgeship, the guy could be completely qualified and competent for the job, but it is the appearance of impropriety that raises eyebrows - the timing is most exquisite (just when Obama needs that particular vote in the House, the brother gets the job). Only thing that would make the story more juicy is that the brother gets the job just after the Rep votes on the health care bill in Obama’s favor - a classic quid pro quo.