I Love Tom DeLay!: October 2005

Jon Stewart on our Tommi...

Jon Stewart on Tom DeLay's mug shot:

"Former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay's mug shot was an oddly happy photo, with an even more oddly happy inscription: 'Dear Mug Shot Picture Guy, Keep on launderin'! Conspiratorially, Tom'"

Animal Magnetism

Robert at Left of Centrist shows us a peek into Tommi's power...

Thank you, Ann Coulter!

from BartCop

GIBSON: What about DeLay['s indictment]? His picture is on the screen, as well.

COULTER: I think that is not going to inure to the Democrats' benefit, to be having this obviously political prosecution of a political enemy. No, that just shows them to be the fascists that they are.

Right on, Ann! And by the way, the website you are reading right now has never received any money from Tom Delay or any of his political ~~operatives~~ ~~affiliates~~ friends, so that probably means this whole thing is just the criminalization of politics like everybody says. [Heart tip: Media Matters]

Sharing the Love

If you pay attention to the Liberal Media, you might think that people dislike Tom DeLay. But, as this site clearly shows, nothing could be farther from the truth! Fans from all over are sending us tokens of their love and support for Tommi. In the picture below, for instance, you can see that it is an expression of how 'hot' Tom is! And is he ever!!! Sizzlin'! The one below that shows Tom in a casual, tousled mode, looking like - a movie star! So don't try and tell me that I'm the only one who is enamored of this hard-charging he-man! G-r-r-r-r-r! And, back off, gals - he's mine! The rest of you may worship from afar.

Photoshop is fun!

from A Far Distant Howl

from Ken Sein

FYI

One thing I love about Tommi is his moxie in the face af his attackers. Just look at that insouciant grin! He looks as though he's taking his picture for the dust-jacket of his book, doesn't he? Hard to believe it's a mug shot.

StealthBadger sends along this explanation:

What's the Deal With Tom DeLay's Mug Shot?
Why doesn't it have numbers on it?
By Keelin McDonell
Posted Friday, Oct. 21, 2005, at 2:52 PM PT

!
On Thursday, Tom DeLay reported to the Harris County sheriff's office in Houston to post bond and get fingerprinted. DeLay also posed for a mug shot. The photograph shows a face-forward DeLay grinning; it doesn't show him in profile or holding a placard of identifying numbers. Is this happy-go-lucky photo a real mug shot?

Yes, though advances in technology have made mug shots pretty much indistinguishable from normal photographs. During the last decade or so, most state and federal bond offices have made their entire booking process digital. (For one, most jurisdictions no longer take fingerprints using an ink pad but use biometric scans instead.) Mug shots now typically get taken with a digital camera. The accused's personal identification number (those digits that used to appear on a placard in front of the arrestee's torso) and other data like gender, eye color, and birth date, get recorded on the side of the photo. (You can see DeLay and his booking information in this uncropped version of the photo.)

Photographing criminals in profile was once considered essential. But since the advent of digital photography, the profile shot has become less common. (Practices vary from state to state, but Texas now takes only frontal pictures.) A side-angle photo once helped officers to identify criminals who tried to disguise themselves, as it's more difficult to alter your profile than your face-forward appearance. However, now that computer programs are used to compare photographs instead of the naked eye, profile shots aren't as useful.

Show Tommi Your Love

If you have some Tom DeLay goodies, please don't hesitate to share them with the rest of the class! Email any one of us with your artwork, articles, or anything else that shines a spotlight on our beloved Tommi.