this is the second of what may easily become a series of observations predicated on the possibility the 'real life' we're living is actually the product of lewis carroll's imagination as he pens a new work entitled 'washington through the looking glass'.   

new york times reporter, judy miller, is spending her first night as an involuntary guest of the federal detention center in alexandria, va., after being held in contempt of court by us federal district justice thomas hogan for  refusing to reveal the source of a story she didn't write. 

time magazine's matthew cooper is sleeping at home, his contempt citation having been remedied by his employer (time magazine provided the court with cooper's notes) and a last-minute notification from his source releasing cooper from his pledge to keep their conversations confidential.  (cooper had previously been held in contempt regarding the same issue in august 2004, until he was given a similar release by another source, scooter libby (cheney's chief of staff).  

at issue is the name or names of white house officials who committed a federal crime by revealing the true identity of a cia employee, seemingly in order to punish a former us ambassador who'd publicly contradicted the president. 

robert novak--to whom the agent's identity was revealed (first hand by the source miller refuses to divulge) and who then also violated the law when he made that information public--is sleeping somewhere other than in a jail for reasons only apparent when viewed thru a looking glass.

clearly, as the walrus said unto the carpenter, the time has come to speak of many things, such as:

a. why isn't novak--rather than miller or cooper--being forced to reveal his source?

b. why did the federal prosecutor who is representing the government focus on cooper who only reported the fact of the crime on a website?

c.  why is miller--who has yet to publish a word about this entire conundrum--being required to do anything?

d. when were journalists given the same protection as priests and lawyers who may not be compelled to make public admissions of crimes committed revealed to them in confidence by  their penitents or clients?  journalists need to be able to promise confidentiality to those who reveal wrongdoing, not those engaged in it.  

carroll need not create a new character for at least one of the possible yet-to-be-named sources.  this one will do just fine.  (i'm not gonna reveal his name tho, so don't subpeona me):

"But wait a bit," the Oyster cried,
"Before we have our chat;
For some of us are out of breath,
And all of us are fat!"