What's going on in your world today? Here's an open thread to discuss whatever's on your mind.

From what I gather in the news about Israel's air strikes against Hamas in the Gaza Strip:

• There was a cease fire but it ended earlier this month.
• Most of the 225 killed were militant Hamas policemen, since a principal target was Hamas police headquarters, although hundreds were injured and there were some civilians and children who died. Most of the strikes were on security compounds and militant bases.
• Israel had been planning the attacks for some time due to Hamas's refusal to stop sending rockets into Israel
• The Bush Administration blames Hamas. Condoleeza Rice blames Hamas because it kept sending rockets into Israel

  "We strongly condemn the repeated rocket and mortar attacks against Israel and hold Hamas responsible for breaking the ceasefire and for the renewal of violence there. The ceasefire must be restored immediately and fully respected."

• This can't be good news for Obama, who will take office with Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan already on the front burners. And neither he, nor any American president, may have much control over what goes on between Israel and Hamas.

Daniel Levy at Huffpo adds his perspective. Your Thoughts?

We've had another great music loss today. Delaney Bramlett, age 69, died today of complications following gall bladder surgery.

As Susie Madrak says, he sang like an angel. Crooks and Liars has more.

You can sign his guestbook here.

In a generally good Frank Rich column, this bit of Bill Clinton hate from a gay supporter of Barack Obama struck me:

[Gay Obama supporter] McCarthy added that it’s also time “for President-elect Obama to start acting on the promises he made to the LGBT community during his campaign so that he doesn’t go down in history as another Bill Clinton, a sweet-talking swindler who would throw us under the bus for the sake of political expediency.” And “for LGBT folks to choose their battles wisely, to judge Obama on the content of his policy-making, not on the character of his ministers.”

A free pass for Obama on Warren and a nasty swipe at Bill Clinton for good measure. Par for the course from some these days. If and when Obama does nothing about DOMA, you think Rich and McCarthy will have a damn word to say about it? Me neither.

Speaking for me only

Recent wrongful conviction items of interest:

• An interview with Steven Barnes, who served almost 20 years for crimes he didn't commit.

"The investigation only focused on me. That's not right. You should investigate everything," Barnes said. "If they had DNA (testing) back in '85, I would have never been arrested."

• Craig Watkins has been named the 2008 Dallas Morning News Texan of the Year.

Former Gov. Don Siegelman describes how a common practice of federal prosecutors was used against him:

In an effort to get me, the prosecution went to [co-defendant Richard] Scrushy before they indicted him and said, "Just tell us Siegelman extorted the money; just tell us he twisted your arm." He said, "I can't do that because that's not what happened." They went to him after he was indicted and said, "Okay, we will give you another chance. Tell us Siegelman twisted your arm and tried to extort money." He said, "I can't say that because that's not what happened." During the trial, he was sitting at the defense table, and they came and got him again and gave him a third chance to throw me under the bus by lying for the prosecution and he wouldn't do it. This is not the way the justice system in this country is supposed to work.

Maybe not, but welcome to the real world, where in many respects the criminal justice system doesn't work as it should.

In his ode to the television series Cops, Ken Tucker asks:

I do like it when some bad guy makes a violent move and a billyclub must be applied with quick force. Does this make me a bad person?

Maybe not, but the guilty pleasure of seeing the bad guy get smacked depends on the belief that the smackee deserves it. The footage shot for the Cops series is heavily edited to make the police look good (police departments wouldn't cooperate with the filming if that were not the case), depriving viewers of a realistic basis for deciding whether the violence was necessary or contrived for the camera. A better question would have been:

Has television, with hundreds of thousands of highly dramatic pictures in reports celebrating the use of force by police officers, helped create a mindset among police officers and others that excessive force is okay?

Glamorizing police violence might make for good ratings, but how many viewers understand that the worst scenes of unnecessary or excessive violence rarely make it to their TV screens?

I'm sure there is news today, I've just not been following too closely.

Here's an open thread for those with things besides shopping to discuss. All topics welcome.

While retailers are drowning in their sorrows over disappointing Christmas sales numbers, Amazon is cheering. It had its best season ever.

I've been touting Amazon as having the best prices since November. It's now the first place I go online when looking to buy anything.

TalkLeft readers must be doing the same. This is the first month I've taken in more than $50 in affiliate sales from Amazon. Please keep them coming, and thanks to all of you who bought from Amazon through our links.

I think the best buys are in DVD's, electronics and books.

Where have you found great deals? (Update below)

Aspen's peak ten days of the year are Christmas to New Year's. Shopping is a a key past-time and stores selling luxury goods abound. "Sale" is not a word you frequently see in store windows this time of year.

But, this year, shopping has been all about sales. Even the wealthy are looking for bargains and if they don't see them, taking a pass.

Wealthy Americans are re-evaluating their priorities and are slashing their spending at a rate unseen in decades — a move that could have dire consequences for the economy, luxury stores and high-end brands.

In response to the increasingly subdued shopping mood that began late last year, luxury brands are cutting their inventory, changing the assortment of products they offer and tweaking their advertising message.

The article describes three "classes" of luxury shoppers, all of whom are cutting back: [More....]

I am always amazed that so many people care about the religious views of Americans. The most pernicious types on this are the Jon Meacham-types - who try to make a virtue of the "deep faith" of Americans - he's made a good living writing about it. But then there are the other types who try to prove how "broadminded" these religious types are. Charles Blow is one of those:

In June, the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life published a controversial survey in which 70 percent of Americans said that they believed religions other than theirs could lead to eternal life. This threw evangelicals into a tizzy. After all, the Bible makes it clear that heaven is a velvet-roped V.I.P. area reserved for Christians. Jesus said so: “I am the way, the truth and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” But the survey suggested that Americans just weren’t buying that.

That's nice and all, but who really cares? Let people believe what they want to believe. So long as these religious beliefs are not dictating to others. There is a certain danger in caring about the religious views of Americans - it makes it a part of our public political life. Me, I am more interested in what the Founding Fathers thought about the mixing of religion in public politics - "Congress shall make no Law . . ." After that, my interest wanes. I do not care what percentage of American Christians think I am going to burn in hell. So long as they do not bother me here on Earth, I am good to go.

Speaking for me only

There are new details the the drug case of Sherry Johnston, the mother of future Palin son-in-law Levi Johnston, who was arrested on oxycontin-related charges last week.

The police busted a couple of her associates, turned them into snitches, wired them, and taped her allegedly engaging in oxycontin transactions:

She allegedly sold OxyContin tablets to the informants on three occasions this fall, the affidavit states. Police said two of the meetings were recorded by a hidden camera and a microphone.

The affidavit that has now been released says they sat on the search warrant due to Sarah Palin's candidacy and secret service protection:

Authorities say the case against Sherry Johnston began in the second week of September, when drug investigators intercepted a package containing 179 OxyContin pills. That led to the arrest of the suspects, who agreed to be informants. [More...]