Congrats to Anita! Her book, The Gonzo Way, on her late husband Hunter S. Thompson, has won the Grand Prize at the London Book Festival.

She will accept the award in person on Dec. 18. Background on the book is here.

There's also a very interesting interview with Anita in the Sunday Scotsman Herald, which as a result of the final few paragraphs, has been noted by Esquire, Gawker, Britain's First Post and our local news.

As to Gonzo Way:

“The Gonzo Way: A Celebration of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson” written by his wife, Anita Thompson, is the grand prize winner of the 2008 London Book Festival.

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Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan has asked the state supreme court to declare Gov. Rod Blagojevich unfit to serve.

The move came as the governor prayed with several ministers in his home before heading to his office, telling them he is innocent and will be vindicated "when you hear each chapter completely written," according to one of the pastors.

Madigan will hold a press conference on her motion today.

At least it is midday where I am.

This is an Open Thread.

Bob Stein:

In killing the Detroit bailout yesterday, Republican Leader Mitch McConnell of Toyota joined his colleagues Dick Shelby of Honda and Bob Corker of Nissan in upholding a basic American principle: Blame all economic woes on greedy unions. . . . [This]is a perfect example of what the great journalist Murray Kempton described half a century ago [-] “There is a certain kind of politician who stays safely in the hills during a battle and then comes down and shoots the wounded.”

More...

You know who I really want to hear on this, John McCain:

President Bush and the Treasury Department signaled on Friday morning that they stood ready to use some of the $700 billion bailout program for financial institutions for the Big Three car makers, after Republican senators refused to support a compromise proposal to rescue the automakers. “Under normal economic conditions we would prefer that markets determine the ultimate fate of private firms,” said Dana Perino, Mr. Bush’s spokeswoman, in a carefully nuanced statement released just minutes before the New York financial markets opened. “However, given the current weakened state of the U.S. economy, we will consider other options if necessary — including use of the TARP program — to prevent a collapse of troubled automakers.”

John McCain had a lot to say about "socialism" during the campaign. I am curious to hear him on the subject now. I think we all know President Bush is trying to avoid being a modern day Herbert Hoover. But will the GOP stick to Hooverism as its competing vision to the Democratic agenda?

Speaking for me only

In its editorial today, the New York Times quotes Republican Senate leader Mitch McConnell thusly:

Senate Republicans determined to block the $14 billion rescue package for Chrysler and General Motors have trotted out predictable rhetoric about the dangers of Big Government. Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the Republican leader, warned on Thursday that “a government big enough to give us everything we want is a government big enough to take everything we have.”

Herbert Hoover lives! In the Republican Party.

Speaking for me only

Jesse Jackson, Sr. today denied he was the "emmissary" named in the Blagojevich complaint.

He flew to Chicago today and is expected to be interviewed by the FBI tomorrow or Saturday. The critical conversation: [More...]

As BTD noted below, a bipartisan Senate Committee has released a new report on the Administration's abuse of detainees in Iraq and at Guantanamo. Senator Carl Levin's press release is here. From WaPo:

The Senate Armed Services Committee report accuses Rumsfeld and his deputies of being the principal architects of the plan to use harsh interrogation techniques on captured fighters and terrorism suspects, rejecting the Bush administration's contention that the policies originated lower down the command chain.

"The abuse of detainees in U.S. custody cannot simply be attributed to the actions of 'a few bad apples' acting on their own," the panel concludes. "The fact is that senior officials in the United States government solicited information on how to use aggressive techniques, redefined the law to create the appearance of their legality, and authorized their use against detainees."

How it began: [More...]

From The Hill:

Senior U.S. officials authorized the use of aggressive interrogation techniques resulting in the abuse of military detainees in U.S. custody, according to a report released by the Senate Armed Services Committee on Thursday. The authorization was not only the cause of aggressive interrogation techniques, but also conveyed the message that it was OK to mistreat and degrade detainees in U.S. custody, according to the report released by panel Chairman Carl Levin (D-Mich.) and ranking member John McCain (R-Ariz.)

This should surprise no one. The question now is do Dems want to end it?

[House Intelligence Committee Chair Silvestre Reyes (D-TX) recommended to Obama's transition team that some parts of the CIA's controversial alternative interrogation program should be allowed to continue . . .

Speaking for me only

Can you imagine the chutzpah?:

A senior Justice Department official said Tuesday that "99.8 percent" of the department's work with President-elect Barack Obama's transition team has gone smoothly. The 0.2 percent snag: The department has reservations about granting the team's request to review classified legal opinions related to secret CIA and National Security Agency programs.

(Emphasis supplied.) Check the shredders. Here's the excuse:

[AG Mukasey]said OLC opinions are issued at the request of other agencies with their "own equity or interest in the information. And so what we try to do is determine whether, and to what extent, we can clear that information and try to do it as quickly as we can so as to get it to the transition team so that they're aware of all the things that they need when they take over on the 21st," Mukasey said, according to a transcript provided by the department.

(Emphasis supplied.) Excuse me, what in the hell happened to the "Unitary Executive" (the relatively respectable one, not the crazy one (more here)) Theory? Can not the POTUS just say to Executive Branch officials 'give them everything they want?' Something stinks here, and I bet the "in the tank for Brennann, Hayden and McConnell" people have something to do with this. They are hiding what they did from Obama before he makes his intelligence choices. Just watch.

Speaking for me only

The case of New York lawyer Marc S. Dreier is a strange one. He was arrested in Canada on Friday, after uncharacteristically appearing disheveled and allegedly posing as a lawyer for the Ontario Teachers Pension Plan.

When he returned to New York, he was arrested and hit with a complaint charging him with defrauding hedge fund execs of more than $100 million. Essentially, the Government claims, he was just a grifter all along.

This afternoon, the Judge ordered Dreier detained pending trial as a flight risk. [More...]

The Senate has effectively killed the chances of the auto bailout. Leading the oppositon: Republican Senator Mitch McConnell.

In a speech on the Senate floor, Mr. McConnell said he and other Republicans had drawn a clear distinction between the Treasury’s $700 billion economic stabilization, which they helped pass in October, and the proposal to aid the American automakers, which he said raised questions about which industries or individuals deserve help.

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